December 19, 2013
By Phil Maynard
Consider the following. …It’s a familiar story lived out in many congregations across the United States.
Someone is in crisis, a couple has their first child, or a family moves to the area. They decide to attend the church down the street. They don’t know anyone, so they arrive late and slip into the back row of seats. Because the bulletin is geared to the congregation, they struggle to keep up with what is going on. During “moments of friendliness,” a few people nod at them but most of the congregation visits with each other. After the service, someone points them in the direction of the Fellowship Hall where there is coffee, but then leaves them. When they go, they end up standing there on their own. It would be no different if they attended a small group or Sunday school class. The people in the church have known each other so long that it would be difficult to break in. They don’t know the stories, the history, the people.
How do you react to this story? How does it make you feel? No wonder so few are coming to know the love of Jesus! People are not seeing it lived out,