At an iBridge breakfast, we talked about 'finding a church'. Some of us are surprised, others relieved that half the table were guys who church-hop, as I once did.
"I'm not alone." That can be a comforting thought. Somewhere where everybody knows the struggles yu're going thru.
So I thot it'd be an interesting experiment to ask wat these guys look for in a church? So we went one round...
The top answer is "The people. The pastor. Friendly but not too friendly. Wanna be involved, but dun wanna be pushed into busyness."
I sense that people are desperately looking for genuine community yet frustrated with superficial 'hi-bye' over the fellowship table. There's of course the ideal of a close-knit, peer relationship of a Christian Fellowship to compare with.
Yet being in a community requires some effort, patience, even long-suffering. But the reward could be immense... Having some people to share the load, having the privilege to being there for someone in need.
My church is going thru a roller-coaster of emotion lately. 5 weddings and a funeral. In celebrating the gift of marriage, our joy is tempered with the sober reminder of death. In mourning with the bereaved, I am reminded of the gift of life in the young babies we've welcomed into the CDPC family... as well as the weddings that suggest more would follow.
May the churches in Malaysia be communities of faith that wud embrace the sheep looking for a fold!
"I'm not alone." That can be a comforting thought. Somewhere where everybody knows the struggles yu're going thru.
So I thot it'd be an interesting experiment to ask wat these guys look for in a church? So we went one round...
The top answer is "The people. The pastor. Friendly but not too friendly. Wanna be involved, but dun wanna be pushed into busyness."
I sense that people are desperately looking for genuine community yet frustrated with superficial 'hi-bye' over the fellowship table. There's of course the ideal of a close-knit, peer relationship of a Christian Fellowship to compare with.
Yet being in a community requires some effort, patience, even long-suffering. But the reward could be immense... Having some people to share the load, having the privilege to being there for someone in need.
My church is going thru a roller-coaster of emotion lately. 5 weddings and a funeral. In celebrating the gift of marriage, our joy is tempered with the sober reminder of death. In mourning with the bereaved, I am reminded of the gift of life in the young babies we've welcomed into the CDPC family... as well as the weddings that suggest more would follow.
May the churches in Malaysia be communities of faith that wud embrace the sheep looking for a fold!
Comments
1. the participants of the camp most of them studying/working at Klang Valley ar?
2. the participants of the camp mostly from outta Klang Valley ar?
~HJ~