One thing we found is that many people are cool with God and Jesus, but they just don't like church people. Church people are seen by much of the non-church going populace as the "church lady" Dana Carvey made famous on Saturday Night Live. Because of church people they have met, they are convinced that to follow Jesus they will have to become angry, judgmental and narrow. They think that going to church will steal all the fun from their lives. The hypocrites in the church drive people away.
Un-churched people perceive church as boring, irrelevant and a pain-in-the-butt that could not be worth being part of. They think they don't have the right clothes or talk the lingo. If they ever worked up enough courage to attend a church they would be looking for a place to love, understand and to accept them. They definitely do not want to be judged by people. I saw a tattoo on a young man which actually read, "No man can judge me!"
Simply put, if the church is going to reach the un-churched we will have to change our attitude towards them. We need to act more like Jesus. We need to be less about rules and more about love, forgiveness, tolerance and serving. We need to explain better why we do what we are doing in a church service. We need to teach on subjects that will mean something to them.
At the end of the day, people need Jesus. Whatever we need to do to help the world perceive Jesus in truth is our duty. Our mission is to introduce Jesus to people. Let's break down the barriers. Let's take a look at ourselves often through the eyes of an outsider. Let's become better fishers of men.
Peace,
Stan
No comments:
Post a Comment