Here\u2019s a reason that we don\u2019t bring friends to church, one that we don\u2019t talk about and will never admit to our pastors: our church is weird. It\u2019s okay, I can say that. I\u2019m a church person. I\u2019ve grown up in church. I\u2019ve been a part of some weird churches. They\u2019re fine for you because you\u2019re used to it, but you love your friends too much to expose them to it.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s like taking your friends to a family reunion. You\u2019ll never do it. Why? Because you have friends that you genuinely like. And you have a family that you don\u2019t like all the time but you\u2019re stuck with. And you\u2019ll never bring your friends to a family reunion because you love your friends too much to expose them to that level of crazy.<\/p>\n
Sometimes church can feel like a crazy family reunion. It\u2019s a little weird, it\u2019s not super fun, and it smells. But it\u2019s family and you\u2019re stuck with them.<\/p>\n
When church feels like a crazy family reunion, newcomers won\u2019t stick around. They\u2019re not family. Here\u2019s what I know: people today are genuinely searching for hope. They\u2019re searching for Christ. They need a church to go to that will welcome them and not freak them out.<\/p>\n
Want to get people to bring their friends to your church? Make sure it\u2019s welcoming, from the second they step out of their car in the parking lot. Make sure it\u2019s fun. Church doesn\u2019t have to be as somber as a funeral service. It\u2019s very possible to have fun without compromising the sanctity of the gospel. Make sure church is helpful. When the preacher talks about something that doesn\u2019t apply, people check out. Save the sermons on the tabernacle for Sunday nights or Wednesday nights. On Sunday mornings, make sure that church is helpful.<\/p>\n
Want new folks to come to your church and stick around? Make sure your church doesn\u2019t feel like a crazy family reunion.<\/p>\n
QUESTION: What do you think? Am I off base here?<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here\u2019s a reason that we don\u2019t bring friends to church, one that we don\u2019t talk about and will never admit to our pastors: our church is weird. It\u2019s okay, I can say that. I\u2019m a church person. I\u2019ve grown up in church. I\u2019ve been a part of some weird churches. They\u2019re fine for you because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2490,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[262,489,492,529,544,1546,1557],"class_list":["post-1454","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-church","tag-family","tag-family-reunion","tag-food-for-thought","tag-friends","tag-weird","tag-what-im-teaching"],"yoast_head":"\n