Every Church Person's Worst Nightmare

Here's the scenario: Sharing your faith is not easy for you. Your Pastor has encouraged you to invite a friend to church, but that would just be awkward for you because you fear the worst. You love your church but you often wonder what an invited guest will think of you. "Will they think I am a religious nut? Will they treat me differently after? What happens if they don’t like it?"  Awkward, right?

You finally overcome your fears and muster the courage for “the big ask”. You run into a friend at the doctor’s office and you stumble through a church invite, trying to make it as informal as you can, and give them every excuse to say “no”. To your amazement, they say, “yes” with a sense of excitement. That puts a smile on your face. Your confidence instantaneously swells. As soon as they turn the corner, you do your “I’m good dance” down the hallway.

The big Sunday comes. Excitement and tension is in the air as you get ready for church. You settle your nerves and meet your friend at the entrance. You have done your best to prepare all your church friends to not “blow it” when you introduce them to your friend. You proudly walk your friend to the kid’s area to drop off the children. So far, so good. Nobody at church has said anything “stupid” and your friend seems to be positive about it all. You proudly walk them over to the worship center and sit next to them.

There is an opening song and some announcements. “Good”, you say to yourself. “No trombone solos today.” Your friend perks up when guests are acknowledged and when there seems to be something offered that would be of interest to someone searching for spiritual meaning. You’re half way there! But then your worse nightmare is realized:  The Pastor apologies for the “weird Sunday”, but feels compelled to teach on some obscure ritual found in the Book of Leviticus and brings all his historical notes from Bible School that would require a PhD to understand. You sink in your seat as your confidence begins to unravel. You whisper under your breath, “Never again."

As your Pastor, I want to build trust with you. That means I will make sure there is alignment with our “invite a friend value” and Sunday church, and how the teaching is presented. I want you to have the confidence that spiritual truth will be relevant to every day life, explained in simple ways, communicated with a tone that matches our excitement and care and, opportunities will be given for a spiritual seeker to respond to faith for the first time. Should we ever deviate from the norm on a particular Sunday, we will give you a “heads up” so you can prepare your invites accordingly.

Our current Proverbs Series, entitled Reality, may be your first opportunity to take that chance. Each Sunday promises to address the “cause and effect” realities in life that will include character, sex, finances, health, relationships, parenting, anger, and work. The series will take a break this Sunday and resume on September 2^nd. Trust me.