A User Friendly God

I believe people are leaving churches in such large numbers today because we have failed to hold up before them a high view of God—a vision so awesome and transcendent that it captures their hearts and changes their lives.

Because our modern-day teaching and preaching so often present a low view of God, worshipers tend to become fixated on pastors, musicians, recording artists, and other human personalities.  Instead of focusing on Him, our attention is riveted on mere men.  Discontented people are leaving churches in droves.  Although they often point to the failure of the church of the minister to meet their needs, the real reason is because the god presented to them falls miserably short of the God set forth in the Bible.  No wonder their hearts are restless, bored, and frustrated!

If our churches are to return to being the houses of worship God wants them to be, we must renew a dominant vision of God who is high and lifted up, towering in the heavens, majestic in the beauty of His holiness.  We need a vision of God who is different from us, someone who is truly worthy to be worshipped and adored.  In short, we are in need of a fresh dose of the majesty of God.  Only as we return to our principal calling, that of displaying the true greatness of God, will people eagerly return to Him—and to church.

Such a fresh vision of God will transform us from the inside out and empower us to fulfill His calling upon our lives.  That is what is missing in this day of trendy, low-commitment, user-friendly Christianity.  And until we recover the true picture of God, we will languish in spiritual impotence.

—Steven Lawson, Made in Our Image: What Shall We Do with a “User-Friendly” God?