Gone are the days when simply “inviting people to church” was enough to get the salvation ball rolling, so to speak. Today's average Joe (or Jane) doesn't care much for getting up early on a day off work, dressing up (to some measure), and taking his/her family to a church service. And with the bad rap that health/wealth preacher-thieves, priestly pedophiles, and the terminally unfaithful have given the church…most viewers of the nightly news think that houses of worship are disdainful. Heck - due to technological advances, even many so-called Christians prefer "streaming" services online to an in-the-flesh gathering of believers these days. So, how can we expect to non-believers to get all hopped-up about attending church?
Remember the theme song from Cheers? Well many of you don't, because you are what I like to call...wait for it...young. But I am not so young, and so I think of this tune almost every time I enter our local Starbucks.
From what I gather, this is not common at many of the 'Bucks stores; however, it's more the case here because our SB is small town. Almost every barista knows my name, and a large chunk of them know my drink...that is, if I haven't changed it up too much recently!
From what I gather, this is not common at many of the 'Bucks stores; however, it's more the case here because our SB is small town. Almost every barista knows my name, and a large chunk of them know my drink...that is, if I haven't changed it up too much recently!
Have you ever been hungry? I mean with pit-of-your-stomach growling somewhat akin to that of a rabies-ridden mongrel hungry?
A few weeks ago, my husband and I spoke about hunger in our small group at church. Only it wasn't about food hunger but a hunger for community - the kind of authentic, biblical community you can only get from the closest of believing friends.
In the past, I enjoyed this type of community time and time again. But those times have begun to feel "not so recent." The Lord blessed me with two very intense settings that greatly fostered biblical community: North Greenville University and Snowbird Wilderness Outfitters. The former being a college - a Christian campus that built community by having a network of hall chaplains, numerous dorm Bible studies, and close-knit professor/student relationships. The latter being a Christian youth camp and retreat center that fostered community through the staff's living together, experiencing small group Bible and prayer time together, and entertaining open and honest feedback in highly accountable relationships with one another. And though I have experienced seasons of true community within local church bodies, the college and camp settings exceeded by far.


