DO CHURCHES NEED MIRRORS?

Do churches need mirrors?  The answer in more ways than one is yes.  We have large mirrors in our restrooms which are greatly appreciated by all who use them.  I have one in my office, next to the door so I can take a quick check on my tie and hair before going into the sanctuary on Sunday morning. 

Churches no doubt need a mirror in another sense also.  It is important to be able to see ourselves as others see us.  It is important to see ourselves as do those who walk in to church for the first time on a Sunday morning.  That type of mirror involves evaluation and most often the best evaluation will come from someone who does not attend the church.  There are, as you can imagine, groups that do this type of consultation professionally for churches just as there are groups that do it for businesses.

I recently read of a very interesting evaluation team.  It consists of a most unusual pair.  Jim Henderson is a church planter, pastor, and ministry visionary.  Matt Casper is a marketing copywriter, singer—and an atheist.  As startling as this might seem, there is something to be said for this approach, because it does give the opportunity to observe the church from the perspective of the non-believer. 

When asked how important first impressions were when you visit a church, Matt responded this way:  “For me, if everything in the Bible is true, and Christians are going to enjoy immortality in paradise—as church attendees are supposed to believe—why aren't they dancing for joy every second they're in church, or every second of their lives…? If I believed that my time on earth was only the beginning of my existence, and after I died I'd be going to heaven, I'd be WILD about my church. I'd probably scare people away I'd be so passionate. It seemed, at most every church that what was going on—during the first five minutes, the middle five minutes, and the last five minutes—was simply a routine. Steps to walk through. No real thought about what was being offered and what awaits. Because if you REALLY think about these things (as I think I do) you find them simply too fantastic to believe.”  Do we have the “wow” in our worship of the Lord?

When asked: From most important to least important, which of the following do you find to be the most significant elements in rating a church, Preaching, Friendliness, Bias toward Action, Congregation Size, Grace/Tolerance, Conviction of Beliefs, Music Style, Matt’s response  was right to the point.  The key he said is “How much are they living like Jesus asked them to?  Everything else flows from that. If they're living like Jesus asked them to—loving one another, doing unto others as they would have others do unto them, forgiving sins, etc.—friendliness, freedom from prejudice, bias toward positive action, and grace are natural outcomes. The standards you have offered are more about how people "do" church rather than how they live it.”  Do we truly “live” church or do we just “do” it?

In one other question they were asked: in a nutshell, what are the primary criticisms you have of the churches you visited? Matt responded: “There is too much focus on themselves, too little emphasis on the primary commands of Jesus, the person everyone is supposedly there to worship. If churches focused exclusively on making their attendees better at loving one another worldwide and doing unto others as they would have done unto them, well, wow…”  As we worship the Lord is it about us or is it about God and others?

Rick Warren’s book THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE begins with this sentence: “It’s not about you.”  How true that is, it’s not about us, it’s about God and others and our service to God and others.  Everything we do in our life of love for the Lord should reflect that.  We need to consider first and foremost how we can best serve those who are “out there” understanding that the differentiation between “out there” and “in here” is not always clearly defined, because if we do our job properly many who are now “out there” will one day be “in here” and we need to be ready to serve them when they come “in here.” 

Mirrors are indeed important.  We need to use them. It’s not easy to always have the tie straight and the hair combed.  It’s not easy to always get it right, to carry on the work of the Lord in an impeccably perfect way.  We will make mistakes, but my prayer is that as we examine ourselves, our motives and the course we have taken with the church, that we will look up and look out and find the direction that the Lord has for us and that we will faithfully carry it out as we serve him to the best of our abilities here on earth.