Sundays

i read this morning about a pastor that took a sunday off. yeah, just took a sunday off. he swallowed his guilt, took off his preacher facade, and just went out in the community on a sunday morning. he wrote about some things he learned. these are some of the same observations i’ve had for years, but it was kind of cool to hear it from his perspective…

the first thing he noticed was that a large majority of people DO NOT do not go to church. pollsters may still call us a christian nation, but the fact of the matter is the majority…the overwhelming majority of people in our country and in our community to not go to church. is that good news or bad news to you? his second observation is one that i have been aware of my whole life, but just recently have been really bothered by…men are not going to church. most research says that our churches are made up of 60-70% women. i’m not sure i would dispute that research. i’m reading a book right now that talks about why men hate going to church. i’m agreeing with almost everything the author has to say. you ought to check the book out.

another observation the pastor makes is that people are craving community and they are going to find it somewhere! on most any sunday, you’ll find huge groups of people at restaurants, at the mall, on the lake, hitting the golf course, at the gym, out by the pool having a barbeque, and all kinds of other places. the common denominator? they’re looking to have a good time with friends. mmm….

his last observation was that a lot of people are working on sundays. the day is certainly no longer sacred…even among the faithful. sunday is a work day…a play day…a family day…a sports day…pretty much anything but a sacred day.

does this information concern you? does it confirm your belief that the world is going to hell in a hand basket? does it excite you to the possibilities of new and creative ways to “do church”, in order to reach a culture that no longer sees sundays the way we do? are you ready to get out of your comfort zone?

i’ll leave you with this question. is church for us…or them? think about it…

#pastor