I am asking this question seriously, not in a sarcastic tone:). I have never been into any church where the difference in the crowd is discernable from the crowd at a fair, etc.. MY question is, is the difference discernable among the church people at your church when they are NOT in church?
Mego church or not, my experience would lead me to answer this question NO:(, how about you?
Becky
Speaking in generalities
Yes the difference is discernable. Very much so. Do they act like church people when they are away from church? I don't know. They do when they are with a church group away from "church". Only God knows people's hearts and what they do in private.
We just wrapped up 3 weeks of the Oklahoma State Fair. To suggest that person can walk down the midway and through all the exhibits at the fair for an afternoon, and then go to an average baptist church on Sunday and not recognize a difference in the people (both in appearance and action) is in my mind sorta silly. I mean seriously.... when I go to these type of events (the fair) I find myself wondering where these people hide out during the rest of the year?
Granted I live in a suburb... I work in an office.. my wife teaches two blocks away from home at the suburb school in the suburb district. I'm a part time church staff member....and literally all of our friends are christians that I go to church with... so I'm sure I'm sheltered. But yeah... I'm shocked sometimes when I go to non church events and I'm exposed to "the other side". The things I see and hear. Not that I'm naive to it. I mean I went to college and all that. But as I spend more and more time around christians... those that aren't become increasingly shocking.
I'm also a musician. I can go hang out at Mars music or Granny's music mall for an afternoon.... and I guarantee you the crowd there is noticably different from the crowd at church, in a lot of aspects.
A group of 20 to 30 of us go out to eat together every friday night. And we get a lot of strange looks from others when we pray before the meal, or when we talk about theology, or when we just visit. Maybe we aren't different... but a lot of people seem to treat us like we are. Including those that laugh.
I'm not saying that every christian is a picture of perfection etc.... but I really believe there is a difference in most. AT least that's my experience.