To All Prospective Members...

Are you really sure you want to join our church? I wonder if you know what you're in for. Wouldn't you rather join one of those "successful churches" where its sheer growth in numbers proves that it's a movement of God? If so, beware; our church isn't really growing right now. We do get plenty of pats on the back from well-wishers, and quite often see new faces on Sunday mornings, but it's rare that one of these visitors actually comes back. The description of the early church in Acts 5 is eerily similar to ours most of the time: "No one else dared join them, even though they were highly regarded by the people" (Acts 5:13.) If you need a critical mass of people to prove to yourself that you're not crazy, don't expect to find that here.

C'mon, you don't want to join our church, do you? Don't you want a church with some great preaching? Where each and every service touches you in the depth of your soul? It's pretty hit or miss over here. In our church, there is no sermon; everyone just shows up and has the crazy notion that God is going to lead the meeting anyway. Some weeks, that approach works great; but sometimes, we end up just looking at each other with blank looks on our faces, desperately wanting to encourage one another but just not quite knowing how to do it. You never quite know what'll happen in our meeting from week to week: we've been interrupted by rain, poorly functioning furnaces, gale-force winds, sprinklers, head wounds, and marching bands, to name but a few. If you're looking for a stable, predictable environment for you and your family on Sundays, I can't suggest our church for you.

Are you really sure you want to start coming here? Don't you want a church comprised of deeply spiritual members? If you do, you might want to think twice before coming here; our church is a motley crew at best. The pastor talks too much and has an inferiority complex. More than once, we have smelled alcohol on the breaths of those who attend on Sunday mornings. Many of our members are financially strapped, stressed out, and desperately wish they were closer to God than they are, but find themselves continuing to get in His way.

You sure you want to come here? Don't you want a church with a quality kids' ministry? Well, we don't have a formal kids' program here; our "children's ministry" is sometimes better called "keeping our kids alive" when they end up running amok during the meeting. Now we believe that even though they may not be mastering much information on Sundays, they are witnessing the Body of Christ in action when we gather, something we know is of far more value. But if you feel that your kids need more structure than that, however, you might want to look elsewhere.

The reality of things is this: from an earthly perspective, there is no reason why anyone would want to join our church. Why would any card-carrying suburbanite want to join a shrinking collection of misfits that meet in a park on Sunday mornings if they actually were in their right mind? We have no formal programs, no building, no sermon, and don't even have a paid pastor! Truly, as Paul puts it, we're a bunch of "fools for Christ" (I Cor. 4:10).

But as you ponder what might seem to be our folly, another passage comes to mind that I must share with you too: "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him" (I Cor. 1:27-29). True, maybe there is no earthly reason that you would want to join us...but maybe in our folly, God has us right where He wants us, and He's finally free to begin some amazing work in our midst!

I hate to break this to you, but you and your family might not learn alot of 401 level theology in our church, but you'd probably learn a great amount of the theology of learning how to fail, how to lose, and how to die. You won't hear a prosperity gospel here, nor enjoy the glitz and lights of a Hollywood quality stage show here; you will, however, learn a great deal about how to set your own needs at the door as you'll have no other choice. If your primary desire is to be edified and fed by others, you might want to steer clear; if, however, you realize that you have already been far edified and educated above your level of obedience, you'd probably fit right in. Besides, as you increasingly minister to the "least of these" in our midst, you'd probably find you'd be edified far more than you ever would have imagined. I must warn you that coming to our church might exhaust you, deplete you, and might result in the death of everything you hold dear. But I suspect you'd find that through that process, you'd find life in all of its fullness. For as Jesus said, "He who would save his life will lose it; but whoever will lose his life for My sake will find it" (Mt. 16:25).

I don't know, it's your call. Feel free to join our merry band of "fools for Christ" if you'd like, but only if you feel you're really up to the challenge. Just don't say I didn't warn you.