From the Reporter, the official newpaper of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod:
Church hosts drive-through prayer ministry
By Joe Lawlor
MT. MORRIS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (RNS) -- Hold the pickles, mustard, ketchup, tomatoes, buns, burgers and french fries.
The only item on the menu in the Cathedral of Faith Church of God in Christ parking lot is prayers.
On Saturday, July 26, the church held its second drive-through prayer service, and dozens of people lined up for a few minutes of soul-searching. Volunteers held up signs that said, "Pull over for Prayer!"
Customers didn't even have to get out of their cars. Those who pulled in filled out a form saying what they wanted to pray about and drove over to the other side of the church. Patrons rolled down their windows, and the Rev. Chris Martin or another minister held their hands and prayed while the cars idled.
Gail Liddell of Flint said she saw the signs and made a snap decision to pull in and pray for her 21-year-old daughter.
"She's in boot camp in the (U.S.) Army. She's stationed in South Carolina, where it's, like, 100 degrees," Liddell said. "She fainted three times from heat exhaustion, but this is something she really wanted to do."
Sharon Hill of Flint said someone approached her as she was leaving a grocery store, and she decided to stop at the church.
"My [31-year-old] brother had a heart attack, and he just got out of the hospital," Hill said, adding that she's been lax about going to church and she wants to start attending again.
Martin said jobs, personal finances, and health were the most frequent topics people asked to pray about.
"Taking the church to the people, to the streets, is what this is all about," Martin said. "Praying inside the church and having services is nice, but the real problems are out here."
Joe Lawlor is a correspondent for Religion News Service.
Posted Aug. 14, 2008
"Taking the church to the people, to the streets, is what this is all about," Martin said. "Praying inside the church and having services is nice, but the real problems are out here."
Wow!
Isn’t that like a doctor saying that treating health problems in a hospital is “nice”, but we need to address terminal cancer at the bus terminals and homes where people live? A doctor would be guilty of malpractice if he didn’t tell his patient where to go to get well.
So, what does it say about the LCMS when it’s official newspaper is holding up as laudatory a congregation that publicly states that Christ’s gifts are nice but they don’t really address everyday concerns? Does this mean that your grandfather’s synod now believes that faith can come without the external Word, through their own preparations and works contrary to Scripture?
Again, wow.
I found your blog via The Elephant's Child.
ReplyDelete...a congregation that publicly states that Christ’s gifts are nice but they don’t really address everyday concerns?
Yes, the Rev. Martin chose his words poorly when he said, "Praying inside the church and having services is nice, but the real problems are out here."
However, I don't think he's really dissing the church. If that comment would not have been a part of the article would you feel the same way? I think something like this would be a great way to show the world that people still pray and pray to a REAL God who has a REAL church.
But I do agree that there are a lot of churches out there that resort to silly stunts, gimmicks and even well-meaning programs that are more in the the name of "church growth" than they are in the name of the Lord of Lords.
Hi Big Doofus!
ReplyDeleteThere has been a huge move in my beloved synod to reach people in ways that avoid church. This really isn’t an isolated incident. I’ve posted articles from the Reporter where people have said they would rather rent a VFW hall so as to not look too much like a church.
I think we need to always point to Christ and His gifts of Word and Sacrament and those are always found in church. As a synod, the LCMS is doing everything it can to become seeker sensitive so as to not scare anyone away. There are a goodly number of folks that think that the message only gets in the way of mission. The story is only a symptom of what is going on.
I do agree with you that there is the potential for what they are doing to point to the church. However, the stories that Reporter has been highlighting leave me with serious doubts as to whether this is the case.
Frank:
ReplyDeleteOk. Thanks for the explanation. As an "evangelical" (for lack of a better label) I'm exposed to a lot of the tricks used by the church to supposedly reach the lost. Honestly, I'm not a big fan of a "seeker sensitive" church either. The church is for the believers. That doesn't mean that the non-believers are not invited or that they will not benefit from it. God will use His church (by that I mean "his people") and He will use their gathering for His glory.
I really like your blog.
"The church is for the believers. That doesn't mean that the non-believers are not invited or that they will not benefit from it. God will use His church (by that I mean "his people") and He will use their gathering for His glory."
ReplyDeleteBD, You and I are on the same page!
There are a good many Lutherans that disagree with you and I. There are many that want to try program after program to reach the unchurched at the expense of the faithful, starving the sheep to seek out the wolves. And I’m not being my normal snarky self here, it is starvation if Christ is not preached in order to meet the needs and desires of itching ears.
“I really like your blog.” So… you got past the snarky eh? Folks either get it or they don’t. Thank you for the compliment!
This story was in THE REPORTER?!?
ReplyDeleteMissed that on the first read through!
EC, it was in the online version
ReplyDelete