Religion Section

Every Saturday the Dallas Morning News has a Religion section. I used to not read it because it would get me upset or sad because there are so many misled ideas coming from misled people. However, I started reading it again over the past several months. There are still plenty of misled ideas, but they help me gain information into the way people think. Sometimes I even find quite a nugget of inspiration. Their book reviews are also informative, and I have purchased several based on their review. They also feature a website of the week. This week, the web site is about a group of people who went "mystery worshipping" to over 70 London churches and wrote reviews of what they found. From sermon length, to strength of coffee, to warmth of welcome. I haven't looked it up yet, but the address is www.shipoffools.com/mw_sunday/index.html in case you're interested. First of all this reminds me of what a commercial view we have of churches these days. People really do shop for church as they search out what church "fits" them best, or offers the most, or makes them feel comfortable. But, it also reminds me that every Sunday our church is visited by "mystery worshippers" in the form of guests, and our first impressions really do mean a lot. Especially in the warmth of welcome catagory. What is the balance between offering something that attracts "consumers" and existing as the Body of Christ reaching out to the community/world, loving each other and the lost, building one another up with encouragement, teaching and growing in knowledge of God, being a family, serving one another and the world in love? Well, I think if a church is doing the things listed, then they automatically are attractive to the person searching for Jesus. And if a person is just looking for a place to be comfortable, slide their time card, and drink good coffee...well, then that person isn't really wanting to be a part of the Body of Christ anyway.