The blog

The blog—informal opinions and chat about the parish

Saturday, April 30, 2016

What the church should be trying to do

I get to preach this Sunday, and the main text is from Acts 16, the part where Paul gets called over to Macedonia and ends up preaching to Lydia. (Note: Isn't it interesting that the first European Christian turns out to be an incredibly capable businesswoman?)

As I sat down to do some thinking and writing, I picked up a legal pad with notes from this year's Winter Convocation. Here are some fairly undigested notes from one session:

  • Lots of our neighbors don't have God in their lives, don't know how to change that, and are full of fear that if they show up at church, good "Christian" folk will pass judgment on them and make them feel guilty.
  • God is working in the world, and we are called into the world to invite those who are being drawn by God.
  • Our purpose is not to invite people to our church, but to invite people into a relationship with God through our church.
    • It's not about the money to keep our budget going or the bodies to fill the pews; it's about a spirit of openness to people's needs.
    • We need to learn how to be comfortable speaking with our neighbors about our faith—and that doesn't require a lot of specialized knowledge, but it does require knowledge.

No comments: