Enjoyable

It's a strange thing that the people who have received the best news in the universe are so often the stiffest people in town. Jesus said He came so that we might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). Paul prays that the God of hope would fill the Romans with all joy and peace (Romans 15:13). David rejoiced when someone said, let's go to God's house. Somewhere along the line church got heavy, and we don't think that's from the Lord.

Enjoyable doesn't mean entertaining. We're not trying to be fun. We're trying to be what a room full of forgiven people ought to be: glad, warm, at ease, and hard to leave.

Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). That means it isn't something we manufacture; it's something the Spirit produces in people who are walking with Him. A joyless church has usually confused solemnity with holiness. Scripture puts "rejoice in the Lord always" in the imperative (Philippians 4:4), and it's written from a prison.

Reverence and joy are not opposites; in the Psalms they're the same breath.

It looks like a table. Coffee before, food often, and conversation that doesn't end when the service does. It looks like singing you can hear — a congregation that means it. It looks like laughter being normal, and people who are glad you came and say so.

It also looks like relief. Nobody at TheWay is performing to belong. You don't have to dress a certain way, know the songs, or have your life sorted out. A church that has truly received grace is a church that's easy to breathe in. That's what we're after.