My mailbox is full, and my phone won’t stop buzzing. And I bet you know the feeling. Every commercial break is a chance to learn that "the other guy" is personally responsible for everything wrong with civilization.
I wonder how many people actually change their minds because of the seventeenth political postcard. The thing is, we all feel like none of it "works" on us because it’s comical how absurd it all is. But you know what? Somebody gets to say, “We sent 50,000 mailers!”
And sometimes churches do their own version of that.
We see something another church is doing. It's a program or a catchy slogan. Maybe it's a sermon series with graphics so good you almost don’t need the sermon. So, we order the banners, print the shirts, and launch the initiative. Then we announce that something exciting is happening. Then say, "You're not going to want to miss this!"
The thing is, people do want to miss it.
Months later, we’ve got leftover shirts and another planning meeting on the calendar. But...we did something.
Now, did we get to know our neighbors? Did anyone find a place to belong? Are we learning to love difficult people, forgive old wounds, or follow Jesus more?
Those questions are harder to answer than “How many flyers did we hand out?”
Of course, there’s nothing wrong with borrowing a good idea. But we can borrow another church’s program without ever asking whether it helps us love the people God has placed around us.
Sometimes, I think we’d rather launch something impressive than practice something faithful.
A lonely neighbor probably doesn’t need our church to come up with a fresh slogan. They might actually appreciate somebody remembering their name.
Stay blessed...john
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