I think that the church in general, at times, has portrayed God as a Holy, Reverent, Majestic being, who is way out there, you can't see him, smell him, touch him, and therefore you may go to a church service, feel close to God, get the warm and fuzzies, feel a bit convicted for "not being in church lately" but when you leave, there is no change because all we have done is encountered an experience with no repentance. (Remember when Jesus first started his ministry, the bible states that he went out preaching "REPENT, for the kingdom of God is near") Thus, when they left the home or grew up, over 80% never went back to church but for Easter and Christmas (George Barna). And when they go back for Easter and Christmas, they usually get the "God Fix" where they again get the warm and fuzzies and feel good about themselves and will say something like "I really needed that." but again they have yet to experience God in a personal way and again, there has not been true repentance. We need to keep in mind that repentance is running away from the sinful desires and running after God, you can't have one without the other, thats not repentance. Our generation's view on repentance seems to be more about feeling bad for our sins, telling God we are sorry, and asking for forgiveness, all without running in the other direction after God.
My question here is....in your experience do you see the same thing? How can we as Pastors create a church that addresses this?
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