I got a letter this week from my great uncle Tally Thompson. You may remember, he is a World War I veteran and my family’s revered storyteller. Now, Uncle Talley went home to be with the Lord when I was just a young man. At least I prefer to believe he’s with the Lord. But he knows I always enjoyed his stories, including some pretty tall tales, so he still writes me from time to time to tell me what’s what and what’s really going on back home in Neshoba County. He especially loves to tell stories that happened back when he was just a youngin’.
This time he told me about a fella back home that had purchased a brand-spankin- new buggy and a prize-winning pair of trotters. Ole Zeke drove out of Philadelphia down the Zepher Hill road with the wind blowing in his hair. As he went down one road and then another he became lost in the discovery of new paths, the smell of the trees, and the beauty of the wild flowers growing along side of the road.
Ole Zeke began to realize he was no longer in familiar territory. But, not to worry. He was enjoying his new rig and team so much he didn’t want to turn around. He would find his way home in time. Zeke trotted through the woods and past cotton fields and pastures. His buggy and team followed a creek for a while. Finally, he decided he had better start back toward town.
He came upon a white house with a little cotton patch out front. There was a shirtless boy wearing ragged pants chopping cotton in the field. He looked to be about fourteen or fifteen years old. Zeke pulled his tired team over by the boy and called out. “Hello, there young man.”
“Hello, yourself,” responded the boy while continuing his work
“Where does this road go to?” Ole Zeke questioned.
“Hain’t never seed it go nowhars. Hits always been right cheer.”
“How far is it back to Philadelphia?” Zeke continued.
“Don’t know,” the boy answered. “Never measured it.”
Well, by this time, my Uncle Tally wrote me, Ole Zeke was quite frustrated. “You don’t know much, do you boy?” he said. ‘You must be about the most ignorant, uninformed fool I’ve ever met.”
The boy finally stopped his labor. He turned his head and spat out a wad of chewing tobacco. He wiped perspiration from his forehead with his straw hat and propped himself against the hoe handle. He looked up and smiled at the stranger sitting in his brand-new buggy. Finally he spoke. “I knows I know might near nothing. And I knows I is a fool. But I also knows I ain’t lost.”
Uncle Tally’s story reminds me that I need to be careful not to lose my way in this chaotic world in which we live. It is very easy to get so involved in the material things around us that we lose sight of the things of God. Often times the things I get lost in are good things. There’s nothing wrong with a ride in the countryside enjoying God’s creation. But sometimes these things are just not as good as the things God has for us.
A few days ago two Northwest Airline pilots missed the Minneapolis airport because they were engrossed in their computers. They got lost somewhere over Wisconsin. This made me think about how far off I might be from the flight plan God has for me. What about you?
Friday, October 30, 2009
Friday, October 23, 2009
The Power of Invitation
Dr. Win Arn was the founder and president of the Institute for American Church Growth. He was also publisher of Church Growth: America magazine. He shared with me once about a study his organization had done with 720 people. Of this group 240 were new Christians who continued to be actively involved in their churches. Another group was made up of 240 new converts who had already “dropped out.” The third group of 240 had had the gospel presented to them but had chosen not to respond positively.
Each person was asked to classify the person who had introduced them to Jesus Christ and the church into one of these categories: TEACHER (one who had used an information transmission approach), SALESMAN (one who had used “manipulative monologue” to convince them), or FRIEND (one who had used non-manipulative dialogue).
The results of the study were very revealing. The vast majority of people who perceived the presenter of the gospel as a TEACHER did not respond positively to the invitation. Those who saw the presenter as a SALESMAN tended to respond but those most often became the “dropouts.” (only 29% had, in fact, remained active). Those who perceived the presenter of the gospel as a FRIEND had responded positively the gospel message and had remained committed to their new found faith and active in their church.
This all suggests to me that if we believe that Jesus Christ and His Church have anything to offer we should offer it to our friends! Soooooooooo. . . INVITE A FRIEND, RELATIVE, ASSOCIATE, OR NEIGHBOR TO CHURCH AND BRING THEM WITH YOU SUNDAY! Or even better. . . INVITE THEM TO JOIN YOU IN SUNDAY SCHOOL OR OTHER SMALL GROUP.
Each person was asked to classify the person who had introduced them to Jesus Christ and the church into one of these categories: TEACHER (one who had used an information transmission approach), SALESMAN (one who had used “manipulative monologue” to convince them), or FRIEND (one who had used non-manipulative dialogue).
The results of the study were very revealing. The vast majority of people who perceived the presenter of the gospel as a TEACHER did not respond positively to the invitation. Those who saw the presenter as a SALESMAN tended to respond but those most often became the “dropouts.” (only 29% had, in fact, remained active). Those who perceived the presenter of the gospel as a FRIEND had responded positively the gospel message and had remained committed to their new found faith and active in their church.
