Pick Up A Stone And Make A Rock Garden

Some of you have asked for copies of my recent article in the Winchester Sun. It follows below. Use it however you would like.

Let me start with a disclaimer. The Winchester Sun has asked me not to be too "preachy" and God knows I try. You can take the pastor out of the pulpit but you cannot take the pulpit out of the pastor! It's just who I am. So, I want you to know I don't speak for The Sun. They are gracious (and brave) enough to give me a bullhorn from time to time. I also don't necessarily represent the views of my congregation in this forum. I am fortunate to have a variety of opinions among my flock. And I wouldn't have it any other way. But lately I have felt compelled to take advantage of this column and speak to the Winchester community about the state of the Church. After all, that is where I live everyday. My passion is people. Especially hurting people. I don't know why. It has just always been with me. And I believe, of course, the greatest prescription for pain in this world is the Christian faith. I do not apologize for that in any way. But we Christians really tend to mess up Christianity. Back in 2005 I read an article in Christianity Today titled, "The Church: Why Bother?" It really challenged my "If you unlock the door, they will come" mentality. I am more convinced than ever that the world, the "unchurched" feel condemned by the "people in the pew" to the point of being pushed farther away from the truth of the Gospel. And it is destroying the Church and people are continuing to hurt..more than ever I'd say. Consider the statistics from the Barna Group (The Gallup Poll of the Christian world)

There has been a 92% increase in the number of unchurched Americans in the last thirteen years.
In 1991 there were 39 million unchurched Americans compared with 75 million currently. (2008)

One out of three adults (33%) is unchurched. A proportion that represents over70 million adults in America.
10 million born again Christian adults are currently unchurched.
Men constitute 55% of the unchurched.

As you can see, something is wrong. I know that some reading this article may be thinking, "Nothing is wrong, I just don't want to go to church." Well my question is, "Why not?" What is it about The Church that is not drawing you?. I believe the world sees an institution full of people who say one thing but do another, who condemn others for certain things yet live the same way behind closed doors and who value their "church membership" in the same way they do the country or civic club. So I can understand the "Why Bother" attitude. Now I am an odd sort of preacher. I don't blame the hellacious, hell-bound world for the fact that more people are not beating down our doors. I blame "The Churched". My strong belief is that the Church has failed this world by presenting a Christianity of rules and do's and don't's that no one can live up to totally. We skim over grace and go right to the punishment and people are not attracted by negativity. Study the New Testament. Who did Jesus tongue lash? The tax collectors? The prostitutes? The doubters? The adulterers? No, he spent his time confronting the Pharisees. The Church people. The keepers of the rule book. They knew the law. They were the Deacons, The Administrative Council, The Session, The Leadership Team of that day. They were good, upstanding church goers. Every time the Temple door was open, they were there. And Jesus said, "You're liars." So we, the church, have forced people to keep their secrets, delay life changes and keep up the front. Sounds more like the mafia to me. What would happen if we really followed the message of Christ and became real with one another. What if we could share ourselves, with repentant hearts of course, admitting our faults and walk along side people instead of condemning them? I'm talking to myself. Preachers are not perfect. We are held to a higher standard by the Bible but we struggle with these same issues. I just wonder what the statistics would look like if we put aside our "assessments" of people and saw them with the eyes of Christ. What if we could love people of other beliefs (without compromising our own) and share honestly why we believe what we believe instead of joining categories and interest tanks? What if we could just admit that we can't keep all the rules. That no one can keep all the rules. But in spite of those facts we can still love and hold hands. I'm just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. If that was not just a message, a dogma, but the lifestyle the world saw in "The Church," the Fire Marshall would have to shut us down so we could build larger facilities. I know that Churches today are drawing folks and seeing changed lives but the numbers don't lie. We are behind the eight ball. We need to condemn less, tell the truth more and love in spite of anything. That's the true message of Jesus. This may be my last column...but I'm willing to risk it.