A Sunday Without Complaints

The church is in trouble. You’ve heard people say it, and it may be true. But it seems every modern religious organization, regardless of its composition, economic situation, or the quality of its ministers, is subject to immense criticism these days... And it’s really unfortunate when the Sunday service is condemned by the congregation on the front steps of the church!

On July 9th 2007 by a writer named MadMonk on WonderCafe.ca, started a discussion entitled ‘Top Complaints After Church’ that has become a strange repository of all manner of amusing ecclesiastical criticism. The entire discussion is a fascinating window into the world of modern religious service providers and their struggle to make Sunday both enjoyable and informative.

Crazyheart writes, ‘Funniest complaint that I ever heard was an elderly woman complained to me bitterly that she could see the legs of the choir girls. Those choir gowns are meant to cover you from head to toe.’

The complaints range from sensible criticism to personal grievances. One writer expresses a desire to see his church’s ‘Order of Service’ actually include the exact order of service. Guitar Gal notes with annoyance how fast the ladies want to serve the coffee and cake and close the cafeteria.

A mild mannered writer named ‘kwind’ informed readers that ‘My top complaint would be the times where there is too little thought or preparation of the message, too little coordination between the message and the rest of the service (ie hymns or prayers don't match the sermon), too short or too long.’ And anyone can see his point. Younger ministers are often faced with the challenge of making scripture more interesting, and they sometimes deviate from the traditional presentations that older parishioners cherish.

RevJamesMurray writes that the ‘…Presbyterians in my last pastoral charge complain that I never visited them. It just so happened that all their neighbors were UCC (United Church of Canada). They called a few people and said, "Well the minister never comes here." They were big trouble makers.’ This highlights the age old inter denominational tension between rival churches in small towns. Today it’s just a complaint after church, but fifty years ago here in Canada there were brawls after church-league baseball games and riots betwee
Catholics and Protestants during Orange Day parades.

Near the end of this thread (the discussion continues today) RevJamesMurray posted another priceless anecdote; a friend of mine serves an upscale church filled with managers and professionals. There are so many complaints on such a regular basis, that if there is a Sunday where there are no complaints, they actually mark it down on the wall calendar for all to see. After four years, he's getting more and more Sundays without a complaint. Sometimes a congregation has to learn how to trust their leaders. Sometimes they need to learn a vocabulary to express what is really bothering them. A lot of complaints are really about how the present world doesn't meet their expectations, or how they don't feel a part of the (post)modern world.