This all suggests to me that if we believe that Jesus Christ and His Church have anything to offer we should offer it to our friends! Soooooooooo. . . INVITE A FRIEND, RELATIVE, ASSOCIATE, OR NEIGHBOR TO CHURCH AND BRING THEM WITH YOU SUNDAY! Or even better. . . INVITE THEM TO JOIN YOU IN SUNDAY SCHOOL OR OTHER SMALL GROUP.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Christians Without Shoes?
Hugh Hughes used to tell a wonderful story about a man who visited a particular town for the first time. It was a windy December day when he arrived. He immediately noticed something very strange. Strange indeed. Many of the people were well-dressed as they walked along the streets wearing heavy coats. However, these obviously prosperous people wore no shoes. Absolutely no one wore shoes! Many of the locals limped along apparently suffering from frostbite, chilblains, and bruises.
After checking in he had lunch at the hotel’s restaurant. He sat with a prosperous older man who seemed very friendly. After getting acquainted the visitor asked the gentleman, “Sir, I don’t want to appear presumptuous, but I’m quite amazed that I have seen no one here wearing shoes. Could you possibly explain to me why?”
“Well,” replied the old gentleman. “It does seem that wearing shoes would be desirable. But, I confess, I can’t really tell you why no one does so.”
After lunch the shocked traveler walked around town taking in the sights. He noticed several rather large buildings that seemed not to be in current use. Seeing a custodian carrying out garbage he asked, “What is this building?”
“This is a shoe factory,” replied the custodian.
“What kind of shoes do they make here?” the visitor asked.
“Oh, they don’t make shoes here,” the custodian explained. “People gather here and talk about making shoes. They sing about making shoes. They even pray that shoes will be made. But they don’t actually make shoes here.” He went on to explain. “Once a week all the businesses in town close and people gather to hear about shoes.”
Now the visitor was even more mystified. He continued his walk around this most unusual town. On a side street he found a very old cobbler making shoes by hand. He said to the cobbler, “I’m surprised to see you making shoes. I see no one in this town wearing them.”
The cobbler smiled as he responded to the quizzical look on the traveler’s face. “I can see you don’t understand. People here do occasionally wear shoes. I sell a pair to nearly every couple getting married. I sell a pair for babies when they are christened. But the shoes are worn only for the ceremony. Parents don’t want the children’s feet to be cramped. Of course, when the child becomes an adult they can decide for themselves if they want to wear shoes. And everyone is buried with shoes, even those who never wore them before.”
The perplexed visitor bought a pair of shoes from the cobbler for the polite old gentleman with whom he had eaten lunch. However, the old man thanked him for his kindness but insisted he could not wear the shoes since it was simply not done by the “better” people. The visitor tried to explain the many benefits of putting on the shoes but the man finally walked away saying, “You don’t expect me to be a fanatic, do you?
What do you think about the town where people seldom wore shoes?
After checking in he had lunch at the hotel’s restaurant. He sat with a prosperous older man who seemed very friendly. After getting acquainted the visitor asked the gentleman, “Sir, I don’t want to appear presumptuous, but I’m quite amazed that I have seen no one here wearing shoes. Could you possibly explain to me why?”
“Well,” replied the old gentleman. “It does seem that wearing shoes would be desirable. But, I confess, I can’t really tell you why no one does so.”
After lunch the shocked traveler walked around town taking in the sights. He noticed several rather large buildings that seemed not to be in current use. Seeing a custodian carrying out garbage he asked, “What is this building?”
“This is a shoe factory,” replied the custodian.
“What kind of shoes do they make here?” the visitor asked.
“Oh, they don’t make shoes here,” the custodian explained. “People gather here and talk about making shoes. They sing about making shoes. They even pray that shoes will be made. But they don’t actually make shoes here.” He went on to explain. “Once a week all the businesses in town close and people gather to hear about shoes.”
Now the visitor was even more mystified. He continued his walk around this most unusual town. On a side street he found a very old cobbler making shoes by hand. He said to the cobbler, “I’m surprised to see you making shoes. I see no one in this town wearing them.”
The cobbler smiled as he responded to the quizzical look on the traveler’s face. “I can see you don’t understand. People here do occasionally wear shoes. I sell a pair to nearly every couple getting married. I sell a pair for babies when they are christened. But the shoes are worn only for the ceremony. Parents don’t want the children’s feet to be cramped. Of course, when the child becomes an adult they can decide for themselves if they want to wear shoes. And everyone is buried with shoes, even those who never wore them before.”
