Smiling faces

It’s generally held that churchgoers “look so happy”. (At least it used to be. Times might be a-changing.) And I’ve found that to be quite true. But I’m actually not too thrilled about it. Ok, that sounds terrible — I’m not against people enjoying themselves. But to me that happiness is often rather shallow in the land of the churchianity.

The churches I’ve experienced have generally been homogeneous, white middle class. There are no real problems to talk about on the surface. Think muzak and yeah, smiling faces. But not genuinity.

When people join the club, and start their transition from unchurched to churched, they don’t fit that mold. They have issues. And they don’t hide them beneath a smiling face. That’s generally not that big of a problem, people are given some leeway, at least until they get the “saved” stamp and are expected to shape up their act.

The real problem is when churched people get into problem. No sorry, I meant when churched people show their problems. Having problems is quite accepted, but showing them is a big deal!

The church seems quite unable to deal with people with problems. I don’t mean the “I’m going to pray for you”/”he hasn’t been here for ages, say hello from me”/”we can’t accept that anyone who’ve done what you’ve done is [playing/singing/preaching]“/”you’re not welcomed here anymore” kind of dealing with problems. I’m more referring to, you know, genuinely caring about people.

In my experience church can be very supportive. Until you need support.