Jim and Casper Went To Church...Day 3

Same story, third entry. Scroll down for introductory notes as to what we've been up to here at The Diner the last couple of days.

Same ground rules apply. Scroll down to get 'em if you don't know 'em already.

Jim and Casper made a few observations in a couple of different areas I'd like to comment on:

First, after they entered several churches:

[after making a proposal to teach any and all church members to simply say 'hi' to folks they don't know consistently rather than rely on a team of volunteer greeters]

Jim: Here's my idea. We tell pastors to retire all of their ushers.
Casper: I bet a lot of people would be relieved to not have to be nice every Sunday, Jim, but who would take the place of all those unusually friendly people we've encountered at the front door of every church we've attended so far?

(Brent talking here) See, personally, I relate to this. When I attend another church, I want to be left alone. I want to make m own observations without a sense that I'm being given a "party line" or "trained viewpoint." I'll ask questions if I need to or want to, but I don't like the trained greeter approach. Or nametags, for that matter.

Second, another observation from Jim & Casper based on repitition from a few visits:

Casper: One thing I really liked was their use of the Bible. In many of the churches we've 'worked,' they pull one sentence or even just one clause from one verse, and we get no context. I often feel like the pastor makes up his mind on what he wants to say and then does a keyword search in the Bible to find whatever verse he can to support it. But here, we read a whole passage, and we got the whole story in context. And yeah, while there was more than a fair share of thees and thous, I really enjoyed it. The Bible is chock full of interesting stoires, and sometimes it may be more effective to just let them speak for themselves."

Have at it, folks!