No Longer Silent

Doing Pastoral Ministry with Excellence and Grace

QUOTES FROM THE CHAPTER, "LET'S BE REAL" Do we have any understanding of the un-churched culture in which we live and the way these people view the church? Do we spend intentional time cultivating relationships with non-Christian people, or is our attitude one of "they know where we are, and they'll come if they want to?" If the church is truly to experience a revival, we must seek to understand the needs and thinking of "unchurched Harry and Mary." We need to stop playing our pious, religious games and realize that the church is to be a haven for broken, hurting people who feel they don't have their lives all together. And if we look at the teachings of Jesus, He consistently taught that it was those people who felt "they had it all together" who in fact were farthest from God! In no way am I diminishing the importance of sound doctrine, but I have often laughingly said that "we will be surprised when we get to Heaven at some of the people living in our neighborhood!" We must acknowledge our own struggles with complex issues and, at times, admit that we don't have God in a neat box and therefore don't have all the answers. Although sound theology is important, my Bible says first and foremost that they will know we are Christians by our love! Christ said that He had come, not to "comfort the already comfortable", but to "preach good news to the poor...to proclaim recovery of sight to the blind...to release the oppressed...and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Is that our message as well? If not, then it's time for us to be real!