Tim Stevens tells the following story in his article about not giving up on the church:
 

Last week my friends, Jack and Molly, poured out their hearts to me about their church experience. They love their church in Ohio. They have been there for more than ten years now and are involved up to their eyeballs. Jack is a deacon and helps with some of the worship arts. Molly has been on the praise team and volunteers as she is able. They love their pastor and want to support him, but sadly, they would never think of inviting a friend. Not again.

They gave it a shot once. A few months ago, Molly invited a friend from her workplace to church. This was a close friend, and they knew she would be honest about her experience. During the entire service, Molly was wincing. She was more keenly aware than ever that the music was bad, the message was completely irrelevant, and it was all excessively long. When she asked her friend a few days later what she thought, the answer came back, "Molly, your church sucks." It was crass and was hard to hear, but Molly knew she was right.

A lot of churches know this, but they keep doing what is comfortable...what they enjoy. It is just too painful to diagnose what is not working, so the leaders continue to focus on the areas (such as fellowship, worship, or Bible study) they find easier to accomplish. Oh, they still pray for their unchurched friends. They want them to meet Jesus, but they have no idea how that might happen. Unfortunately, over time, as their Christian community becomes more ingrown, the chasm between their "lost" friends and them grows larger and larger.

Is that what Jesus had in mind when He dreamed up this thing called the church? When He came to earth to give His very life so that we might experience His love and grace, do you suppose He pictured churches where the people He died to save would feel like outsiders? Read more...
 
Stevens definitely strikes a chord with us, doesn't he? How many of you would cringe during the service like Molly did? Does your church suck? It's a question worth asking. Here's a better one: Why do you go to a church that sucks? Moreover, why aren't you doing something about it?
 
This is the sad reality of many Christians - they know that the system is broken, but for one reason or another, they feel helpless to fix it. Each week, they drag themselves to church, push back the creeping cynicism, internally chastise themselves for being so critical, sing through a few half-hearted songs, doze off to sleep during the sermon, and then coffee and donuts after the service. Rinse and repeat.
 
If such is the case for you, I want to share some good news with you - you're the church. That's right: you. Not your pastor. Not the worship leader. Not the deacons who, for some crazy reason, often function as ushers for helping old ladies to their favorite pews. So, in a certain sense, saying that your church sucks is a self-indictment, no?
 
I believe two things about the church:

1) The Church is people, so you can't really "walk away" from it, can you? Unless you become a hermit and never spend time with another Christian again. Even then, I would wonder how you might "walk away" from your new DNA as part of the family of God.
 
2) The Church is mostly for believers, so don't get disappointed when you bring your unsaved friends and they don't react how you want them to. That's called an "attractional model" of church (some may refer to it as "seeker-friendly"), and although many megachurches employ it, it's not biblical. Moreover, it doesn't really work. Even Bill Hybels admitted that.
 
Where in the New Testament do you see the disciples trying to get unbelievers into their building so that then they can get saved and become real Christians? It doesn't happen. Rather, the biblical model is what's called an "incarnational" or "missional model" of church. That is, church is for the fellowship of the saints, for God's people to be equipped and go out into the world to make disciples. Read Acts if you don't believe me.
 
For more, read my friend Joe's short blog about "little 'c' versus big 'C'". Also, Seth Barnes wrote a great blog on an explanation Ron Walborn once offered a student about incarnational church.