In the 1950's, McDonalds was born with the simple idea that when people wanted to go out for food, they should be served in 30 seconds instead of 30 minutes.* The power of that proposition was so compelling that it launched a business juggernaut that today comprises 36,000 restaurants world-wide. Two things made the concept possible: a simple menu of hamburger, cheeseburger, fries, soft drink, or milkshake plus a kitchen operation carefully designed to deliver that menu in the specified 30 seconds.
If you visit a McDonalds today, you know there is no longer a 30 second wait to get your food. The kitchen operation is still carefully designed and indeed is a marvel of technology. So what has changed? The menu. The menu has become impossibly complex through a massive expansion of choices along with an expansion into breakfast, happy meals, healthy salads and the like. Because McDonalds no longer focuses on its founding mission, customer satisfaction has dropped and there is little to truly differentiate McDonalds from any other fast food place.
Why am I recounting this tale on a Religion Blog? Well, because I think it has something to teach us about the condition of the Institutional Church today. Back in the beginning of the Church, people were attracted to it for a couple of simple reasons:
-it's leader [Jesus Christ] declared "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Jn. 14:6
-along with; "And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
They heard about these amazing things, they experienced them, and then they stayed and helped the Church grow and spread the message.
The menu, if you will, comprised Conversion, Justification, Sanctification: a person was evangelized with the Gospel message, and through Conversion accepted the Gospel. That person was moved by the Gospel message to accept Jesus Christ has Lord and Savior and became Justified by God through that faith. And finally, that person through the action of the Holy Spirit gave up his worldly ownership of himself and accepted a life of obedience to Jesus Christ and began the path of Sanctification.
Now compare that life in the Church to life in the Institutional Church today. Just like at McDonalds the Church has expanded it's menu to such an extent that it is hard to differentiate between the Church and a; movie theater, workout gym, social club, Chamber of Commerce, coffee shop, library, and any other secular venue in general.
McDonalds will never go back to being the purpose driven fast food store. And the Institutional Church will never go back to being that Gospel driven path to Salvation.
So, if you want your food in 30 seconds, or you want to be on that sure path to Salvation, then look elsewhere.
And elsewhere just might be the Liturgical Home Church Movement. Stay tuned.
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