Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
Weekly sermons from our Central Lutheran Church preaching team plus quick reflections from Pastor Ryan Braley.
Real talk, ancient wisdom, and honest questions — all designed to help you learn, grow, and find encouragement when you need it most.
At Central, our mission is simple: FOLLOW Jesus together, be a community where you BELONG, and LOVE our neighbors across the street and around the world.
Think deeper. Live freer. Share an episode with a friend and visit us in person anytime — you’re always welcome here in Elk River, MN.
Central Lutheran Church - Elk River
#104 - Should I Go to Church? (Part 1) {Reflections}
Ever wonder why church still matters in our digital age? This episode tackles the profound human need for meaning and belonging that church uniquely addresses. Through personal stories and thoughtful reflection, we explore how the church provides a tether to something larger than ourselves in an increasingly disconnected world.
The Latin word for religion—"religio"—literally means "to be tethered to something." What are you anchored to? We all seek something to frame our understanding of life, and church offers a deeper story that can provide direction and purpose. Beyond philosophical frameworks, church reminds us we're not alone. Despite our hyper-connected world, loneliness has reached epidemic proportions, and the weekly rhythm of gathering creates community that sociologists link to increased resilience and better mental health.
What makes church particularly valuable today is its embodied nature. While online connections serve important purposes, they cannot replicate physical presence. Standing beside someone fundamentally different from yourself—someone who might vote differently or live differently—and sharing bread creates a solidarity that transcends our divisions. These shared rituals actually synchronize our physiological responses, creating bonding at a biological level that screens simply cannot replicate. As "third spaces" beyond home and work continue disappearing, church offers a dedicated space centered around collective experience rather than individual consumption.
Ready to explore what church might offer you? Not all congregations are the same—finding a community that resonates with your values while challenging you in healthy ways might require some exploration. Join us next episode as we continue our three-part series on why church matters more than ever. And if you're in the Elk River area, we'd love to welcome you at Central—whether at our 8:30 liturgical gathering or 10:00 modern service. Share this episode with someone who might benefit from finding their own community of meaning and belonging.
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What is up everybody? Hey, ryan here and welcome to our Reflections podcast. Hey, a good friend of mine we were actually friends growing up and he lives in Texas, now I live in Minnesota. But he posted on his Facebook page not that long ago but something like hey, back in 2002, I began going to this church In 2005, I got confirmed in this church and I've been going ever since. My family has been going, my kids are going to the youth program. He goes, and in every way it's made my life a lot better. Every way it's made my life a lot better. And he said I just encourage all of you to go to church. Like that's awesome. Obviously, I work in a church. Many of you know I'm a pastor. So it sort of sounds self-serving if I were to say, hey, go to church, it's good for you, but it's cool to be my friend, to read about him, you know, to read him say on his Facebook post Like I began going and it kind of has changed my life in these incredibly helpful and beneficial ways and you all should go. So I thought why not do a podcast? And actually now it's grown into a three-part podcast.
Speaker 1:I think about why I think it's actually good to go to church. I would agree with him. I think there's many good reasons that you should go to church, and I would even maybe reframe it and say why you should be a part of a church community. Because going to church is, I mean, the church is not the building. Because going to church is, I mean, the church is not the building, the church is the people, of course, but there's also something about going to a weekly rhythm of worship and gathering and that kind of thing. So I don't get too hung up on the language, other than I really want you to know that church is like being a part of a community, a movement, a way of life. But here's why I think you should go to church. I'm going to give you three reasons, so each episode will be one reason, and here's why I think this is also important.
Speaker 1:We live in a time and a place where many people are trusting institutions less and less, church being one of them, and for good reason. I'm not going to argue against some of those really good reasons, but many people seem less and less interested in God or the ethereal, or the transcendent or ancient texts, and maybe more interested in like, doing whatever feels good, or like self-focused living, or all the isms like hedonism, humanism, epicureanism and nihilism. They're all out there and many people are just gravitating towards some of these movements or philosophies. And we've been told again and again look at God and the spirits and angels and demons and miracles. These are archaic ways of thinking and they're outdated and they're, you know, for children or for the ancient, you know, sort of people who lived a long time ago and didn't know science, and all that matters now is what we can see and touch and taste and measure and examine with a microscope and in a laboratory. And so going to church, it sort of seems outdated or ridiculous in many places and in many parts of the world. I get it, but I, I still want to make the argument. I think that being a part of a church community is good, it's good for you, it's good for me, and I have some reasons why I think you should get involved in one.
Speaker 1:Now, listen, not all churches are created equal. There are some bad churches, I get it. There are some churches doing some not great things, some that are not full of life, that don't have little kids, that are just going the wrong direction, and I get it, and so you might have to try on a few. If you take me up on this sort of challenge, try out a few and see what fits. Not as a consumer, I mean. You don't want to go in there and be like, well, this one was too big, that one was too small, the music wasn't my. Not as a consumer, but more like you're dating and like, hey, are you going the same direction I'm going? Is there resonance here? Are we living in the same kind of groove and is it challenging? And then also so I find comfort. It's like this mixed bag of, like you know, consolation and also like challenge. I love that. So you know they're not all the same and some are not good. I'm just going to tell you. But find one that brings life, I would argue. Okay. So I got to get to it.
