A few summers ago, while on vacation I visited a little church, one that had probably (hopefully) seen better days in its past. Upon arrival (10 minutes early) I walked in. No one was in the foyer to greet people, so I walked into the empty sanctuary—empty except for two little kids plunking on the piano. I sat half-way up the 10-row little auditorium. I was warmly greeted when people started arriving (all 22 of them).
The service began when the pianist shooed the kids off the piano. What
transpired was perhaps the most pathetic worship service I have ever
seen. We sang a few “contemporary songs” from a © 1980 chorus book (we
sang them at half-speed). Then we had to sing happy birthday to several
July birthday people, who happily came to the front so we could honor
them. The elder who was delivering the sermon that day (I think he got
it off the internet) preached on what a good Christian was.
That church had lost any concept of what a worship service is. It
focused almost entirely on the people in the congregation. It was
basically a small-group fellowship time in a sanctuary.
There was one blessing in the service, a prayer time. Now lest you
think it’s my bias that made this good, it wasn’t. They called a young
adult woman (probably in her mid 20s) to the front. After a long search
to fill the women’s ministry leader position this girl had stepped up.
Now they were going to pray for her as she started her new ministry.
They had the woman come up (all of them), lay hands on her, and pray.
She started getting choked up as one after another, these women asked
the Lord Jesus to fill her, to enable her.
What made this the best part of the service was that it was virtually
the only part of the service that focused on Jesus Christ. Their
“calling out for Jesus” prayer sent us heavenward.
Sadly, this little church is not unusual these days. I don’t mean there
are a lot of small churches that have forgotten how to “do church.”
There are some very large churches that have the same ailment (not that
they sing happy birthday to people in the worship service). The problem
is—no it’s a crisis—Jesus Christ is no longer at the center of what
they are about. In most churches it is about us—the people. David
Bryant has said for most Christians and churches today, Jesus Christ is
our mascot, not our monarch! He peps us up, but doesn’t rule over us.
It’s time for churches to go back to what sets us apart from being a
social club—Jesus Christ! He should be our entire focus! It’s time to
pray Jesus back into our midst.
--Jonathan Graf is the president of the Church Prayer Leaders Network. You may contact him at
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October 2006 