The perplexed visitor bought a pair of shoes from the cobbler for the polite old gentleman with whom he had eaten lunch. However, the old man thanked him for his kindness but insisted he could not wear the shoes since it was simply not done by the “better” people. The visitor tried to explain the many benefits of putting on the shoes but the man finally walked away saying, “You don’t expect me to be a fanatic, do you?
What do you think about the town where people seldom wore shoes?
Friday, October 2, 2009
1950's Churches vs The 21st Century
In the 1950’s there wasn’t much to do for entertainment in the Zephyr Hill community of Neshoba County where I grew up. The little country church my family attended held a couple of revivals each year. A firebrand preacher was usually invited to bring the “messages” and folks would come from all around to hear him. For that week it was the best “entertainment” in the community. Even the unchurched attended. That’s why revivals worked as an evangelistic outreach. People came to know the Lord through these revivals.
For much the same reason, through the 1950’s churches thrived by simply being there. There was not much competition on Sunday, even in our towns and cities. Cinemas, shopping, and sports events weren’t open for business on Sundays. Nothing else to do, might as well go to church! The church was the place to be.
But now it’s the 21st century. The church has plenty of competition. Cinema, shopping, television, the Internet, and a multitude of other activities are competing with the church on Sundays and every other day of the week. We can no longer just erect a building, put a sign out front that says church, and expect people to come.
But that should never have been our strategy. Jesus never called the church to be a social club where friends gather for a short while and then go home. This kind of church was described several years ago by Chad Walsh in his book Early Christianity in the 21st Century. “Millions of Christians live in a sentimental haze of vague piety, with soft organ music trembling in the lovely light from stained glass windows. Their religion is a pleasant thing of emotional quivers, divorced from the will, divorced from the intellect and demanding little except lip service to a few harmless platitudes.”
This kind of church was described even earlier by the great theologian Elton Trueblood. He suggested that many Christians have been inoculated by just enough “Christianity” to keep them from catching the real thing. My sixty years of experience in the church has convinced me that Walsh and Trueblood were right on the money. Very few people in America are atheist or even agnostic. They just believe God doesn’t have much to do with their life. Church members see themselves as “believers.” The problem is they believe in a Jesus that saves but not the one who calls those he saves to radical discipleship.
The church of the 1950’s will not survive the 21st century. But a church that takes seriously God’s call on our lives will thrive. When we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger (rich and poor), give clothes to the needy, care for the sick we will attract others who want to be a part. When we address life issues such as unemployment, divorce, addiction, and family conflicts we will attract those who are hurting. When we provide a nurturing place for children and youth and help parents with the awesome responsibility of raising kids in a hostile world, we will attract new families.
When we take seriously the gospel and serve as faithful disciples, God will bless our work of service and our fellowship will grow in quantity and quality.
For much the same reason, through the 1950’s churches thrived by simply being there. There was not much competition on Sunday, even in our towns and cities. Cinemas, shopping, and sports events weren’t open for business on Sundays. Nothing else to do, might as well go to church! The church was the place to be.
But now it’s the 21st century. The church has plenty of competition. Cinema, shopping, television, the Internet, and a multitude of other activities are competing with the church on Sundays and every other day of the week. We can no longer just erect a building, put a sign out front that says church, and expect people to come.
But that should never have been our strategy. Jesus never called the church to be a social club where friends gather for a short while and then go home. This kind of church was described several years ago by Chad Walsh in his book Early Christianity in the 21st Century. “Millions of Christians live in a sentimental haze of vague piety, with soft organ music trembling in the lovely light from stained glass windows. Their religion is a pleasant thing of emotional quivers, divorced from the will, divorced from the intellect and demanding little except lip service to a few harmless platitudes.”
This kind of church was described even earlier by the great theologian Elton Trueblood. He suggested that many Christians have been inoculated by just enough “Christianity” to keep them from catching the real thing. My sixty years of experience in the church has convinced me that Walsh and Trueblood were right on the money. Very few people in America are atheist or even agnostic. They just believe God doesn’t have much to do with their life. Church members see themselves as “believers.” The problem is they believe in a Jesus that saves but not the one who calls those he saves to radical discipleship.
The church of the 1950’s will not survive the 21st century. But a church that takes seriously God’s call on our lives will thrive. When we feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, welcome the stranger (rich and poor), give clothes to the needy, care for the sick we will attract others who want to be a part. When we address life issues such as unemployment, divorce, addiction, and family conflicts we will attract those who are hurting. When we provide a nurturing place for children and youth and help parents with the awesome responsibility of raising kids in a hostile world, we will attract new families.
When we take seriously the gospel and serve as faithful disciples, God will bless our work of service and our fellowship will grow in quantity and quality.
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