The Olympian
Here’s the article. Post comments if you think you should.
Can the phrase “Spank the Donkey” bring 15 million Christians back to church?
Dave Simonsen and Dave Vahey, members of Emmanuel Bible Fellowship in Olympia, hope it will.
About six months ago, the two men launched a campaign that promotes this Sunday as “National Go to Church Day.”
“One day, we were sitting around talking about all of the people who don’t go to church who say they’re Christian,” said Simonsen, 37, of Lacey. “And we thought, ‘What’s the reason that those people don’t go?’ For the most part, the people we know that no longer go just want to sleep in on Sunday.”
Read the rest here.
We’re really surprised that Olympia would run this….crazy.
dave
May 3, 2008 at 5:00 am
Gentlemen,
Have you taken the time to talk to people who don’t attend on Sunday? I think you’ll find that they have not found the church to be a sheltering community. Referring to people who no longer attend as lazy donkey’s only solidifies their claim.
You are doing Christ and the church no favors.
May 3, 2008 at 3:43 pm
Olygolpher, are you a Chrisitan?
Read our “about” section.
Here’s the purpose.
The Facts speak for themselves. We’ve reached a place in culture where attending a church falls off the radar for most Christians. This is where this movement comes into play. We’ve heard all the excuses, the reasons and especially, “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian.”
We’ve all been lazy at times in our devotion to being The Church. It’s time we re-connect people with people and become The Church.
dave
May 4, 2008 at 8:46 am
Yes, I am a Christian. A former pastor as a matter of fact. I meet with Christians regularly, but have a hard time attending weekend services. Quite frankly, I’m too distracted by the non-essentials to connect with God and the productions are not designed to help me connect with people.
The “facts” you cite don’t explain the reason so many self-professed Christians are not attending Sunday morning. You assume it is because people are lazy and want to sleep in. I find that generalization offensive.
We are in agreement that “it’s time we re-connect people with people and become The Church.” However, I would venture a guess that the place you attend on Sunday morning has very little in common with the church Jesus birthed. The attitude of this “go to church” campaign–the rush to judgment and use of shame to motivate–is the common fruit of our church culture.
Have Christians left the church or has the church left Christianity?
May 4, 2008 at 3:16 pm
So when I point out a fact of something and you feel shame that is not about me. It is about you recognizing that something you’re doing needs to change. So shame is integral in the Bible as a precursor to change or grace. Pulling out cards and blaming the church for non-essentials is just that blaming the church and not taking responsibility. We have never said all ex-churched are lazy. Washington is a rainy state. That doesn’t mean it rains everyday. To answer your final question it is both. No church is perfect and no Christian is perfect. The use of church to be the Church is the point we are trying to make. If you can’t see that aim then you are getting caught up in the non-essentials of a name like lazydonkey. You can’t deny it hasn’t caught peoples attentions…..
May 5, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Dave/Dave
I’m saddened that you still don’t see that their are many wonderful Christians that don’t attend a building, yet are the Church wherever they go. They are bringing the Church to the world, instead of the building waiting for the world to enter it.
You would find these people invigorating and sold-out for Christ. I anticipate you will be one of them one day, as you find the confines of corporate church will stifle the leading of the Holy Spirit. The real CHURCH is those that find the freedom in Christ to not have to be part of the Southern Baptist, United Methodist, Orthodox Catholic, Christian Scientist etc. etc. convention. You are free in Christ. TAKE HOLD OF IT!!!
May 6, 2008 at 3:16 am
Thanks for the post. Once again if you look through our posts you will see that it isn’t just about a building. It is about relationships. The problem seems to be that the many wonderful Christians you speak of don’t have relationships with other wonderful Christians who are fellowshipping in a building weekly. Yes, there are the few exceptions to the rule as there always is. We recognize the difference between the church and the Church. We aren’t addressing the few wonderful amazing people that you speak of. We are addressing those who say I am a Christian, but then do nothing with their Christianity, but talk about it.
May 9, 2008 at 1:14 am
There is definitely some tension between the command to “not give up meeting together” and the belief that church services are counterproductive to the implied purpose “as you see the day approaching.” That tension comes mostly from a culturally adopted value placed on Sunday worship gatherings. It is what we are familiar with. Therefore, a gathering in homes along the lines of everyone having “a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation” is an obscure and even objectionable construct, despite being far more biblical than the one-or-two man liturgy of most churches.
I can assure you, the relationships you say it is about would become much deeper and more dynamic to those outside the faith if everyone participated. Pastor and sermon-driven services fill buildings and pay the bills, but they don’t do a very good job of building us together like living stones. If you don’t believe me, watch what happens the next time your church changes pastors or changes the liturgy. People “committed” to the church will be up in arms and many will leave and find a new pastor to depend upon.
May 9, 2008 at 1:29 am
P.S. I believe there is a difference between shame and conviction. Men shame. The Holy Spirit convicts. There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ, but the surgeon’s knife of the conviction of the Spirit forms us in the image of Christ. I’ve seen many Christians in bondage through shame. I’ve seen many rise out of the ashes in response to conviction. Recognizing the difference is essential.
I felt no “shame”, as you suggested, because I am free in Christ. The conviction I felt was not to return to weekend programs, but to engage in dialogue that might help us come to an agreement about the ways in which we’ve drifted away from the prize.
May 9, 2008 at 3:07 am
Wow. We agree whole handedly with all that you wrote. For some, meeting on Sunday’s isn’t the “church” God calls you to. For many, the meeting in a building on a Sunday is exactly what they need.
Bottom dollar. We want people to re-connect with people.
Great post.
dave
November 28, 2008 at 6:59 am
Donkey Daves:
Olygolpher makes great points. I also am a pastor who cannot bring myself to return to the church ‘machine.’ As a pastor, I have access to evangelists, missionaries, pastors, lay leaders – you name it, I have rubbed shoulders with the most committed of churchmen.
I also have seen the emptiness, frustration, resentment, pain, ambition, pride, judmentalism and pettiness that can take place in ‘ministry’. The American model of church is falling farther and farther from the body of Christ that Jesus spoke of. It has become more of a career than a calling.
We have returned to the relational model of fellowship, of really getting into each others lives and being the church to one another. The attendance has dwindled down to three families. So we meet one another for lunch, have one another to each others homes, call, email and stay in touch. We are the church, but according to the ‘definition’ of American church, we are out of church Christians.
Many who left our fellowship were looking for the weekend ’show’ with a stage and performance and a safe, plastic distance where no one will ask how their marriage is, how their heart relationship with Jesus is, or anything else too personally challenging. Entertain the kids, make the adults laugh, even teach deep theology, but DO NOT delve into the personal call of Christ on each of His sheep.
So, we minister to one another, we share the gospel with those in our path, we do periodic outreaches to the needy, as a group of friends who all love Jesus and each other. The world, the government, and the church at large would say we aren’t a ‘real’ church.
I beg to differ, we ARE the church. And we don’t even attend weekend services – go figure.