Jonathots Daily Blog
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I always request a church newsletter–every place I go. I imagine the staff might speculate on why I want it. They might think I’m trying to confirm whether our appearance was adequately advertised, but since I’m already there, it would be fruitless to know.
The reason I read the church newsletter is that I’m trying to figure out what they’re doing and where they’re going.
It’s very important. Without a definite idea on doing and going, we can find ourselves whisked away with many a tornado of confusion.
So I read the newsletter of Enola Emmanuel United Methodist Church while I was sitting in my green room before the program.
The main article was about “branding”–passing on an easily identifiable image to the surrounding community concerning mission.
Here’s the dilemma: in branding, we too often try to chase spiritual goals, using limited human abilities. For instance, we extol the importance of prayer, witnessing, church attendance and Bible reading to human folk who spend most of their time working, eating and sleeping.
Jesus had a different idea.
He told us that the world was full of tribulation but there wasn’t anything we would be able to do about that.
He also said the world would need to be overcome. He placed that chore on himself.
He gave us a human mission: “Be of good cheer.”
Yet if you share this with people, they look at you as if you’re silly or irresponsible. But good cheer is the only thing we can accomplish with energy.
It begins by understanding that church should not be a service or a worship experience, but rather, a rally. We need to teach our congregations to:
1. Be
“I will find joy, joyfully”
2. Of
“I will join with others”
3. Good
“Together we will discover what is valuable”
4. Cheer
“Linking in fellowship, we will celebrate goodness”
Removing celebration from church is like taking the breath out of lungs. It leaves us with reverence and no praise. The Gospel of Jesus was intended to be human-friendly, not ethereal.
Sit down, take a pen and paper and write what turns you on. Make a list of the things you find joyful, enhancing and enriching. Then go out and find a way to do those things while benefitting others.
There is an empty chair waiting in the church for the person who will dare to be real and admit that he or she is human, and not ashamed of it.
The good news is that branding is finding our way to “be of good cheer.”
The better news is that cheerful people are a great draw.
The producers of jonathots would humbly request a yearly subscription donation of $10 for this wonderful, inspirational opportunity
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