Hello
Do our church services meet the needs of those who are looking for connection with our loving, heavenly Father?
Let’s face it, we Christians often see our mission to outsiders as encouraging them to attend our church services and become “like us”. A genuine seeker, someone who is looking for a right relationship with our loving Father, may assume that church services are all we have to offer. They may become discouraged.
It might be useful for us churchgoers to think about how we would feel if we joined an organization for the first time. A local community group perhaps. Obviously, we would hope to be greeted warmly. Many churches have members who are good at that. But then what? Would we like to suddenly find ourselves part of activities that we didn’t understand? Would we like to be hearing words and phrases we’d never heard before and had no idea what they meant? No. We’d want to understand what people were saying. We’d want to understand what was going on. Yet we fill our church services with activities and language that an outsider would find very strange.
I would suggest that a seeker does not need our church services. I would suggest that a seeker needs a simple environment where they can spend time in conversation with one or more Christians who really know what it means to love our loving Father. These people won’t have all the answers (none of us do) but they will provide a space where the seeker can ask questions, learn to pray, and learn to start living according to the teachings of Jesus. The Christians who are helping the seekers must have the time and commitment to meet with them, as well as the necessary spiritual maturity and experience.
If “revival” breaks out soon, we won’t be faced with large numbers of people who want to attend our church services; we will be faced with large numbers of people who want to be right with our loving Father. Are we prepared and equipped to respond to this situation? Our task will be to encourage and help these people as they develop their love for our Father. Is there a danger that we will respond only by encouraging them to join our own brand of Christian culture? If the person who is wanting to be right with our Father does not find what they are looking for, they will not stick around, and they may never make the connection they are looking for.
Suppose someone enters a church for the very first time. A church member approaches and welcomes them and, probably, asks them whether they have recently moved into the neighborhood or are just visiting. The newcomer says: “I want to be right with God, can you help me?” How does the church member respond? Do they say: “Yes. I can help you. Let’s go somewhere quiet where we can talk.”? While studying at seminary, I put this question to a group of church leaders. They all agreed that the most likely response would be “Let me introduce you to our Pastor”. This worried me.
Why aren’t people coming to us to ask about Jesus? Despite our prayers? It’s a good question.
May our loving, heavenly Father bless us as we serve him, and as we make his changes in our lives and in our churches.
Jesus is Lord.
Peter O
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Hey Peter. Just coz I know you I reckon you won’t mind me offering that “Jesus is Lord” is one example of jargon. I’m not actually sure what it means, but I’m pretty sure that Jesus never behaved as if he demanded or had the slightest need for a title of high status. ( Lord, being a culturally narrow and anachronistic term for a male landowner)
I’m pretty sure he identified with those who were outcast.
Ken. You are absolutely correct. Jesus didn’t seek worship or honorific titles. He did say that true worshipers would worship the Father, and he said that he and the Father were one but I’m not going to put those verses together to make a doctrine that neither of them supports.
As far as I am concerned, Jesus is Lord. That’s partly why I say it. Still, as you know, I cop quite a lot of flak from brothers and sisters in Christ that hold to certain doctrines about the Bible; doctrines that I question. My saying “Jesus is Lord” causes those sisters and brothers a bit of a problem when they want to dismiss what I’m saying, because our Bible includes a statement by Paul “No one can say ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Are my motives pure? Probably not. I doubt if any human person’s motives are absolutely pure.
I’ll think and pray about what you’ve said, as usual.
Thanks for commenting. Hope all is going well with you.
I married in, being around 15 years older than most members. I had to learn “Monty Python sayings” to feel included in the informal chats . So I said so and people did their best to speak more plainly, ( while I underwent an informal course in MP). Had I not been such a self confident old dude I might not have said anything, or stayed around.