{"id":513,"date":"2007-08-04T16:13:41","date_gmt":"2007-08-04T21:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.185.166.32\/~davidfoster\/?p=513"},"modified":"2009-10-10T16:15:52","modified_gmt":"2009-10-10T21:15:52","slug":"hello-my-name-is-church-drop-out-guy-and-i%e2%80%99m-coming-to-your-church-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/hello-my-name-is-church-drop-out-guy-and-i%e2%80%99m-coming-to-your-church-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Hello, My Name is Church Drop-out Guy, and I\u2019m coming to Your Church Tomorrow"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m a growing number of people who have been raised in church, but have stopped going, dropped out along the way: could\u2019ve been college, could\u2019ve been marriage, or maybe just moving to a new place.<\/p>\n

But all of the sudden, something\u2019s happened and I feel like I need to go back to church, but where? There are so many to choose from. Which are weird? Which are hostile? Which is just the right one for me?<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve chosen yours tomorrow. Here I come. Are you ready for me and do you understand how nervous I am? Here are 19 things you need to know about me:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Right out of the gates, know that I feel guilty for having been away so long. I know I should go to church. I know all the right reasons. I actually have some fond memories. I\u2019ve had a conversion experience. So, please lay off of the guilt. I have enough already.<\/li>\n
  2. I have a memory of church: it\u2019s one I was raised in, or the one I had the best experience in, or maybe the one I converted in. I\u2019m going to measure yours according to that.<\/li>\n
  3. I start scanning the parking lot. How many cars? Are there enough? Is this going to be a big enough place where I can get lost, at least initially?<\/li>\n
  4. It\u2019s ok to greet me, but don\u2019t ask me for too much information because I don\u2019t want to reveal that I\u2019ve been back-slidden for so long.<\/li>\n
  5. I\u2018m going to sit close to the back, close to the door, if that\u2019s ok with you. It will help me be comfortable.<\/li>\n
  6. I\u2019m going to be listening for music I can relate to; not just fast, not just rock, but words. I remember things like Power in the Blood, Standing on the Promises, What a Friend We Have. So if you can jazz those up for me, it\u2019s going to be a big plus.<\/li>\n
  7. I dread long announcements. I\u2019m not unlike anyone else. Just give me the short details and facts.<\/li>\n
  8. In your use of the Bible, either print it out for me or stay in one place. I\u2019m embarrassed that I don\u2019t know how to find books like Joel or Amos, and I\u2019m not even sure how many books of John there are.<\/li>\n
  9. I do have a heart language for God, so please keep it simple and give me hope and talk alot about Jesus.<\/li>\n
  10. Make sure your website is more than just a brochure. I need to know how to get connected. Actually I need some refresher courses in Christianity 101. So are there some? Can I do them online? Can I do them at my convenience?<\/li>\n
  11. If there is any way we can all wear nametags, not just me, that would be very helpful.<\/li>\n
  12. If people can call me by name, it will make me feel like this is home.<\/li>\n
  13. Make sure you tell me what I\u2019m supposed to do now that I am a Christian, now that I\u2019m back. I think one of the reasons I drifted way is that all church became was just coming and going, coming and going, and I got bored.<\/li>\n
  14. Don\u2019t pressure me into membership. Let me be a part of the community before I am pressured into those kinds of commitments.<\/li>\n
  15. Please put yourself in my shoes. I ought to know more and I don\u2019t. I ought to have experienced more, but I haven\u2019t. I believe a certain set of things that I\u2019ve never been able to work them out into real life. Make it practical. Even though I am a Christian, I\u2019ve been gone a long time.<\/li>\n
  16. Be patient with me. I\u2019m not going to join quickly and I\u2019ll gladly volunteer before I join. As a matter of fact, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever join because church membership really hasn\u2019t done anything for me in the past. I think I\u2019m still a member of my old home church?<\/li>\n
  17. If I can be a part without being an official member, that would be great.<\/li>\n
  18. Bottom line: give me hope, the hope that comes from the gospel\u2019s good news about God\u2019s lavish grace. Help me to understand it. It\u2019s my shallow understanding after my conversion that\u2019s kept me a child in my faith. This time around, help me go deeper, but make it simple. I get confused easily.<\/li>\n
  19. Speak with passion and empathy. Make me believe you face some of the same things I do.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    I\u2019m a growing number of people who have been raised in church, but have stopped going, dropped out along the way: could\u2019ve been college, could\u2019ve been marriage, or maybe just moving to a new place. But all of the sudden, something\u2019s happened and I feel like I need to go back to church, but where? … Continue reading “Hello, My Name is Church Drop-out Guy, and I\u2019m coming to Your Church Tomorrow”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"series":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.davidfoster.tv\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}