Thoughts on how we "do" church...

I (Patti) recently finished reading the book "Jim & Casper Go To Church." In this book, a Christian (Jim Henderson) hires an atheist (Matt Casper) to visit 12 various churches in America with him. They document their experiences and reactions for our benefit.
There were several points that were very enlightening "Aha" moments to me, as well as many that made me a bit uncomfortable, considering how comfortable I have often been participating in some of the very things they found to be somewhat inconsistent with our supposed mission as Christ's people. Of course, there were many things that each church was "doing right" in their opinion, but many more areas for improvement if our mission is to reach the unchurched. Several of the churches had very non-traditional ideas that excited me. I felt the book challenged me, at this time and place in my life, to be willing to think about several things: 1)What are we trying to accomplish in Sunday "large group church?" 2)How can we be more effective at making Sunday "large group church" meaningful? 3)Is this really what Jesus meant for the church to become?
What I didn't find in the book was any consideration of how ministry to children played into the life of these churches.
Their focus, by plan, was the adult "large group" Sunday Service. As any Christian knows, that is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to living out our faith in a church family. However, it is certainly good to ask these questions, and try to answer them. Are we failing our adult church members by the way we "do" church on the weekend? After all, the truth is many people will never be involved in a mid-week small group or other ministry of the church. Could we do better?
Well, this was a timely read for me. As Tim and I explore possible future ministry opportunities, we will wrestle with these questions. Hopefully the new church family where we land will be open to wrestling with these questions too, and maybe even experimenting with some creative ways to improve the effectiveness of ministry to adults, while of course providing a high quality ministry to children and students. :)
If you're looking for a book to make you question how we "do" church, I think this one will make you think.
Happy reading! Love, Patti