Churches that make a difference
Dan Edelen considers why churches in the U.S. don't seem to be conducive for Christians to openly and honestly share their true needs. Consider this example:
Update: Dan answers that question here in the comments section.
I once told an Internet friend who had been out of work for a long time and suffering greatly that he should stand up in the middle of his church service one day and just say, “I need a job. Can any of you help?” I suggested to another that he call a well-known parachurch ministry in his area that is always talking about how men must be the breadwinner in order to be good Christians and ask them, “What jobs do you have available for me to do so I can be the man you insist I must be? I can report to work tomorrow.”Good point. I wonder how that went?
Update: Dan answers that question here in the comments section.
posted by Milton Stanley at 2:16 PM
2 Comments:
Well, I CAN tell you, Milton.
The Internet friend said there was no way he could do that. He said it would feel too out of place and embarrassing. I said that if the church isn't the place, then what is?
The other friend went round and round with the parachurch organization on the issue of demanding conformity without providing any means to attain that conformity. Eventually the organization got mad and stopped replying to him.
David Fitch, in his book The Great Giveaway, talks about a woman who stood up in his church unannounced one Sunday and confessed that she had breast cancer, no insurance, and no ability to pay for surgery. Fitch and his leadership team were stunned. But what came out of that woman's boldness transformed the church and forced them to start dealing with people's real problems in a practical way.
If such a thing happened in churches around this country this Sunday, I honestly think we'd see a massive revival.
Thanks for that info. Why am I not surprised by either outcome.
And, yes, I agree that Christians taking this kind of thing seriously we would indeed see a massive revival.
Peace.
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