3. Loss of form.
One of the catchphrases I hear over and over from church leaders is, “People don’t understand the language and rituals of the church, so why impose them on nonbelievers?”
While one can certainly understand the sentiment that drives this, it is absurd to think that people walking into our churches don’t expect our culture to be slightly different from the shopping mall where they spend so much of their time.
Everyone is ritualistic and, strangely enough, most people are not put off by something new, interesting and idiosyncratic.
The coffee bar, the bookstore and the help center are understandable accommodations in the modern church and not the issue. The issue is that the church doesn’t have any distinguishing “beauty marks” in its current striving to be neutral.
Why would anyone want to go from one shopping mall to another shopping mall to another shopping mall? Even the most meaningless of lives would somehow stagnate in that repetition.
The church is a haven, a sanctuary, but one might wonder, in what ways? Even our message of hope and reconciliation is often delivered much like network news … all sizzle, less substance.
4. Loss of contact.
Feel free to argue this point, but observing many large churches, there is much “cattle herding” to empty parking lots and refilling them with more “cattle.”
One can often see people entering and exiting churches without ever having been touched, talked to or even having their presence acknowledged. There might be something wrong with that.
5. Loss of individuation.
While it has already been discussed ad nauseum here, the single greatest danger leading to “parking lot church” inevitability is a lack of distinctiveness.
We might need to be asking, given that the Gospel remains a constant, “What is there about us that would make ANYONE want to join us, listen to us and become part of us?”
Again, if you had to close your doors tomorrow, would your church make a great parking lot?
