Jim and Casper Went To Church...

Okay.

I'd heard about a book called Jim & Casper Go To Church and ordered it direct from the publisher. See, Jim is in ministry full-time and Matt (Casper) is his friend, who happens to be an atheist. Much like a "secret shopper," Jim paid Matt to go with him to several churches, ranging from Joel Osteen's church in Houston (which meets in a former NBA arena) to a little house church in their hometown. They did their best to cover as many types of churches as they could and varying denominations, too. Tough task.

They also focused only on the main worship services, too. So much of a church can be found in other areas...like Sunday School or small groups, nursery, student ministries, children's programs, missions, etc., and they purposely stayed in the main services to get the general "feel" of things.

So, what I thought I'd do for the next few days is pull out various comments from their findings (I'll do my best to avoid mentioning the specific churches) and let us discuss those ideas from our perspective.

See, I'll recommend the book. It's an enjoyable read as far as that goes, and certainly provocative. And to rattle off their findings in this forum might stop you from purchasing it...

...which as a supporter of the arts, I'm hoping you'll do so and these guys might can do another one.

And, one other thing, there'll be a temptation to "bash" our own church, too. I'd really like to stay above the fray because most of your church experiences are going to be along the lines of the specific church I love and happen to work for. I also work with a lot of people who try very hard to serve and I don't see how a critique of any particular church worker in a public (and possibly anonymous) forum is helpful.

So, a ground rule is that your opinions should begin with "It's my opinion..." and try to avoid anonymity if you can this time around. As always, you're welcome to remain in cognitio but if you're going to be critical, it means a little more if you'll be so kind as to sign your name or some other identifying marker. Oh, yeah, and let's try to keep the comments generic to the church at-large (such as, "Churches seem to do...") rather than specific local bodies (such as, "Crossroads never does...").

Deal?

Okay, then we're off!

We'll start today with the forward and introduction...

George Barna, noted researcher (think Gallup but for Christians) and pollster, said that the reason people tend to avoid going to church--according to most research done by others--is "busyness." However, his findings led him to believe that was simply a smokescreen and came up with 4 reasons most people don't attend church:

1) They see church as irrelevant.
2) They have vivid memories of bad personal experiences with churches.
3) They feel unwelcome at church.
4) They lack a sense of urgency or importance regarding church.

A few questions that came to my mind: Is church indeed irrelevant? I mean, a lot of high-minded platitudes or nice ideals with a lot of difficulty translating them into day-to-day life? Do bad experiences keep people away and why? What would constitute feeling "welcome?" Most of the time I'm trying to go to a visiting church undetected (more on that later in the week). Why would someone who follows Christ feel that church is "unimportant?"

In the introduction, Jim says that "the teaching profession has risen to a place of primacy" in the evangelical church today, so the focus is on principles as that's how teachers think. But then he says we're almost over-informed and this stings us with this quote: "It has become painfully obvious that what we need is not more information, but more formation. We need to learn once again to minor in principles and major in practices."

A few questions: Is it painfully obvious? And, as someone who is now responsible for discipleship at my own church, how can I help take principles and make practices part of the curriculum (I have ideas, believe me. What I'd like to know is how you see that happening).

And, one last quote, regarding how we deal with unbelievers...trying to win arguments, primarily. The quote reads, "Too often, conversations about our beliefs are too much like debates, and we spend time looking for chinks in our conversational armor, spaces where we can insert an argument or launch a rejoinder."

Question: Does that mean we don't listen well? And, have you found that to be true personally or by observation?

How's that for Day 1?

Invite your friends and family to The Diner this week, kids.

I think we're in for quite a provocative week.

*extra coffee made, extra tables set out, extra chairs in place*
*flips lights on, turns sign over on the door that says, "Yes, We're Open!"--"open" underlined twice--and waits for customers*