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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"Bumper Sticker Theology"
March 25, 2009
As I was going into the gym the other day I noticed a bumper sticker I
liked. It simply said "God is pro life!" That sticker summed up the driver's
views on the subject of abortion in four words. No need for debate. His or
her opinion was out there on display.
That's what bumper stickers do. They allow you to sum up what you think
in just a few words and put it out there for others to see. Who cares if they
don't like it? It's your view and we live in the land of free speech.
The only problem is that bumper stickers don't allow for conversations to
take place. Even if you agree with what they say, "Red Sox Rock!" or "My
money and my kid go to UCONN," bumper stickers are always one way
conversations.
It got me thinking about the way we share our faith. Many of us do it like
bumper stickers. We tell others what they are supposed to believe and don't
allow them to ask questions or to challenge us. Maybe that's why the
church is struggling today. People have tuned us out because we keep
singing the same old song.
My good friend Greg Hamby, pastor of the Quaker Hill Baptist Church, was
telling me about a book he read recently titled, "Lord Save Us From The
Church" written by Dan Merchant. The author suggests that in our attempt
to maintain our orthodoxy, we have turned off the very people that God
wants to invite into relationship. The book is great and I was excited to hear
that Dan is going to be at the Baptist Church in Quaker Hill this Saturday.
You might want to check it out.
The truth is that we need to be in dialog with our friends and neighbors
about our faith. We need to listen to them. We need to hear their questions,
their doubts, their fears. Only then will we be able to talk about their
concerns and share our stories, our faith and our encounters with God.
Think about it. Most of us came to faith after a bit of searching. It usually
happened after we engaged a friend or family in conversations. It didn't
happen because someone told us what to believe.
So check out Dan's book, or his presentation in Quaker Hill this week or
better yet, ask your friend what they believe about God and the church and
listen to what they have to say. You might be surprised and blessed at the
same time.
God bless! See you in church. Cal.
March 25, 2009
As I was going into the gym the other day I noticed a bumper sticker I
liked. It simply said "God is pro life!" That sticker summed up the driver's
views on the subject of abortion in four words. No need for debate. His or
her opinion was out there on display.
That's what bumper stickers do. They allow you to sum up what you think
in just a few words and put it out there for others to see. Who cares if they
don't like it? It's your view and we live in the land of free speech.
The only problem is that bumper stickers don't allow for conversations to
take place. Even if you agree with what they say, "Red Sox Rock!" or "My
money and my kid go to UCONN," bumper stickers are always one way
conversations.
It got me thinking about the way we share our faith. Many of us do it like
bumper stickers. We tell others what they are supposed to believe and don't
allow them to ask questions or to challenge us. Maybe that's why the
church is struggling today. People have tuned us out because we keep
singing the same old song.
My good friend Greg Hamby, pastor of the Quaker Hill Baptist Church, was
telling me about a book he read recently titled, "Lord Save Us From The
Church" written by Dan Merchant. The author suggests that in our attempt
to maintain our orthodoxy, we have turned off the very people that God
wants to invite into relationship. The book is great and I was excited to hear
that Dan is going to be at the Baptist Church in Quaker Hill this Saturday.
You might want to check it out.
The truth is that we need to be in dialog with our friends and neighbors
about our faith. We need to listen to them. We need to hear their questions,
their doubts, their fears. Only then will we be able to talk about their
concerns and share our stories, our faith and our encounters with God.
Think about it. Most of us came to faith after a bit of searching. It usually
happened after we engaged a friend or family in conversations. It didn't
happen because someone told us what to believe.
So check out Dan's book, or his presentation in Quaker Hill this week or
better yet, ask your friend what they believe about God and the church and
listen to what they have to say. You might be surprised and blessed at the
same time.
God bless! See you in church. Cal.
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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