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From: 3b2adm1@ihuxo.UUCP (Lloyd Brock)
Newsgroups: net.religion
Subject: How "Useful" Is The Church?
Message-ID: <342@ihuxo.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 14-Jul-84 12:17:58 EDT
Article-I.D.: ihuxo.342
Posted: Sat Jul 14 12:17:58 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 15-Jul-84 02:25:03 EDT
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Naperville, IL
Lines: 55


In a letter to the editor of Luthern Forum magazine, Dr. Frank Senn,
formerly professor of worship at the Luthern School of Theology in 
Chicago and now a parish pastor, reflects on the "usefulness" of the
church.
	
	The problem with the marketplace is that it operates
	on a utilitarian philosophy. That's all right in a
	supply-and-demand economy, but it's disasterous on the
	spiritual life.... The question of whether someone
	needs the church is irrelevant. That makes the role
	of the church hinge on its usefulness to individuals.
	The church is nothing less than an assembly of believ-
	ers for Word and Sacrament,who also offer their
	prayer, praise. and thanksgiving.... The marketplace
	needs the perspective of the Westminster Catechism that
	"the chief end and purpose of man is to glorify God and
	enjoy him forever." Admittedly prayer and worship seem
	like "useless" activities, but from a utilitarian point
	of view so are most of the really valuable things in
	life "useless." We do them for the sheer joy of doing
	them.

The editor of a religious journal, a man by the name of Arthur Jones,
took issue with a recent book entitled 101 Reasons Why I Like To Go 
To Church. He found some of the "reasons" very dubious, such as 
reason #2: "Increases the likelihood of finding a better mate." 
Jones admits that he has worshiped in churches where the ritual was
"so lockedstepped that I thought the entire Mass had been
choreographed by the same person who did the opening ceremonies for
the 1936 Olympics." "In one place the pastor had forgotten why the 
people are present: to hear some good news as well as the Good news."
So the editor  Jones listi some reasons of his own:

	I am so overcome with gratitude I need to go somewhere
	special to say thank you for the day. Instead of just
	saying it to the dying tree in the back garden which is
	feeding a zillion insects, and therby the birds, too,
	even in its symbol-of-Christ death.... What I would
	like to writ here is that I go to church because I want
	to be a member of that joyous, sspiritually alive commun-
	ity. One that places as much emphasis on meditative
	calms as it does on musical eruptions; one where the whole
	liturgy speaks from the Gospel and church teaching to
	todays world, in something like todays language.kee here is that I go to church because I wants who also offer their

I would like any suggestions on how to get people to want to attend
church regularly.
How could the worship service be improved?
How can the church give people a reason to go to church to praise God?




                                                      Lloyd Brock