On Popcorn in Church

So this morning at church I was faced with an interesting change to the church routine…popcorn. The reason – a family service themed on the new Les Miserables film. Whilst not a fan of traditional Sunday worship, this still took me by surprise. But then I asked myself, why not?

I asked myself the question: Why shouldn’t we have popcorn in church?

What is church all about? While it might be immediately obvious, the very fact we have so many denominations in Christianity shows that this isn’t the case. For some, it is tradition and order, for others, it is feelings and emotion. But ultimately, it is a collection of fallen people joining in worshipping our God.

There are some who this morning found the idea of popcorn in church as a bad idea. Others really enjoyed it. But was that the point of the service? Of course not, we were joined as a group of people to worship. And to some, the mere fact of having popcorn provided a distraction from doing so. Further to this, by bringing in food and drink to a church service, are we not dumbing down the seriousness of a relationship with God to a mere show?

But by saying church should be serious – are we not missing the point again?

I have been to many services where I have been put to sleep (sometimes literally) by Christians making a relationship with God sound so dull that I don’t actually care. I just want to move onto the next song, or more than that, go home and watch the football / motor racing / whatever else there is on TV. Our relationship with God should be dynamic and exciting, as it is with our closest friends. And where do we spend most of our time with them? In social settings, doing fun activities. So this morning, when we joined together as a congregation to learn about God in a fun setting, are we not making it more exciting, and bringing a new realism to our relationship?

I guess it comes down to choice – or does it?

The problem with saying that our style of worship and relationship is down to choice, by extension, means that Christianity comes down to choice. And the Bible is clear on that. There are things that are true and real and good, and there are things that are false, and against God’s best for our lives. The question is: does popcorn in church come under something that is good, or something that is bad?

Obviously this is not a question of doctrine – no one should be basing their faith on popcorn.

Therefore, in this case, I would say that it depends why you feel the need for popcorn in a church. If it is to make a point, or make a service more interactive and engaging, then there isn’t a problem. If it becomes a distraction, or indeed, an idol, then it is here we start having problems.

Pointless rant – or are we going somewhere?

Loosely, this discussion has been looking at how to engage with God as a congregation of his people, and whether or not it's alright to loosen up the standards of church. I’m definitely not saying that every church should install popcorn machines at the entrance and start charging admission, but asking the question:

Are we engaging God in our services, or sticking to traditions that are comfortable?

I have learnt from this experience not to get so caught up in routine, or that God is reserved for Sunday morning.