An Imaginary Conversation in a Cynical Society
Another seismic change has occurred in the way we experience the church. At one time we debated whether the church’s claim that there is no salvation outside the church was true. Now the debate has shifted to whether there is any salvation inside the church. Listen to a conversation that might take place in our society.
Eric: Heh, Bryan, have I got some good news for you.
Bryan: What’s that Eric?
Eric: Well, I’ve been watching you over the past couple of months and frankly I’ve been concerned. I mean, you just have not been yourself lately.
Bryan: I’m sorry. I guess I have just been working too hard.
Eric: Don’t I know it. I bet you have been putting in between sixty and seventy hours a week for the past several months. You have already told me the stress that has put on Patty and you don’t look like you have been sleeping well either.
Bryan: Yeah, I know. Its just that there is so much pressure at work. Maybe I’m getting my priorities confused.
Eric: Well, I’ve got some good news for you. Next Sunday I’m going to take you to a place where your every need is met, people will love you, you will experience a sense of peace and become renewed and refreshed. You can get your priorities straight and besides all of that, it will be fun.
Bryan: I don’t know, Eric.
Eric: Don’t worry, Bryan, I’ve already made all the arrangements. Your wife, Patty, is in full agreement. We’ll go next Sunday.
Bryan: Do you mind telling me where we are going?
Eric: Not at all. Next Sunday morning Sally and I will pick you and Patty up at 9 a.m. and we will catch a plane to the Club Med in the Cancun. You will just love it.
Bryan: That sounds great. Funny, for a moment there, I thought you were going to take me to church.
Eric: Church? I never thought of that. Do you suppose you could get help there?
WHAT DO PEOPLE EXPERIENCE
That is the question, isn’t it? Is there any help or salvation in the church? Today the question in many people’s minds is whether there is any salvation within the church. Do people look, with any expectation, to the church for salvation from the alienating frustrations of modern life, let alone the ultimate alienation of death?
WHAT SAVING EXPERIENCE DOES THE CHURCH OFFER?
Either open up your computer or take a piece of paper and write without pausing for ten minutes on what saving experience people have who participate in your church. Once you have written some ideas down, take a friend out for a cup of coffee and share what you have written. Does it come across as being an authentic response to a human need? When you can identify several concrete examples, that is the Good News you can share with visitors and friends who are without a church. Evangelism begins with helping your neighbor experience hope in the midst of the world’s quagmire.
