I looked up the word FUN in the internet concordance. The response was "Fun could not be found." According to that the word isn’t used in the entire Bible. Yet I’m amazed at how often I hear and read of churches promoting events and trying to attract people from children to youth to adults by promising them FUN at their event, outing, activity, retreat, camp or whatever. Jesus never spoke of ‘fun’. He didn’t promise fun. Paul didn’t record all the FUN times he had serving Jesus. I wonder what we think we are doing by calling people to our fun activities. I have heard the saying that ‘what you attract people with is what you will lose them with’. So what happens when it isn’t fun? What happens when their idea of fun is a whole lot different than ours? What happens to children and youth when life and attending church ceases to be fun for them? Jesus spoke of being persecuted, giving up your life, of serving others. Paul listed all the sufferings he went through for following Jesus; not so fun. I know of people around the world who are beaten, fired, kicked out of their family, all their possessions are stolen from them and they are jailed if they become Christians and even go to a house church. What are we trying to sell to people here? I’m just trying to process it all in my mind.
When I became a Christian I wasn’t looking for FUN. I knew where to find FUN and it would never be at a ‘church’. I actually feared that becoming a Christian would ruin my ever having fun for the rest of my life. And when I did become a follower of Jesus I wasn’t attracted to Him because of any ‘fun’ time I had at any church.
In the end I knew I was empty and missing something in life. I was lost. I didn’t need fun; I knew where to get that if that was what I needed.
I needed life, salvation, love, hope.
WHAT IS OUR MESSAGE?
WHAT ARE WE TRYING TO SELL?
HOW ARE WE TRYING TO REACH PEOPLE?
HOW MUCH TIME ARE YOU SPENDING TRAINING YOUR PEOPLE TO ‘GO OUT’ AND LEARN HOW TO ENGAGE PEOPLE IN A CONVERSATION THAT CAN LEAD TO THEM SHARING THE GOOD NEWS WITH THEM? |
