My "Sanctuary" is now an "Auditorium"

I was raised in the Protestant church.  It was a little Baptist church just outside of town. One of those churches where an attendance of 50 on a Sunday morning was considered a crowd.  Everyone knew everyone.  The same families had been there since the church began, and it was a great place to grow up.  As kids, we learned all the great Sunday School songs, and heard all the great stories of the Bible.  There was also Vacation Bible School in the summer which was a week of songs, stories, crafts, and an incredibly competitive game of "Red Rover". 

There was something else we were taught.  Respect.  Respect for where we were, church, the house of God. The area where Sunday School was held was a hallway away from the Sanctuary.  We could play, laugh, yell, horse around, whatever.  Once you entered the Sanctuary, there was an air of reverence.  Time to calm down, and listen to what God wanted us to hear.  There were great hymns, great pastors, great clothes, great memories.  My Grandfather use to say (he was a retired Baptist minister), "You would wear your best clothes to meet the Queen of England, why not for the King of Kings?"  We always wore our best on Sunday morning.

When I was in 5th grade, my parents decided to take the family to another church.  This church had a membership of about 1500, was in a huge building, and I was scared to death.  They were "non-denominational" which was explained to me as meaning anyone was able to attend.  Not just Baptist, Methodist, etc., but anyone.  Sunday School was huge, and the Sanctuary was even bigger.  I felt like a very small person sitting in a very big pew.  Once again, the fun area was away from the Sanctuary, and once we entered those doors, we showed respect.  No matter the size, it was the Sanctuary, the house of God.  Respect.

That was 1977.  January 1, 1978, my mother and I became members of that church.  This year was year 34 of that membership.  How many people can say they've been at the same church, a member no less, for 34 years?  Oh, the changes that have happened.

The pastor that was there then is now 3 pastor's ago.  I miss him.  A very great man of God.  The minister after him almost split the church in two.  That's when I learned of church politics.  They can be rough.  The current minister is a good guy, young, but really making huge changes that I don't care for.  The Sanctuary is now called an "Auditorium".  Usually, there is no "Cross", although I did hear there was one at Easter.  The pastor appears to be standoffish.  I've heard people can get in to see him, to talk to him, but I personally don't know anyone that has.  The music is so loud it's obscene.  It's rock and roll and heavy metal.  The way people dance and jump around, I'm waiting for a Sunday morning "Mosh Pit".  There is a traditional service at 9am, but they're really pushing it on the music. People wear anything and everything.  Torn jeans, flip flops, short shorts, you name it.  The minister himself wears jeans.

So you're reading this and thinking, "What a whiner.  You don't go to church for all that, you go for the message, and for what God wants you to hear."  That may be so, but for me, the whole experience use to be uplifting.  It was everything.  The people, the music, the message, the building itself.  Now, for me, it's a disappointment.  There's no reverence, no respect.  It's about numbers.  How do we get more people in?  How do we get more tithes?  I'm just completely spiritually drained from it. 

I miss my Sanctuary, I miss the reverence and respect.  I miss my church.  I miss having a minister so close to God you could feel it in his message.  I'm not saying the guy doesn't believe he's speaking as a messenger, but I just don't get it.  I don't feel it.  Right now, I don't care.  It feels so fake anymore, I'm done with it.  The church, I mean, not God.  God and I are ok.

I don't need the church to be cool with God.