Smells and bells 5: the need of our churches

In Mark Galli's book Beyond Smells and Bells he talks about 'a more real culture.' I've spent most of my church-leader life thinking the church needed to be more "relevant" for people. He debunks this thought. Here are a few good quotes:

p. 57 - The world the liturgy reveals does not seem relevant at first glance, but it turns out that the world it reveals is more real than the one we inhabit day by day.

p. 58 - How difficult it is to remember the fundamental need of our churches and the people who attend them: to see God.

p. 58 (from Eugene Peterson) - I don't think people care a whole lot about what kind of music you have or how you shape the service. They want a place where God is taken seriously, where they're taken seriously.

Yeah.