Speaker 1:Number one the number one reason why I think and these aren't in any particular order, but the one I have marked as number one the reason you should go to church is because it sort of meets the human longing for meaning and belonging. I think deep down, all of us have this deep longing. It's a human longing for meaning, direction and also belonging. I kind of meld these two together. But the word religion, actually in the Latin the word religion is religio, which literally it could be rendered to be tethered to something. So tied to something. I think of a boat that's out in the ocean, tethered to nothing, just drifts and the waves sort of take it wherever it goes. It's not tied to anything. And so, look, make no mistake, all of us are tethered to something. I guess maybe some of us are not tethered at all, we're just sort of out there drifting, but we all tether ourselves to something. So you could ask what am I tethered to? What is my religion? I think we're all religious about some things and in fact today politics has become the new religion.
Speaker 1:But like what is it that you're tethered? You want, what are you after, what are you chasing? It's in John 1, 38, verse 38. It's this deeply existential question Like what are you seeking? What do you want, what are you after? Because we're all seeking after something. We all are tethering ourselves to something. And the cool thing in the Jewish tradition, the word seeking, in the Hebrew it's the word derash, which is the root word of the Hebrew word midrash or midrash and midrash is this method of interpretation, it's a way of interpreting the world, and so it's sort of this play on words. Like Jesus could be saying something like hey, what midrash are you pursuing, fellas? What interpretation of life are you seeking? Are you after? How are you trying, how do you want to frame your world, your life?
Speaker 1:See, church a good one can provide a deep story to which you can tether your life, or you can shape your life around. That can frame life, that can provide an interpretation of life that is life-giving and vibrant and healthy. And, more than anything, what we seek in life, the deep seeking, the deep thing we're after, it's not shallow things, because those don't always satisfy us, but something deeper. If you keep going deeper, 10, 11 layers down, what we long for is meaning and direction in life, to be a part of a story bigger than ourselves, and connection to other human beings in the same kind of boat, and church can offer a place, a people, a community, a way to explore all of this. See, church is also about remembering that, look, you and I are not alone as much as we feel alone or lonely sometimes, even in our extremely hyper-connected world.
Speaker 1:We feel alone, but church is a reminder that we are not alone and gathering weekly kind of keeps us rooted in this bigger story, bigger than our own hustle and bustle and stress and nine-to-fiveness and chaos, and it reminds us, hey, there's a bigger thing happening here. It helps us frame the world and remind us that we are not alone. So, whatever's happening in life, hey, we're in it together. And we gather once a week, we sing some songs, we pray together, we share resources together, we confess our sins together, we share a meal together, and this gathering then spills over into the rest of our life and our work and our week and our school. And the point of life, or the point rather, the point of gathering, you know, every Sunday morning or whenever you gather, is like hey, now leave this place and go out and and bless the world. You know that's the whole point of it. And so being together in some ways on a Sunday morning and gathering and doing all these things in unison together is actually quite wonderful. I mean COVID taught me this like being separated alone was extremely difficult for all the obvious reasons.
Speaker 1:And church can provide this community a gathering of people that are looking to do the same thing that you are I'll say this too like we've had this disappearance of the third space. You know, there's these two spaces that many of us live in work, home or school and home and that third space like a movie theater or coffee shop. These are disappearing and those were spaces where you can gather and commune together and be together and have conversation and and have food, food together and have fun and play games and explore ideas, and those spaces are generally right now disappearing and so the church can be a wonderful it always has been a wonderful third space and you know, sociologists show that people who gather regularly in communities like this of meaning, of deeper meaning, they have higher levels of resilience. These people lower levels of loneliness and a better mental health overall, and they can provide relationships and especially for kids and families who need support and a system like that to help them along the path. Church can provide this and I love it because it's actually an embodied presence.
Speaker 1:Like screens we all have them and I've got mine and podcasts and movies and watching church online. It's great, but you cannot digitize presence. You can't. The medium is always the message and so it doesn't provide an embodied presence. You know screens and movies and podcasts and even watching church online, but standing next to somebody flesh and bones and blood who's nothing like you, baby, who voted for a different person, and passing bread to them and sharing the wine, praying for the sick. These are physical acts that create some kind of solidarity, community, sameness.
Speaker 1:I love it, and sociologists argue that these rituals that we share which I'll get to next podcast they literally help us. They sink our brainwaves and our heart rates and there's something like this emergent phenomenon that comes out, that creates this bonding at a physiological level. It's incredible, and so that's why you should go. Number one the church provides this tether to a larger story, one of meaning and direction. It also reminds us that we are not alone, because we're an embodied gathering of people in presence, in person. Together, we're part of a collective, and that is good for our health in so many ways. Okay, stay tuned for number two Love you guys, peace. Hey, if you enjoy this show, I'd love to have you share it with some friends. And don't forget, you are always welcome to join us in person at Central in Elk River at 830, which is our liturgical gathering, or at 10 o'clock, our modern gathering, or you can check us out online at clcelkriverorg. Peace.
