Sometimes we find the new direction may lie in something old. If we do it in a new way. We first heard the phrase, "doing it old school" in music; artists chose to revive or renew some old music in new ways, thus reaching a new audience who had not yet been exposed to the old.
We have "the old, old story" that is made new every time a new believer comes to hear it and receive it, and it's of "Jesus and His love."
What are some "old school" things we've let either lie dormant or die in our churches? What can we ask God to do with those to reach new believers? I have a list and you may have a list too, if you just ask God.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Will You Visit from House to House?
That’s a historic question and one asked of all who are to be ordained and accepted into Full Connection in the United Methodist Church. All who have been asked that question have said yes. Yet?
It was just a Saturday recently, that I was awake and in my comfortable nothing-to-do today attire, shorts, t-shirt, barefoot that our doorbell rang. Nellie was sitting next to me and we had decided to catch up on TV shows recorded earlier. We rarely get guests and those we do get, call ahead and they come in through our back door. Those who ring the doorbell are usually not people we know. I immediately thought it was our weekly visit by one of those IN TOW guys who ask if they can buy one of our vehicles that sits on our street. Thankfully, I took two years high school Spanish and can tell them that no, our vehicle is not for sale and the owner is asleep. (The IN TOW guys are the ones who buy vehicles that look abandoned and hook them up and drive them south of the border, fix them up and re-sell them. Or, it could be one of those helpful guys with lawnmowers who ring our doorbell during those parts of the month where our grass is overgrown. But, it was not one of those. It was a nicely dressed man and a nicely dressed woman. I knew immediately that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. I opened the door and the man told me in Spanish, they were going from house to house to get people to read their Bibles. “We read our Bibles here; I’m a pastor.” I love saying that because it usually ends conversation. “Actually,” I said, “I’m a district superintendent.” The lady asked, “Oh, so you travel a lot?” Yes, I said, wondering what day they might return in hopes of getting someone else to answer the door. I noticed that across the street another pair was working the neighbor’s homes and there was a car with others in it, traveling slowly as support.
The largest growing groups of religious organizations are the JWs and the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), who require two year service of their young men right out of high school. That service is usually a house to house visitation where they try to get people to read their Bible and their Book of Mormon; the JWs also have their own unique Bible (always check John 1:1 if in doubt; ours says, “The Word was God.” Theirs says, “The Word was a god” Big difference!). Why don’t we visit like we should, from house to house? Fear is a good reason. Many have said that during Wesley’s day it was easier to visit house to house as people expected and welcomed company. Our day has our well insulated and protected from company. We have gone from being front porch people to backyard deck people. Notice the difference? A nice deck is usually not visible from the front street and can hide us pretty well. A visit from the pastor not so long ago was a welcomed and expected trend. Now, please call ahead or just leave us alone unless we need you, is the typical response at a PPRC meeting where this is discussed. Yet, our numbers show we are dying. The numbers of those who do visit are growing. We also can say, “I don’t know or wouldn’t know what to say or ask in such a visit.” We may be surprised to find that there are a lot of people, yes, even within our churches, that need someone to listen to them and to talk with them. And there may be more outside of our churches who would welcome a visit from someone like us, especially with the message we may bring from Jesus Christ. I just watched a recording of CBS’s Sunday Morning, where the topic was islands, and one of the “islands” was the topic of those who choose or who live alone. One man, who had broken up with his girlfriend and had no personal contact with anyone, posted a bright green flyer that said, “If anyone wants to talk about anything, call me (his cell number). Jeff, one lonely guy.” The flyer had a row of detachable slips with his phone number on it. He got a total of 70,000 calls. Does that say anything about the need in our areas and during our time?
Jesus said in the last book of the Bible, chapter 3, verse 20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…” Why can’t we? Why can’t we train everyone in our churches to do the same and show the care and compassion we’re blessed with and famous for, to a hurting world?
It was just a Saturday recently, that I was awake and in my comfortable nothing-to-do today attire, shorts, t-shirt, barefoot that our doorbell rang. Nellie was sitting next to me and we had decided to catch up on TV shows recorded earlier. We rarely get guests and those we do get, call ahead and they come in through our back door. Those who ring the doorbell are usually not people we know. I immediately thought it was our weekly visit by one of those IN TOW guys who ask if they can buy one of our vehicles that sits on our street. Thankfully, I took two years high school Spanish and can tell them that no, our vehicle is not for sale and the owner is asleep. (The IN TOW guys are the ones who buy vehicles that look abandoned and hook them up and drive them south of the border, fix them up and re-sell them. Or, it could be one of those helpful guys with lawnmowers who ring our doorbell during those parts of the month where our grass is overgrown. But, it was not one of those. It was a nicely dressed man and a nicely dressed woman. I knew immediately that they were Jehovah’s Witnesses. I opened the door and the man told me in Spanish, they were going from house to house to get people to read their Bibles. “We read our Bibles here; I’m a pastor.” I love saying that because it usually ends conversation. “Actually,” I said, “I’m a district superintendent.” The lady asked, “Oh, so you travel a lot?” Yes, I said, wondering what day they might return in hopes of getting someone else to answer the door. I noticed that across the street another pair was working the neighbor’s homes and there was a car with others in it, traveling slowly as support.
The largest growing groups of religious organizations are the JWs and the Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormons), who require two year service of their young men right out of high school. That service is usually a house to house visitation where they try to get people to read their Bible and their Book of Mormon; the JWs also have their own unique Bible (always check John 1:1 if in doubt; ours says, “The Word was God.” Theirs says, “The Word was a god” Big difference!). Why don’t we visit like we should, from house to house? Fear is a good reason. Many have said that during Wesley’s day it was easier to visit house to house as people expected and welcomed company. Our day has our well insulated and protected from company. We have gone from being front porch people to backyard deck people. Notice the difference? A nice deck is usually not visible from the front street and can hide us pretty well. A visit from the pastor not so long ago was a welcomed and expected trend. Now, please call ahead or just leave us alone unless we need you, is the typical response at a PPRC meeting where this is discussed. Yet, our numbers show we are dying. The numbers of those who do visit are growing. We also can say, “I don’t know or wouldn’t know what to say or ask in such a visit.” We may be surprised to find that there are a lot of people, yes, even within our churches, that need someone to listen to them and to talk with them. And there may be more outside of our churches who would welcome a visit from someone like us, especially with the message we may bring from Jesus Christ. I just watched a recording of CBS’s Sunday Morning, where the topic was islands, and one of the “islands” was the topic of those who choose or who live alone. One man, who had broken up with his girlfriend and had no personal contact with anyone, posted a bright green flyer that said, “If anyone wants to talk about anything, call me (his cell number). Jeff, one lonely guy.” The flyer had a row of detachable slips with his phone number on it. He got a total of 70,000 calls. Does that say anything about the need in our areas and during our time?
Jesus said in the last book of the Bible, chapter 3, verse 20: “Behold, I stand at the door and knock…” Why can’t we? Why can’t we train everyone in our churches to do the same and show the care and compassion we’re blessed with and famous for, to a hurting world?
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