The Present Future

After contemplating it for some time, I finally begun the process of going through the paperwork and materials that I have found in both my Tabor and Oakfield offices. I happened to find a book in my Tabor office that seemed very intriguing to me. It is called The Present Future.

I have a lot of books on my reading list, but I decided to read this one because it intrigued me so much. Reggie McNeal asks some tough questions about the state of the church. It was written back in 2003 and I suppose it is a little out of date, but its message still rings loud and clear to me.

He offered a fresh perspective, for me, in the area of evangelism. Churches put on programs and activities, new this and new that and then expect people to come to them. We expect that people, many of whom have never stepped into a church, to just come right in and see what we are about. When no one comes to something, we wonder why people won't show up. We're looking at it wrong!

McNeal writes, "If they aren't going to come to us, then we've got to go to them." Amen! We can't give up if people don't come to our carefully crafted programs. Perhaps we need to take our mission and our ministry out into the community. Let's take the Gospel to people. Let's commit to activities in the community that demonstrate to the community that we are living Christ-like lives.

But talking to people about our faith can be uncomfortable. He understands this. "I think we have some different fears. I think we are afraid of not knowing how to engage people in genuine conversation. I think we fear rejection. I think we don't know what to say. I think we are unsure of what we have to offer to people." That's no reason for us to shy away. It may be difficult, but it is what we are called to do. We will get better with practice :-)!

McNeal writes about Pastor Cho in South Korea. When a member of his congregation is asked why they do kind acts in the community, he tells them to say, "I am a disciple of Jesus. I am serving him by serving you, because that's what he came to do."

That's the way to do it!