I have had a thought (not really ground breaking, but....): what if the way we have structured church in North America has actually served to stunt growth rather than facilitate it? Are the expectations that we communicate in the area of personal growth and evangelism so tied to the idea of the church gathering that we have lost our personal identity and responsibility?

I believe that the church was given for primarily two things - to encourage us in our Christ walk (Heb 10) and to equip us to minister to those in body of Christ and to those outside the body of Christ (a.k.a. evangelism) (Eph. 4). When the church gathering utilizes a "do-it-for-me" format, does this send the wrong message? Does it tell people that "we will do your worship, Bible study and prayer for you; leave it to the professionals". Does this format teach us to be spiritually lazy?

Thoughts????