What does intrinsic motivation have to do with church? It has been linked with more frequent attendance, higher levels of donations, time, and money, and as we have already noted, a better internalization of Christian values. Don’t misunder-stand. Extrinsic motivation - the striving, often compulsive kind - does get people to attend, give, and volunteer. But it has been found to lead to burnout and dropout, which psy-chologists call "amotivation."

In his book Soul Survivor (Doubleday, 2001), Philip Yancey writes about growing up in a very conservative church where "right doctrine" was emphasized, but there was little joy. The book’s subtitle is appropriately "How My Faith Survived the Church." The members attended church because they were supposed to and others in the church would disapprove if they didn’t. They did not really attend to worship God and spend time with Him. They shared their faith, but they did so because they wanted others in the church to approve of them and they felt bad about themselves if they didn’t. They prayed, but they did so because they were afraid of God’s disapproval if they didn’t pray. They never prayed because they found it deeply satisfying. See the difference?

Is there a downside to those who seem legally drawn to church, who are engaged in compulsive rituals? How is it that other people utterly delight in being in church? What accounts for the profound differences between these two groups of people? Is it the presence of a charismatic pastor? The research of Deci and others indicates that when three innate psychological human needs are met, needs often more powerful than physiological needs, that wonderful state of intrinsic motivation takes place. On the other hand, when those three needs are frustrated, people eventually become amotivated.

What are these three needs? The first is the need for competence. This involves experiencing an optimal challenge to our current knowledge or abilities. It is learning and putting our skills to work - stretching beyond our comfort level. We like to play someone slightly better than ourselves in our favorite sport. A feeling of growth is the result of satisfying the need for competence. To see if this need is being met in your church ask church members this question: "Do you know God better than you did a year ago?" Engaging sermons, insightful teaching, and small group discussions all permit this need for competence to be satisfied. The church leaders must be focused on their responsibilities. Mediocrity - church as usual - is not acceptable.

The second need is relatedness. It’s about feeling loved and accepted for who one truly is. It includes caring for others and being cared for by others. This is the innate need that explains altruistic behavior. It is behind our natural inclination to be in supportive relationships with neighbors and friends, extending, of course, to the most intimate human relationship - marriage.

This need can be well satisfied in a family of believers, yet at church this need for connecting is often frustrated (see Larry Crabb’s Connecting, Word, 1997). The church that is characterized by cliques, regardless of whether or not they are inter-generational, perhaps without intentionally doing so, excludes newcomers and makes inclusion difficult. Church members must be friends-beyond-church, genuinely caring for and concerned about each other.

The third need is autonomy. There is something distinctly enjoyable about being in a situation because we honestly and genuinely choose to be there, to give of ourselves and our money because we truly believe in a cause. This contrasts vividly with those times when we feel caught up in something we were talked into. The former is exciting, the latter is stressful, often leaving us resentful of church leaders - and even ourselves - for having agreed to do whatever we were asked. The variable is the level of self-determination or autonomy we sense. Don’t misunderstand. "Autonomy" here is not about self-centeredness, rather it has to do with self-choice.