In his new book, Change Your Church for Good, author Brad Powell says, “Church is supposed to be a place that gives evidence to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ, where people find life and hope.”
I just returned to the office today after a few days of rest and relaxation with friends at their cottage on the Lake Michigan shoreline. As my wife and I usually do when we’re on vacation, we looked for a church where we could visit and worship on Sunday. We found one – a larger congregation with a membership of about 500…who are worshipping in a new facility. We went with a spirit of anticipation.
We came away disappointed. What we experienced was a worship service that was second-rate, substandard and shoddy. It was a traditional service - targeted to “insiders,” slow, and full of audio blunders. There was a lack of warmth and only one person made an attempt to welcome three strangers. The only bright spot, for me, was the Pastor’s message – which was soft on content but delivered well. Overall, we found the service to be dull and uninspiring.
I hesitate to be critical of folks who are sincere and love their church...but as I looked at this mostly older congregation, I couldn’t help but think that all too often the church appears to offer nothing of value to outsiders.
Churches are in possession of the most profound and life-changing truth the world has ever known…but the way that many of them present this truth is superficial and boring. And because of this, a lot of people have concluded that the church has nothing to offer them. If it isn’t going to encourage, strengthen, inspire, benefit, and fill them with hope – why would they want to attend? People have enough turmoil in their lives without adding a depressing church experience to their weekly schedule. Who can blame people for making the choice to stay away?
Any given church is simply a reflection of those who attend. Each church reflects the ideas and principles that the people who attend regularly value and love. How are we doing believing and proclaiming God’s power and promises? Is Redeemer “a place that gives evidence to the resurrection power of Jesus Christ…where people find life and hope?” Are lives being changed and is God being honored? I’d like to hear what you think…
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Thursday, June 17, 2010
A Father's Love
Once I became the father of three children, Father's Day came to mean a lot more to me than it used to. I always appreciated my dad; now I just marvel at how he and my mom raised three boys into healthy, successful adults.
Someone has said, "A father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without anesthetic." I like Paul Harvey's observation: "Fathers give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough, so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody else's."
My mother and father have been married for almost 65 years. Their marriage has had the normal ups and downs that most of us go through as we deal with all the pressures, changes and circumstances that life brings our way. Yet I am grateful that they persevered and for the lessons they taught by example.
I talk to lots of people who live with the scars of never knowing that they were loved. Not so in our household. There were times when we didn’t have a lot of this world’s goods…but we always knew that we were loved. We also were nurtured in the Christian faith – from the time we were infants - dedicated to the Lord. I believe that it was easier for me and for my brothers to appropriate God’s love in our life because we experienced it in our parents.
Psalm 103: 17 says: “The love of the Lord remains forever with those who honor him. His salvation extends to the children’s children.”
I’m grateful for parents who, by their words and deeds, loved God, who taught us the truth of God’s Word, and who showed us the love of our Heavenly Father. Jan and my prayer is that we have been able to set that same example for our children and now for our grandchildren.
Someone has said, "A father is a person who is forced to endure childbirth without anesthetic." I like Paul Harvey's observation: "Fathers give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough, so they can have grandchildren who are smarter than anybody else's."
My mother and father have been married for almost 65 years. Their marriage has had the normal ups and downs that most of us go through as we deal with all the pressures, changes and circumstances that life brings our way. Yet I am grateful that they persevered and for the lessons they taught by example.
I talk to lots of people who live with the scars of never knowing that they were loved. Not so in our household. There were times when we didn’t have a lot of this world’s goods…but we always knew that we were loved. We also were nurtured in the Christian faith – from the time we were infants - dedicated to the Lord. I believe that it was easier for me and for my brothers to appropriate God’s love in our life because we experienced it in our parents.
Psalm 103: 17 says: “The love of the Lord remains forever with those who honor him. His salvation extends to the children’s children.”
I’m grateful for parents who, by their words and deeds, loved God, who taught us the truth of God’s Word, and who showed us the love of our Heavenly Father. Jan and my prayer is that we have been able to set that same example for our children and now for our grandchildren.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
What Do People Need From the Church?
Redeemer Church has a golf league that plays on Tuesday evenings at Highland Hills Golf Course. Shortly after moving to DeWitt, Paul Blankenship asked me: “Do you golf?” I told him that I didn’t. To which he replied, “Go get yourself a set of clubs – the pastor always plays in the golf league.” So I did…and I have ever since.
I’m still an inconsistent golfer…but I enjoy the exercise. Maybe most of all, I’ve enjoyed the fellowship that this evening has afforded me, over the years, with so many people from our congregation that I wouldn’t have a chance to get to know as well if it weren’t for chasing that little white ball all over the golf course!
My vision team and I are reading a book called Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Bishop Robert Schnase of the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
In his first chapter on “The Practice of Radical Hospitality,” he says: “People getting mad and leaving (the church) is not the cause of our decline (in United Methodist Churches). Members simply grow old and die, and no one takes their place. The church has a ‘front door’ problem rather than a ‘back door’ problem. People are not entering the life of the church at a rate that matches or exceeds the number maturing and dying. In many cases, we have not passed along the faith to our own children and grandchildren.”
There are many points of entry into a local church – and recreational ministries, like a golf league, is one of them. Inviting people into a life of faith does not involve pounding people with “oughts” and “shoulds.” Some people recognize their needs, and they search for something that gives their life hope, meaning and community – something spiritual. Their not looking for religious knowledge as much as simply wanting to know that God loves them, that they are of supreme value, and that their life has significance.
The church should be a school for love – a place where people learn to love each other, learn how to offer and accept forgiveness, and learn how to serve and be served. It’s a place where the Spirit of God can shape the human soul.
Who’s the last person you invited into the fellowship of Redeemer Church?
I’m still an inconsistent golfer…but I enjoy the exercise. Maybe most of all, I’ve enjoyed the fellowship that this evening has afforded me, over the years, with so many people from our congregation that I wouldn’t have a chance to get to know as well if it weren’t for chasing that little white ball all over the golf course!
My vision team and I are reading a book called Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Bishop Robert Schnase of the Missouri Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.
In his first chapter on “The Practice of Radical Hospitality,” he says: “People getting mad and leaving (the church) is not the cause of our decline (in United Methodist Churches). Members simply grow old and die, and no one takes their place. The church has a ‘front door’ problem rather than a ‘back door’ problem. People are not entering the life of the church at a rate that matches or exceeds the number maturing and dying. In many cases, we have not passed along the faith to our own children and grandchildren.”
There are many points of entry into a local church – and recreational ministries, like a golf league, is one of them. Inviting people into a life of faith does not involve pounding people with “oughts” and “shoulds.” Some people recognize their needs, and they search for something that gives their life hope, meaning and community – something spiritual. Their not looking for religious knowledge as much as simply wanting to know that God loves them, that they are of supreme value, and that their life has significance.
The church should be a school for love – a place where people learn to love each other, learn how to offer and accept forgiveness, and learn how to serve and be served. It’s a place where the Spirit of God can shape the human soul.
Who’s the last person you invited into the fellowship of Redeemer Church?
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