Greeetings.
It was surprising, and not surprising to read your post. I have not only had similar experiences in my life countless times, but I have known others to also have those experiences. My former church uses "one call now" to contact people through computers and computer administered mass phone calls. it works well.
My hope is that you will not give up trying, or at least not give up hope. The problem you describe reminds me of someone who reports a puff of smoke on the horizon in some forest to be told by 911 that it is fall and someone is probably burning leaves... but it is the start of a massive forest fire. Bad analogy, but I think the problem is even bigger than we think. For one, Churches have become something akin to country clubs, theaters, performance halls, businesses, and so on.... and to some degree that is unavoidable... but the Church has failed, often, to be the family of God. That said, it is by far the best thing going despite all its failures. And also it is not because anyone is particularly cold or evil or inhumane. I simply think the Church as a whole has a wrong idea of what a church should be. We watch the productions of mega churches on tv and celebrity preachers, and we think THAT is a Church! But I would ask YOU a question, or if I could, the favor of asking a question. And if you did grant permission I would ask you, "Do you think The Ihgalls Family and The Walton Family on the old shows, The Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons respectively, Do you think those two families can perhaps teach us a lot more about what a Church should be than all the preachers on TV today? Do not get me wrong. I do not believe a family without Christ, the Bible, Prayer, and even the presence of God in our hearts by surrrender to His grace makes a church. But if a group of people is already a group of Christians, already reading and studying the Bible. already living and following the Bible... maybe they need to watch those TV programs to become a real church rather than hiring an entertainment committee.
The ability to love and fellowship in a community formally and informally submitted to and committed to Jesus Christ and the Bible is no small task. So my thesis is this, or question is this: "If Church behaved more like a family and less like an institution, would your alone-ness that leads to loneliness vanish, and that of thousands and perhaps millions of other church memebers?
It was surprising, and not surprising to read your post. I have not only had similar experiences in my life countless times, but I have known others to also have those experiences. My former church uses "one call now" to contact people through computers and computer administered mass phone calls. it works well.
My hope is that you will not give up trying, or at least not give up hope. The problem you describe reminds me of someone who reports a puff of smoke on the horizon in some forest to be told by 911 that it is fall and someone is probably burning leaves... but it is the start of a massive forest fire. Bad analogy, but I think the problem is even bigger than we think. For one, Churches have become something akin to country clubs, theaters, performance halls, businesses, and so on.... and to some degree that is unavoidable... but the Church has failed, often, to be the family of God. That said, it is by far the best thing going despite all its failures. And also it is not because anyone is particularly cold or evil or inhumane. I simply think the Church as a whole has a wrong idea of what a church should be. We watch the productions of mega churches on tv and celebrity preachers, and we think THAT is a Church! But I would ask YOU a question, or if I could, the favor of asking a question. And if you did grant permission I would ask you, "Do you think The Ihgalls Family and The Walton Family on the old shows, The Little House on the Prairie and The Waltons respectively, Do you think those two families can perhaps teach us a lot more about what a Church should be than all the preachers on TV today? Do not get me wrong. I do not believe a family without Christ, the Bible, Prayer, and even the presence of God in our hearts by surrrender to His grace makes a church. But if a group of people is already a group of Christians, already reading and studying the Bible. already living and following the Bible... maybe they need to watch those TV programs to become a real church rather than hiring an entertainment committee.
The ability to love and fellowship in a community formally and informally submitted to and committed to Jesus Christ and the Bible is no small task. So my thesis is this, or question is this: "If Church behaved more like a family and less like an institution, would your alone-ness that leads to loneliness vanish, and that of thousands and perhaps millions of other church memebers?
-
1
- Show all
