Coming Soon

For the last week I've been in Virginia doing a number of things: visiting family, preaching, meeting with church planters, hanging out with my church planting team, meeting new people, etc. This has been such an encouraging time and I look forward to sharing more about what God's been doing.

Worship Services for Pets? Really?

The final project for my Church Planting and Renewal class involved doing research for a church plant proposal. My proposal focused on Newport News, VA. As part of the project, we had to learn about churches that were already present in our target area. While looking on one church website I came across something quite surprising (and sad). Under their "worship services" section of their website, I found a "Blessing of the Animals" service. This is how the website described the service:

More than 70 dogs and cats attended the service (also one turtle and one bird), accompanied by their human families. Held outside, the animals gathered together, surprisingly well-behaved, to hear guitar music in their honor, and a message by our pastors. Bill and Eleanor then blessed each animal individually.

Wow. I love animals--I have one cat and two dogs. But I do not think that this type of "worship" service has any place within a Christian ministry setting. What has happened to true, biblical, gospel-centered worship? Do animals really need to have music and messages in their honor? I think not. Let me know what you think.

The Pastor-Theologian and Ecclesial Theology

As a person who has a deep love for both the church and academic reflection, I was encouraged by this article. Here's a quote from the article:

There is a need to counter the sentiment that says, "Deep, penetrating commentaries and books on the atonement--that stuff is for the academy. Pastors should stick to writing pop theology and Christian living stuff." God forbid! Expounding God's Word and reflecting on the nature of the atonement, etc., needs to be brought back into the domain of the church. We need a return to the days when pastors wrote theology that was richly theological, deeply biblical, historically informed, culturally aware, prophetic, and intelligent--not so it would be accepted by the academy, but so it would renew the church.

Engaging Visitors

Has this ever happened to you? A number of months ago Amy and I were out of town, so we decided to visit a different church on Sunday. After the service we stayed around for coffee and cake. While I would normally take the initiative to introduce myself to others, I decided to wait and see if anyone would engage us in conversation. Sadly, it never happened.

Granted, our experience may not be same as others who have visited. Maybe they were having an "off" day. Maybe the congregation normally engages visitors with zeal. Nevertheless, on the day we visited, we stood alone.

No church is perfect, and I am sure that even churches that are excellent at engaging visitors will miss the mark from time to time. The purpose of my post is not meant to focus on what churches get wrong; rather, I hope that by pointing out this deficiency, we will be encouraged to make appropriate changes.

In light of what I've said so far, I'd like for us to ponder an important question: Who should feel responsible for the visitor who stands alone? The answer is you. When someone chooses to visit your church, God has brought that person there for a purpose. It is not by chance that the person has visited. So, you should make every opportunity to engage the person.

If you are like me, I am sure that you desire for every visitor to feel welcomed. This may be their first exposure to the gospel and the Christian community. So, here are a few thoughts to keep in mind. First, engaging with visitors doesn't have to be complicated. A smile, a handshake, and a friendly "Hello" will speak volumes. Second, do not assume that someone else has already greeted the person. This is probably the biggest mistake we can make. We must recognize that the responsibility belongs to us and not to someone else.

Hopefully, the Lord will bring new people to your church this Sunday. And when He does, be ready and willing to engage them with the love of Christ.

(The cartoon shown above has been used by permission from Dave Walker at CartoonChurch.com. This CartoonChurch.com cartoon originally appeared in the Church Times and is taken from ‘My Pew: Things I have seen from it’, published by Canterbury Press.)