Have you ever visited a church and walked out thinking, “That was exciting,” without remembering what the pastor preached on? You may have met a lot of nice people, the worship felt like a concert, you didn’t fall asleep and you even ate doughnuts. Those things are great, but leaving without knowing what was preached is robbing you of a deeper understanding of God.

Growing up, I went to church every day I possibly could. I did Bible drills, vacation Bible school and all the activities one could do. I loved being at church; it was like my second home.

Needing to be centered on God

When I moved from Texas to California a few years ago, I actually stopped going to my new church because I wasn’t learning. I would walk into the service and music would be playing as if I were at a concert. I would listen to the service and the sermon would not even pertain to the Bible. I would try to make friends, but there were not many who would live like Christ. I eventually gave up.

The music was amazing, but that seemed to be the only thing that kept me going for a while. I remember once my youth pastor told the youth group that if we ever decided to stop going to the church, think about how awesome the music is. When he said that, he took the focus off of God and moved it onto the music. It was not sinful that the music was enjoyable to listen to, but the fact that the music was the most important thing.

It becomes dangerous when a church begins to turn into a social event instead of a place to worship, learn and have community. The purpose of church is to gather around other believers and worship God for his miraculous glory.

Many youth groups, church events and even church concerts, are filling time with games and entertaining things to keep you moving. Youth groups are turning into a place to hang out, and sometimes church events don’t even mention God. And the only difference between going to a church and a concert are the lyrics to the songs.

Having entertainment during church events and concerts is a plus — you should have a good time — but the focus still needs to be on Christ. Activities with the church and going to concerts are great ways to be around people who are like-minded and who keep you accountable, but the minute you go to church for the entertainment instead of to glorify God is the minute you move the focus off of Christ and onto yourself. And that is when it becomes dangerous.

Getting out of your comfort zone

Some churches are even beginning to care about what others think about their sermons and so they are afraid to be blunt and to speak the truth. But how else will non-believers know what the truth is if they are not told? They go to church, think it is fun and think they do not have to change their ways. What will be the purpose of them even going?

Of course, there are still churches who uphold their responsibility to keep Christ at the center. The way to keep this up is to get out of your comfort zone and go to an activity or a service, Bible study or even a concert by yourself. Don’t worry about friends or what others think of you; just go with the mindset of, “I am here for Christ and I am going to have a blast.”

Christ should be what makes the churches exciting not the events put on by people in the church. It does not mean the church is wrong when they have fun activities and events, but the focus has to stay on Christ.