The Secular Worldview of Church
Title: The Secular Worldview of Church
Category: Church Issues
Subject: Church, Secular View of
The Secular Worldview of Church
Christians view the church as a place to worship God, to enjoy the fellowship with other believers, and a place to find answers. We see the church as a place of refuge, rest, and relationships. We forget that the secular person may have a feeling of awkwardness, even embarrassment, at entering our stain-glassed buildings. Secular people are ignorant concerning the ways of Christian worship, Bible stories, and the traditional language of the pulpit. This means that an unchurched person can have as much fear at entering one of our church buildings, as it would for you to visit a Muslim Mosque in Chicago – all by yourself. Secular people view the church through the prism of their experiences, upbringing, and prejudices. Many secular people view the church in one of the following ways. They see the church as a:
1. Nonentity
The church really doesn’t exist in the world they live. They seldom realize it is there. It goes unseen, unheard, and they are untouched by it.
2. Novelty
It is nice to look it or even think about, but let’s keep it on the self for display. They feel the influence of the church should stay inside the building and never seek to convince & convert people on the outside.
3. Nuisance
They are saying, “We don’t want their (The Church) rules, regulations, and restrictions superimposed on or over our lifestyle. Or, we don’t want Christians building large facilities in our neighborhoods impeding our Sunday morning traffic flow.
4. Neanderthal
The church to them represents some ancient past whose purpose is extinct and irrelevant in a postmodern world.
5. Narcotic
The intellectual avant-garde still feel that religion (the church) is the opiate of the people – that it sooths the souls of the under classes and helps them face their tormented lives. In essence, they see the church as a crutch for weak people.
If we are to have any positive impact in touching the lives of secular people, we must learn the spiritual skills of listening, asking key questions, and communicating the gospel in way they can hear, understand, and respond to. The following questions can help us start crucial conversations with the lost.
* Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?
* To you … who is Jesus?
* Have you allowed Jesus to become your best friend, or are you still working on that? How far along the way are you?
* Where has God helped you in the past?
* If you could ask God one question, what would it be?
* Where are you on your spiritual journey?
* If someone were to ask you, “What is a real Christian?” how would you answer?
* Do you consider yourself a good person? Based on being a good person – do you think that’s all it requires to go to heaven?
Key: Learn to share your story (testimony) in a way lost people can hear, understand, and respond. (Ronfhale@yahoo.com)
Christians view the church as a place to worship God, to enjoy the fellowship with other believers, and a place to find answers. We see the church as a place of refuge, rest, and relationships. We forget that the secular person may have a feeling of awkwardness, even embarrassment, at entering our stain-glassed buildings. Secular people are ignorant concerning the ways of Christian worship, Bible stories, and the traditional language of the pulpit. This means that an unchurched person can have as much fear at entering one of our church buildings, as it would for you to visit a Muslim Mosque in Chicago – all by yourself. Secular people view the church through the prism of their experiences, upbringing, and prejudices. Many secular people view the church in one of the following ways. They see the church as a:
1. Nonentity
The church really doesn’t exist in the world they live. They seldom realize it is there. It goes unseen, unheard, and they are untouched by it.
2. Novelty
It is nice to look it or even think about, but let’s keep it on the self for display. They feel the influence of the church should stay inside the building and never seek to convince & convert people on the outside.
3. Nuisance
They are saying, “We don’t want their (The Church) rules, regulations, and restrictions superimposed on or over our lifestyle. Or, we don’t want Christians building large facilities in our neighborhoods impeding our Sunday morning traffic flow.
4. Neanderthal
The church to them represents some ancient past whose purpose is extinct and irrelevant in a postmodern world.
5. Narcotic
The intellectual avant-garde still feel that religion (the church) is the opiate of the people – that it sooths the souls of the under classes and helps them face their tormented lives. In essence, they see the church as a crutch for weak people.
If we are to have any positive impact in touching the lives of secular people, we must learn the spiritual skills of listening, asking key questions, and communicating the gospel in way they can hear, understand, and respond to. The following questions can help us start crucial conversations with the lost.
* Do you have any kind of spiritual belief?
* To you … who is Jesus?
* Have you allowed Jesus to become your best friend, or are you still working on that? How far along the way are you?
* Where has God helped you in the past?
* If you could ask God one question, what would it be?
* Where are you on your spiritual journey?
* If someone were to ask you, “What is a real Christian?” how would you answer?
* Do you consider yourself a good person? Based on being a good person – do you think that’s all it requires to go to heaven?
Key: Learn to share your story (testimony) in a way lost people can hear, understand, and respond. (Ronfhale@yahoo.com)
