Up in the Air

I read somewhere that the average number of people airborne over the U.S. in any given hour is 61,000. I wonder how many church members are up in the air in any given hour. I’m guessing quite a few, especially during the Sunday worship hour. Here are a few things they get up in the air about: the music selections, a drag-on sermon with too many points, a pointless sermon, public reading of announcements posted in the bulletin, high-pressured pleas for money, unfriendliness, noisy children, hard seats, auditorium is too cold or too hot, bad acoustics, loud music, casual attire, overdressed congregation, and the lighting is either too dim or too bright.

Here are a few things that might bring us down to earth: constructive criticism, encouraging worship leaders and the pastor to prepare biblically sound, Christ-honoring music and messages, volunteering to work in the nursery, focusing on God instead of on what others are doing or not doing, and if all else fails, visiting earthquake-devastated Haiti to see the conditions in which our fellow Christians there are worshiping.