This is a continuation of my first post on Church here.
It seems to me that our local churches are largely devoid of local community involvement. I'm not even talking about social justice here and looking after the poor and the needy, just being involved in the community. I know that there are exceptions, but there don't seem to be too many.
It seems to me that our time, money and resources mostly get put into the Sunday service. The Sunday service should be a great time of strengthening and encouraging the body. But it means that what we're really doing is putting our time, money and effort into the body and, then, what are we putting into the community that we say we're trying to reach?
My perception is that we are hesitant to get involved in community events and initiatives that are not run by us for the sole purpose of proclaiming the gospel. This seems silly. I know people who recently wanted to get their church involved in Clean Up Australia Day. The pastor said no to organising it through church because it was on a Sunday and it might discourage people from coming to church that day. There are so many implications that come from this attitude that it's hard to pick just one. Is his hold on his parishioners so tenuous? Is church numero uno when it comes to weekly priorities? If so, why?
I live in Culburra Beach. It's sunny here all the time and it's what God used to model Eden. A couple of weeks ago we had a 'Love Culburra Beach Festival' because, well, who doesn't love Culburra Beach. Our church didn't have a stall, although I know our pastor would've loved for us to. I think that one of the main problems was that those of us who would have been willing to run one are already too busy. This in itself isn't terrible. Christians should be busy, I think, because proclaiming Jesus and loving others takes time and effort. But is that what we're really busy at?
I wish we'd had a strategic presence at the fair so that people who live in Culburra could put a face to Christians in Culburra. I wish that we'd been there with people wiling to approach people there to ask them about Jesus. Cold evangelism is tough and not the most effective, but it's not without its merits, particularly when you're trying it on people you're very likely to see around.
I think that churches should run community activities and they should attend pagan run (like 'Clean Up Australia Day' or the 'Love Culburra Beach Festival') community activities so that we can have as many opportunities as possible to tell men, women and kids about the saving grace of God poured out through His son, Jesus Christ.
I even think we should have geeky shirts that are easily identifiable. People expect us to look lame. Let's give them what they want. We may just find some people willing to talk to us about Jesus who we might not have otherwise met.
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I'm all for the T-shirts!!! I wear my 'controversial' food related T-shirts out in public and people talk to me about it!
ReplyDeleteGraham,
ReplyDeleteTwo things. First, Eden was modeled on Eden, that's why god called it that.
Second. For the past few years our church has had a stall at the local markets which are held three or four times a year. We sell a few things and sometimes almost cover the cost of having the stall. We have an ongoing puppet show which draws the kids and so their parents. Evangelism would be nice but it is totally impractical in that setting.
Our primary aim is to show that we are part of the community. It is a lot of work for the few of us involved. I still don't know if it is worthwhile or not. But I am convinced that it is very important to let the community know that the church is part of the local community.
And we have had people come to church on Sunday whom we have met on the Saturday markets. It doesn't happen often, but it is great when it does.
That is disappointing about the clean up Australia day. At least, it would be good to be given a sensible reason why, if there is one.
ReplyDeleteGetting into the few community things that go on is a good idea, I agree. Just having a presence, so that people are aware of your existence and demographic can have positive effects. Richard's stall comment is interesting, because it shows that we don't see the follow-through so well.
I think people seeing real life Christians is a big deal. We're not all 80 years old, we don't all look a particular way, things like this. It's good for people to see that Christians can hold a sensible conversation, have a laugh, raise kids... Some of the things I hear people say about Christians shows that they have no idea of the sorts of people who actually are Christian.
So when they're exposed to us in the community, not only do they then see us around and put a 'label' to the face, but their perceptions will change to whatever degree, and who knows how this will impact their future. If we see them at church, then great. But in the majority of cases we won't, but this doesn't really mean anything does it?
Thanks for the post Graham.
Hi Graham, I just wanted to add my Amen to the others'. Things like the stall are especially important if we're to educate our children in Christian schools and choose not to get involved in the community at a public school level. I've been getting involved with a local city farm since moving to Brisbane, and it's striking how out of place I look and feel as a Christian. I'm hoping that being there and showing that (some) Christians do share their interests (most of which fit perfectly into a Christian framework) will break down some barriers. I think Clean Up Australia Day would have been brilliant.
ReplyDelete