Why is Church Often Boring?

Is church boring? (When I speak of church, I don't mean any particular church, but the "church" as a whole.) As America slides toward increased secularization and less church attendance, this is defintely an issue that must be addressed. Why do so many children raised in the church end up leaving the church, or attending once or twice a year, once they are adults? Has church become boring?
This week, many people will make their bi-yearly visit to church. Easter - a good occasion for one to go to church. And what do churches do? They try to figure out how to attract these people to come back the following week. Year after year churches try to offer engaging incentives for these Easter attenders to come back more often. But to what success?
Perhaps we should be doing more each and every week to attract and keep attenders coming, making each week Easter - from the time our kids are in the nursery to the time we bury our grandparents. Which gets us back to the title of this entry - why is church boring? For many, it has become too routine. We have habits in churches of keeping everyone comfortable. We don't like to rock the boat too much or too often. But perhaps we should. Maybe our young people leave the church because they haven't been challenged in their faith - they haven't been given opportunities to stretch and engage their faith with their world. Their faith has not been applied to their daily lives, but rather compartmentalized into an hour or so a week worth of "spirituality." We are often teaching our children to do the right thing, which often leads to a list of "don'ts", "be safe"s or "be good"s. Maybe our theology has been watered down, presenting a "church-lite" to people thirsty for something a little stronger. Or maybe we have allowed tradition to trump authenticity. Or maybe a combination of many factors.
I believe we can handle a God of love and wrath. We can handle a God of the Old Testament and New Testament. We can handle a God who may not be like the Civil Religion God of America - but we can only handle it if we are taught and believed in. If we aren't challenged to grow in our faith, to question what we believe, to step out in faith and take a risk, to explore the magnitude and glory of God, which includes both His love and wrath, His grace and judgment, then why keep going to church? After all, we can get the social life in other places.
Yes, church is often too boring. But God is far from boring. As Rich Mullins wrote "the reckless raging fury that they call the love of God" needs to be experienced more than the moral do good lessons(however those are important as well). Rather than telling our kids to "Be good," we need to tell them to "Be God's." (also a Mullins' quote) When we are His, wow - what a ride - far from boring. But it takes commitment, risk, encouragement, love, and accountability to make it happen. I hope to raise my children to take risks in their faith - to allow God to call them out and allow Him to work through them. And I hope to model that in my own life - listening to the movement of the Holy Spirit, delving into His Word, stripping myself of my American concept of God and clothing myself with the biblical description of Him - allowing my faith to permeate all areas and relationships in my life. Maybe this can be my goal this Holy Week, this Easter - to live with an urgency for God, a thirst for a hearty gulp of His spirit, not settling for the "church-lite" that we so often offer instead.