Joe's Blog for Week 4

We’re half way there in this study. We’ve read half the chapters, done half of the daily prayer exercises. Do we feel any different? Have we learned anything?

This chapter begins part 2 of the book and it zeroes in on our church. Ouch! Some of this is difficult to face, such as the attitude we’ve sometimes had towards new members: Yay! New members, more hands to help us, more pledges to support us! It’s easy, as Reese points out, to miss the big picture: we exist to carry the Good News forward in the world. Our focus can’t be totally on our ecclesiastical navels (my words—sorry—not hers). She cites a pastor who looks forward to leading a church, and relishes what he will do for the parishioners, but never refers to what the church will do for the wider world.

And so Martha Reese confronts us with some data from her study and her interviews with successful churches and their new members.

Why do people first visit? Answer: the biggest reason is because they were ASKED to visit or because they know someone who is a member of the church.

Why do they come back a second time? Ah! --because of the warmth and ‘realness’ of the congregation and because of the teaching and preaching skills of the pastor!

But why do they JOIN? Because something was missing in their lives and they see a chance to be filled and transformed.

When is the ripe time for people to join? When they are going through some joyful or painful passages in their lives.

What are the most significant aspects of their new faith or membership? --Meaning, purpose for living, forgiveness, relationship with God, eternal life. Now there’s a list!

What does conversion look like? --Seems like it’s more about God or Jesus than about church. We can really learn a lot from new Christians. There’s a big difference between those who have been raised in the faith and those who are coming to believe for the first time.

So there’s homework, this fourth week. Find somebody to talk to who is NOT part of this E-vent. Ask him or her some questions, very specific questions, like: “What pops into your mind when you hear the word ‘church’? Has anyone every invited you to their church? What did you think? Did you go?

And then the more scary and personal: “Have you ever had a sense of God or Jesus communicating with you? What was it like?” And my favorite, because I can’t answer it yet: “If you had one question you could ask God and knew you’d get an answer, what would it be?” Yi! Finally: “Would you like prayer for something?”

Now, who has the courage to do such an interview? If you don’t, it makes you think ‘why,’ doesn’t it? In for a dime, in for a dollar, as they say. Shall we give it a shot? Might learn something important.