We were playing mixed doubles the other day, with a man and a woman, Joyce and Jacob (not a couple). After the introductions, the man, 'Jacob' said, "I hear you are a preacher." I said yes, and mentioned the church I serve. Jacob said, "I am a member of that church." I teased him and invited him to come to church. As the conversation unfolded, he admitted that he has not been to church in the past fifteen years. According to Jacob, the pastor, more than fifteen years ago, had mixed religion and politics, and he never went back, though there have been three or four other pastors since. The conversation unfortunately led to the crux of the matter, which was essentially his unbelief.
As I pondered the conversation, I really did have to be grateful for the clear explanation that came relative to those who become "inactive". There is always the desire on the part of active members to want to re-capture, or reactivate those folks. But the truth of the matter is, they are always inactive for a reason. This particular person had reached the conclusion that "religion is the cause of all the problems in the world." Such a person cannot be re-activated into meaningful church membership, because they no longer believe in its teachings.
So it was a real "bummer" of a conversation that didn't mix well with my tennis game. But it did give me insight into a particular category of 'church members.'
And completely out of the blue, the one who was not a member at all, Joyce and her husband showed up in church today! What a lovely surprise!
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