We were visiting with some good friends this past week after a
long separation. We sat up for hours catching up on every imaginable topic. Of
course we discussed our churches and some of the many happenings there.
They shared a recent incident that had happened when a non-Christian
friend visited their congregation. Later in the day he was trying to tell
someone about his "Church Experience". He described how friendly
everyone was with him and how much he loved that. Then he told them about the
preaching and how he enjoyed the message and the presentation by the preacher
who was not stuffy at all. He then tried to describe the singing, during which
the words to the songs were projected on a screen above the pulpit. In
describing this he said excitedly, "And they sing Karaoke"!
I found the description humorous to say the least, but it made me
wonder about what folks think when they visit our church. Years ago I heard a
man discuss the "secret language" used in churches. We use words
like, "deacon" and "elder" or even "minister" and
just assume folks understand what we are talking about. We write abbreviations
such as "Mt", "Mk", "Lk" and "Jn" and
assume that people will know that stands for the bible books of Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John. We may even sing acapella and assume that folks know that means
we don't use musical instruments in our worship.
So, stop and think about what you are doing in your worship
sometime. Maybe even make sure our church visitors have a little understanding
about what is happening. Not everyone was "raised going to church,"
and just don't have the same background as you might. They may be like the
little girl who innocently said of Communion, "I love going to church,
they serve juice and crackers every week, just like my preschool".
--Russ Lawson
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