I agree that far too many Christians appear to be spiritually shallow, and I also agree that many church programs are as deep as an omlette pan. All of us have seen examples of extravagant self-indulgent churches.Your analogy regarding the kids in the car is clever, however, it is based on the assumption that the kids are ALREADY in the car. I think much of today's church outreach bogs down in trying to reach people who's lifestyle is so hectic they barely have time to dress the kids, let alone put them in the car.
As you criticize churches for having gym's, beautiful buildings (I'm reminded of the temple Solomon built for the Lord and how hard he worked to make it the best he could for God), what you call the "Hot Tub" mentality, perhaps you would consider that attracting people to the church must be accomplished before you can work on maturing them.
I'm certainly not suggesting that the church should be spending all its resources on itself. Ministries that meet people's needs are critical and it is the responsibility of every Christian to tithe (read Malachi) so that God's work can be done. That said, I think a large part of the problem (failure of the church to attract new believers) stems from the church being focused on arguing theology, clinging to tradition, arguing about music, and LIBERALIZATION of God's word, rather than considering how to attract a media-crazed culture of self-absorbed unbelievers.
If you look at the church in Acts, the bible tells us that God added to their number daily. The bible describes their Christian behavior, and that behavior was so radical, people outside the church were attracted to it. Many churches seem to have strayed from that basic early Christian church. Holding fast to God's word and putting it into practice worked for the church in Acts, and it still works.
My point to this is just that it is a lot easier to criticize the collective church, than it is to actively support outreach into a dying culture. At my home church, we work plenty hard to meet people's needs, but we also work plenty hard to be attractive to our culture so we can reach people for Christ. Holding to fundamental biblical truth is the bedrock of all we do.
In your view we have a hot-tub mentality to which I can only respond that I am thankful to God for a hot-tub heart. I want people to be attracted to our church, so we can teach them to mature as Christians. If meeting the needs of their kids (good youth ministry, having a skilled worship team (spending funds on equipment and training), having engaging worship services (computer programs, powerpoint, video clips, etc.), having clean attractive buildings, etc. puts me in the Hot-tub, at least I'll have some opportunities to witness for Christ while I'm in the tub. Who's in your hot-tub?
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This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.