Here are a couple of quick examples this week. I am visiting some relatives in Florida and we visited the local Greek Fest. That is an event commonly done in Greek Orthodox churches across the US. The one here is a BIG THING. We had great Greek foods, and listened to great Greek music. They had dancers, vending booths, and more for a very pleasant experience.
But it was also an invitation to the church. They had very professionally done brochures that helped explain what Greek Orthodox, and the broader Eastern Orthodox tradition. It was written primarily to explain to Catholic and Protestant visitors. Additionally, they had church tours, and Orthodox religious symbols and books available to purchase. I must say that there was definitely a part of me that felt like that church would be a community I would like to be a part of.
The second example is an Evangelical megachurch near my relatives. I never went there. I have been told by one who visited the church that it was all white (ethnically) and “very political.” Sadly, implicit racism and Christian Nationalism are two diseases common in many American churches. But I have never been there, so I don’t know how accurate is their assessment. My interaction with the church is more indirect. First, they have a decent website. It looks generally inviting. Second, they have a very nice thrift shop which is a blessing to those who are poor in the community (and people like my family who LOVE second-hand stores).
In both of these cases, regardless of whether these churches are good in terms of member life or mission or faithfulness to God, both do express themselves to the outside world in a way that makes God look good. One expresses Christ in a positive (and fun) community. The other expresses Christ as caring for the poor.
I find it amazing how many churches show their worst to the outside world. I have been part of a fundamentalist church for many years. It was actually a pretty warm and friendly church—on the inside. To the outside world, the church appeared Separatist and stand-offish. To me Separatism is the most common disease among fundamentalist groups in the States.
Other churches seem to relate to those around them with weird websites. Others focus on political or zoning or tax fights in the community.
It is great when a church is good inside. It is important. But when the church looks bad on the outside, there is something wrong. Read Titus 2. It does not focus on the Gospel being good … that is a given. Rather, it focuses on making the Gospel attractive to those outside the church.
That is something important. We were part of a church plant in the Philippines. We built a church building but soon was in a fight with the next door neighbor. That neighbor felt that the land was his… or at least should be able to determine what should happen on that land. Now it might not have been possible to make that neighbor happy. But in hindsight, I think we should have been just as aggressive in making peace with that neighbor as we did aggressively protecting our rights to use our land, via the legal system.
