Conversations
April 1, 1997
The frozen chosen
A pastor told Leadership recently, "It seems I've been doing a lot more counseling lately."
We asked, "What problems are you seeing more of?"
"Troubled marriages. Many Christian couples are still together, gutting it out—I respect them for that—but the intimacy is gone. Sometimes it seems my wife and I are the only people in the congregation still enjoying sex."
How are you recruiting?
It's an age-old problem: not enough volunteers, especially to work with children and youth. In response, many church leaders appeal to convenience: "It won't take much of your time."
But one youth pastor says he sees good results doing the opposite—recruiting to commitment: "This will take a lot of your time; this is challenging, but there's nothing more important."
Uncomfortable seekers
A pastor explains, "I used to ask, 'Will spiritual seekers be comfortable in our worship service and church?' That was the wrong question. You can't read much of the Bible in our contemporary context without being uncomfortable.
"Our question now is, 'Will seekers be unnecessarily offended by our actions?'"
Dying 4 change
Planning to make a change in your congregation? In Mikros newsletter, Glenn C. Daman lists four ways people respond to change. People may see change as:
1. a friend to be embraced
2. a companion to be selected with care
3. a stranger to be accepted with caution
4. an enemy to resist.
Knowing which group someone is in can help you tailor your response.
Your sermon's envelope
Narrative preaching is sometimes touted as the means of communicating with a TV generation; a deductive, content-heavy form is often considered out of date.
Eugene Lowry, preaching professor at St. Paul ...
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