Religion, Sex, and Politics

When I served at Camp Alkulana, one of the counselors brought several hundred dollars worth of puppets to camp for us to use with the campers. The puppets were stored in a black trash bag. And, you know what happened when we cleaned up camp at the end of the summer. Somebody grabbed that bag and threw it away without ever looking inside. Because what's in a trash bag? Trash! The wrapper sends a message about the contents that guides people's reaction.

On January 12, 2007, an experiment took place in a Washington, D.C. subway station. (True story) A reporter had Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world, give a free concert on his $3.5 million Stradivarius violin right there in the subway station beginning just before 8:00 a.m. - during one of the busiest times at the station.

Dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, he played beautiful classical music - the same kinds of music that people sit for hours to hear, paying $100 per seat at the concert hall. But here, at the subway station, though more than a thousand passed by, only a few people even paused to listen, and then for only a few seconds. The most attention came from a 3-year-old boy, whose mother finally had to drag him away. Some tossed money in his violin case, for a total of $32.17 for his 45 minute world-class performance.

The lessons and revelations from this experiment are many. For one, people clearly take a cue on the value of an experience or opportunity or message or product from the context and packaging through which it comes to them.

Imagine with me that what is being offered is not a free world-class violin concert, but a free opportunity to hear about God’s available blessings for your life - everything from wisdom to eternal life. It seems clear that, if we put it in the wrong packaging or context, people will discount its value before they ever hear it.

Do people flock to the famous TV preacher’s church because he’s just that good, or because they assume he must be good because there are TV cameras everywhere and it’s hard to find a place to park? Does the beautiful building convince people, “This is important stuff” in a way that they don’t get when they drive by some other smaller facility?

If we have the most amazing children’s Sunday School teachers you can imagine, and the most talented Student Pastor in the state of Virginia, but we ignore the context and “packaging” with which we present these assets to our community, will they just drive by assuming there is little of value there? The Joshua Bell experiment seems to say, “Yes, they will.”

So what do we need to do about the context and setting of the amazing, life-enriching message of God’s grace that is ours to share... so that people in our community will say to themselves, “This must be worth hearing”? How can we improve the wrapper to reflect the value of the contents?

There's an old story about a wealthy couple who needed a new household servant to be their main cook. As they interviewed one promising candidate, they said, "So do you know how to serve guests?" And she said, "Yes, I know how to serve them both ways."

"What do you mean by 'both ways'?" they asked.

"Oh, so that they want to come back, and so that they don't," she said.

We can also serve people both ways. I had two conversations within the last week that illustrate that truth on the church level.

First, I spoke with a church member who said, "We came to church a couple of weeks ago, and drove through the already-full parking lot. My husband said, 'Let's just go home.' But I encouraged him to keep looking for a place to park. We finally parked over by the church office and walked to the Sanctuary. When we got there, the room was already full. My husband said, 'See, I told you we should have just gone home.' He would have been OK with going back to the car, but I encouraged him to go in and - ultimately - we had a good worship experience."

Now keep in mind that this is a well-connected church member. What might have happened had this been someone who didn't have family ties to the church, or someone who was bringing his/her spouse for the first time. Would they have made it in the doors, or been back home? And do we care that we are serving people in such a way that they may not come again?

(A recent first time guest also made a comment asking if there were some "secret parking" that she couldn't find, and asking if she could expect every Sunday to be a struggle to find a parking space for her and her children.)

The second conversation was with someone who's been attending Hillsboro for 2+ years. This person is not a lifelong church-goer. In fact, I think this friend had some pretty negative ideas about church before finding Hillsboro. Those first experiences with worship and other activities were a real risk, and were way outside of this person's comfort zone. Church had been a pretty meaningless experience and, before we connected with this person and this family, they were not attending any church at all. And I was told, "If someone had told me a few years ago that I would be attending a Baptist church, having lunch with church people, and staying for a 'hillbilly' music time (that person's words, said with a chuckle), I would have said 'You are totally nuts.'" Now the Hillsboro family is an important part of this person's life, and their family life, and they are an important part of who we are, too.

I cannot tell you how much joy it brings me to see someone find the joy and hope and love that Christ offers, especially when they didn't think Christians and churches had much of value to share with them. Reaching one of those folks is more exciting to me than gathering 50 more traditional church folks. I do love them too, but I know they'll find a church no matter what. But here's someone who wasn't being reached who is now a part of God's big family. They've been blessed, and so have we!

So clearly we have the potential to serve people so that they will come back, and we also have the potential to serve (or fail to serve) them in such a way that they consider turning around and going home. It's happened before! How we eliminate obstacles, and how QUICKLY we do it, shows our community whether we REALLY want them to come back, or not.

It doesn't matter that salvation is found in Christ alone, it doesn't matter that we're proclaiming the peace and joy people long for, it doesn't matter that we have answers for struggling marriages, for lonely hearts, for troubled teenagers... if we are maintaining obstacles that discourage people from coming in the door.

Which way are we going to serve people... starting this week?