Estimated reading time: 3 minute(s)

Now, I’ve never actually said those words. I can’t recall ever having been to an actual “pub”. Oh wait, one time we took a group of students from our campus ministry to a pub to hear a friend’s Celtic band. Was that a pub or a bar? I know I’ve visited several bars, but, I don’t know about pubs. Is there a difference between a pub and a bar? Pub sounds more friendly?

Maybe that’s it.

Let me back-track here. I’m not just engaging in trivial chit-chat about places of druken revelry.

Today as I was driving around town, listening to the local sports station, one radio guy was trying to convince the other radio guy that an evening at our town’s soccer games was worth the trip. The convincee just doesn’t think he likes soccer, so the convincer says to him, “It’s not really about the game. My wife and I go, have a couple beers, talk with the people around us, and it’s an overall, enjoyable evening.”

Somehow, that got me thinking about my friends from Bible college who went on a mission trip to Ireland, and spent a majority of their time in the pubs. (Which was not standard practice when they were back at Bible college.) 🙂

See, the reason people go to a pub, from what I have gathered, is not so much for the event, or even (dare I say it) for the drinks. I think (though I have no authority in this matter, to be sure) that the majority of the folks who frequent a pub go there to “talk with the people around [them]”. The evening is not as much about what they are doing, but more who they are doing it with.

As my mind is always connecting things, I quickly thought of the weekend programs most Christians attend or serve in. I think many people are part of such events not for what they are doing, but rather who they are doing it with. It’s a meeting place. A connecting point with people who have a common purpose or direction in life. And are in the same family. It’s an essential part of who the church is. We are connected.

But the problem is, over time, the event has overtaken the connecting. For various reasons, we end up “going to church” more for what we do there than who we are there with. The schedules, the people flow, all of the activities… these end up dominating our time together, and not a simple connection. Partly it is the fault of we who plan the events. We feel a burden to provide something worthy of attending. Perhaps instead we should treat it like the local pub? There are some good extras (a pint or two, some pretzels, some games) but the real reason to be there is to just be together.

So, a few quick mental connections just had me thinking today that maybe we (the church) could benefit from a little trip to the pub.