Even though I am where I am supposed to be, it is hard. I left the love of my life back in California, we are still trying to figure out how to make all that work... I had never been to Missouri or even the Mid-West before I showed up to work, I had never met my boss or any of my coworkers, I didn't know a single person in the entire state. I have felt very lonely at times.
My initial thought to cure the loneliness was to get plugged in at a church... Easier said than done.
Church may be the most intimidating place for the lonely. I have never felt more out of place than sitting alone in the uncomfortable chair in the sanctuary of a church. I do not feel comfortable walking into the church building by myself.
It is more important to make connections with people outside of the church building than it is inside.
The thirsty are the ones that need a drink.
Springfield has no shortage of great, amazing, stunning, beautiful, excellent, and inspiring churches, and I have enjoyed visiting each. But I have been forcing myself to go sit in service every week.
How can we expect the broken, the lost, the lonely to visit our churches if we are not making meaningful connections outside of church.
One of the greatest things about church plants is that it usually means there is no building for the pastors to hide away in. It forces them to rub shoulders with the outside world.
There is a Pastor in Renton, Washington named Stephen Collins who has picked a Starbucks and claimed it as his office. Over the year I worked with Stephen we had many, many staff meatings, and drank many cups of coffee in that Starbucks. We started to see the people that worked at the Starbucks come to church, they started bringing friends, they started to interrupt our staff meetings to ask questions, and on occasion give us free food! The relationships built in that Starbucks allowed for them to feel comfortable coming to church.
Church is not a cure for loneliness.
True, authentic relationships are.
Relationships are built out of a caring, God centered, community. Unfortunately church does not always equal community.
The lost and lonely won't just magically show up inside of the church. A flyier or mailer won't be the connection needed to make them feel comfortable. A scripted phone call or email wont make them feel cared for.
"Faith is custom fit, not mass produced"
-Kyle Reynolds
I challenge you to put people ahead of church. To show people you truley care about them and not about filling seats.
"My initial thought to cure the loneliness was to get plugged in at a church... Easier said than done." Would love to hear more about what it was like trying to find and connect a new church. I'm a co-founder of a website called FaithStreet, and we're trying to make the experience of finding and connecting to a church better. DM me on Twitter (@glennericksen) if you'd like to chat a bit more.
ReplyDeleteI am still in the process of finding a church, its been about a month and a half, and I don't really feel like I am any closer to making a decision.
ReplyDeleteGreat insight. I wonder if the trying out a new church every week is preventative to letting relationships build? Is church shopping another instance of consumerism invading our Christianity? Perhaps, but I'm sure I would do the same if I were to move a new area. =). Regardless, you are right on, we need to build relationships to reach people. A church by itself is not welcoming or friendly, but rather the people that make it so.
ReplyDelete