i read this morning about a pastor that took a sunday off. yeah, just took a sunday off. he swallowed his guilt, took off his preacher facade, and just went out in the community on a sunday morning. he wrote about some things he learned. these are some of the same observations i've had for years, but it was kind of cool to hear it from his perspective...
the first thing he noticed was that a large majority of people DO NOT do not go to church. pollsters may still call us a christian nation, but the fact of the matter is the majority...the overwhelming majority of people in our country and in our community to not go to church. is that good news or bad news to you?
his second observation is one that i have been aware of my whole life, but just recently have been really bothered by...men are not going to church. most research says that our churches are made up of 60-70% women. i'm not sure i would dispute that research. i'm reading a book right now that talks about why men hate going to church. i'm agreeing with almost everything the author has to say. you ought to check the book out.
another observation the pastor makes is that people are craving community and they are going to find it somewhere! on most any sunday, you'll find huge groups of people at restaurants, at the mall, on the lake, hitting the golf course, at the gym, out by the pool having a barbeque, and all kinds of other places. the common denominator? they're looking to have a good time with friends. mmm....
his last observation was that a lot of people are working on sundays. the day is certainly no longer sacred...even among the faithful. sunday is a work day...a play day...a family day...a sports day...pretty much anything but a sacred day.
does this information concern you? does it confirm your belief that the world is going to hell in a hand basket? does it excite you to the possibilities of new and creative ways to "do church", in order to reach a culture that no longer sees sundays the way we do? are you ready to get out of your comfort zone?
i'll leave you with this question. is church for us...or them? think about it...
About Me
- The Padre
- I am a husband, a dad, a pastor, a teacher, a fellow-wanderer, a baseball junkie, a lover of 24, waffles, the first day of fall , loud music, kids, play, the grace of God, and St. Augustine grass!
3 comments:
I think we should fire up that big Bar-B-Cue every Sunday at around 11am. After Church is out everyone can eat and let the kids play. The Adults can get to know each other better and no waiting in long lines at the restaurants. Lets Have Church Outside in nice days!!! How about..Well I will stop there for now!
No matter what it takes - BBQ's, Fun, Something totally against every church model we have ever known or experienced - Involving people in church is more important than just inviting them to church. Connections never happen unless there is a value in what is being offered. In order to "give up" Sundays at the mall, the lake, etc. - a person has to feel that what they in turn "get in" their life is worth it.
I like how our church is working to actively engage each of us in something other than sitting there and consuming all the church we can get to tide us over till the next week. As we keep trusting God to pour out our lives in unique ways - we all become those vessels with what we think is "just enough oil" for what we need for our family, but turns out to be every bit of oil that our family, our friends and our community needs to get us all through this hard time we call LIFE, LOVE and the Pursuit of LIVING for God.
Keep up the good work, Padre...you mean a lot to all of us at North Point!
hello there padre,
great insight!!! i totally agree!!! btw.... what is the name of the book you are reading?
vince
vedelorme@yahoo.com
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