Home Turf

There are times when I get very focused on our worship service because I think there is so much riding on it. I want visitors to leave wanting more. I hope they find it inspiring and that it helps them encounter God. But then I'm reminded of what so many writers have said about the need for churches to quit trying to attract people to church and instead take the church to them. Unfortunately that's easier said than done.

I like my little corner of the world because I know it. I know where the dangerous parts are and there are few surprises. My world seems in balance. I can take sure steps here because everything is so familiar.

It is not like that when I leave my home turf. I feel a sense of unease because I don't know my way around or understand everything I encounter. It's uncomfortable precisely because it is all foreign to me. I'd rather be on my home turf.

I think that is the way it is with most churches. We stick with our home turf because it is comfortable. We can attract people to our church but most of them seem to come from other churches or at least they are people who are familiar with, and therefore comfortable with, our turf. But that leaves a huge segment of our population out of the picture. They live on different turf and they feel the same way about our turf as we do about theirs. My guess is that this is more than 50% of the population though I have nothing to back up that claim.

So here we are, each on our own turf. We feel uncomfortable on their turf and they feel the same way about ours. The only way to bridge the gap is for one of us to endure the agony of leaving home turf. I think Jesus makes it clear that we are the ones who should make the move. That means instead of trying to attracting them into crossing the bridge we need to go to them. Unfortunately most of us don't have the guts to do that.