86,000

For Obama's nomination acceptance speech the Democratic National Convention moved to Invesco Field (Mile High Stadium) in Denver, Colorado. For me, it was facinating to watch, but not because of the history, or the candidate. In fact, all politics aside I was looking at the venue, the people, the images, the sounds, and the 'experience.'
Did you see how people were reacting emotionally? The tears, the smiles, the reactions? Did you see how people found themselves connected to one another through the shared 'experience' that was created for them in that stadium? Did you hear any of the commentators talk about how 'intimate' it felt to be in that stadium? Did you see how the technology, music, visuals, were all layered and used to appeal to all the senses? Did you see the yearning and the hunger in people? Did it evoke a response in you?
My overwhelming thought while watching the coverage was, "We have 86,000 people cheering, crying, and willing to do just about anything to support this person, yet we have fewer people in our churches and 3,000 souls a day leaving the Christian faith." Where is that kind of following for Christ? If the church booked a venue like Invesco field, would there be lines of people waiting to fill it to hear about Christ? Are we so much more enamored with a human political candidate than we are with Christ?
There's no question that in (and out) of our churches we have a lot of work to do to re-establish credibility, trust, transparency and authenticity. There's no question that a majority of churches have 'missed the mark' in drawing younger generations, and have a lot to learn about how to reach young or disenfranchised people.
Yet...to see this event I also have to ask, what kind of reflection is this of our society? Have we become so secularized that we reserve more emotion, more energy, more attention, more worship for political leaders, sports events, or celebrities than we do for Christ? When was the last time we witnessed someone in church make their acceptance speech of Christ and we cried and cheered? When was the last time we showed any kind of emotion in church? When was the last time we felt an intimate connection with strangers in a worship experience? When was the last time Christ's message so moved us that we cried, cheered, clapped, stood up, hugged someone near us, smiled, or felt moved to act? When was the last time we picked up and read Scripture for ourselves? When was that last time we took responsibility for our spiritual life by practicing the spiritual disciplines daily, weekly, monthly?
I get the historic nature of the event. But I'm afraid that many of those 86,000 who think they have found hope and a leader and vision, will be sorely disappointed when they find it isn't enough and does not really satisfy them either.