Bunny Christians

I read Mike Cope's blog regarding to what I am going to call, "Bunny Christians", aka "Church Hoppers":

It's not necessarily wrong to switch churches. There are several good reasons someone might decide they need to do so. But I'm through catering to church-hoppers. These are the religious consumers who:

1. Hop from place-to-place, seeking the congregation that best serves THEM.
2. Worship like they like it.
3. Change only when they approve.
4. Children's ministry the way they think it should be done. Ditto with youth ministry.
5. A class or small group where they are the center of attention.

God bless the Church-hoppers, for theirs is the eternal quest of self-fulfillment.

Here's my growing conviction:
1. Let's live missional lives--lives poured out for the world.
2. Let's seep and leak into the crevices of society; let's offer our lives for God's purposes of mercy and justice; let's be poured out like wine upon the altar.

If people aren't happy with that, let's love them and bless them as they leapfrog to another place. But let's not get off task in order to keep them. It isn't the way of Christ. All things in love. But the mission of Christ must guide us.

...connects with those outside the faith by, well, connecting with those outside of the community in their world. Connecting happens not in a 'come to us' CHURCH service, but through 'go and dwell' church SERVICE, i.e. service in the community -- living alternative lives.

Wow. How many churches can say that something other than the Sunday morning service is the major connecting point in their fellowship? Probably very few. But Bolger's assertions are not unlike the description of the church in Acts, where a once-a-week "service" was not at all central to the life of the community:

A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together constantly and shared everything they had. They sold their possessions and shared the proceeds with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord's Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity-- all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.