Let’s talk Faith / Religion.  I’ve always been a person of faith, though over the past few years I’ve become very dis-enchanted by religion. I believe religion has also become a business in the United States. In our hometown of Fishers, Indiana, I would venture to say there are more churches in a 2-mile radius of our house than gas stations and grocery stores combined, but I did a bit of research.

• There are 20 churches within 2-mile radius of our house.
• Most of the churches are large or even what I would call a mega church. They have basketball courts, indoor play grounds, cafes, parking lots the size of Walmart.
• From what I could tell, most all of the churches are of the Christian denomination.  Methodist, Community, Christian, Baptist, Lutheran, etc.
• Church amenities & activities range from weekly services, to events like; game nights, men’s night, ladies’ nights, small groups, conferences, book clubs, financial planning classes, to WIFI (yes, that’s right, WIFI), cafes, daycares, and the list goes on. I also did note that from a weekly service offering some churches host up to 5 services on a given Sunday morning.

A few other interesting observations, I wasn’t even considering;

• Every church I researched had a website and not just a simple site with information about services times, most were professionally built websites.
• As a side note on the website, EVERY church I researched an information on how to “give,” “support,” or “e-give” as an option in the main navigation.
• Related to the website, many churches also offered an online service or even provided an inventory of previous sermons … and a few even had Apps you could download to access sermons from your mobile device.
• I also didn’t realize how many churches were part of a larger network. These mega churches in central Indiana have spread out and opened multiple “campus.” One of the websites even offered to help me “Plan my visit.”

It’s almost like churches are becoming a one-stops shop for all a family’s needs.  The concept of “community” is the church itself.  What I find interesting about that concept is that families are then only interacting with like-minded families.  There isn’t really a concept of diversifying ones believes, understanding, or views beyond those like-minded people of the church you attend.

Finally, I find that Sunday has become just another day.  Because Churches offer so many different services and activity options, families go to church on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday now, so the idea of Sunday being a day of “rest” when most families go to “church” isn’t really a thing anymore.  For our family, since we don’t go to church, I still find myself taking Sunday morning as my quiet morning, much like a morning of reflection on the week, but then the day becomes just like any other day.  Running errands, doing household chores, getting caught up from the week prior, and planning for the week ahead.

Now, let’s hit the road.