Monday, March 2, 2009

Quitting Church

The topics for our church services this March were created by our congregation. Throughout February we surveyed the congregation and asked them what they wanted us to talk about at our weekend services. They turned in many questions, and our church elders chose five to teach about.

I thought you might be interested in seeing them all. So here they are in no particular order.

Is Jesus the only way to God?

How important is Jesus to my spiritual journey?

How can I know for sure Jesus was raised from the dead?

How to deal with stress

The Bible. How do I read it and apply it.

Why is church is important?

How can I express how I feel and not be scared to do so.

How can I earn trust in a relationship?

Heaven and Hell

How can I know I’m going to heaven when I die?

Divorce

Money

Your thoughts on the economy

Stress

I’m too busy. How can I slow down without neglecting responsibilities?

More marriage topics please (we had just finished a series on marriage)

How to communicate love to someone who is very different from you

Dealing with life fatigue

How can I serve?

Loneliness

Finding meaningful friendships

Help me find passion for life

Why is the Bible so hard to read?


Out of those topics we created this series:


WHAT ABOUT THAT?: The Weekend Series You Created

March 1 — Spiritual Perspectives on the Economy

March 8 — Heaven and Hell

March 15 — Making 21st-century Sense of the 1st-century Bible

March 22 — Finding Peace and Sanity Amid Life’s Ceaseless Demands

March 29 — How Can I Know Jesus Was Raised From the Dead?


On another note, I just finished reading a very interesting, sobering book titled Quitting Church by Julia Duin, religion Editor at the Washington Times. It’s a very thought-provoking book that I’d love to discuss with anyone who wants to read it and meet me at Starbucks for some coffee. Any takers? Among her findings are that on any given weekend only 18-20% of Americans attend church. And for good reasons.