Tonight we started a new service called “The Door”. We had 5 people show up – none of them students from UMKC or Rockhurst. The good news – everything was ready, we had plenty of pizza, and the room looked great. At one point, two student-types showed up and walked in the door. We got excited, but played it cool. Turns out that they were actually there to start jobs with the janitorial company the church hires to clean the building.
During worship (of course we had it – it’s for an audience of One anyway), I was struck by two conflicting feelings. The first was disappointment, frustration, and maybe a little bit of rejection – but this didn’t last long. As we sang and prayed, I was reminded that Central UMC has been content not to engage the college students for more years that I have been alive. You can’t just stop ignoring a group of people, paint a door yellow, make some snazzy postcards, and expect them to come beating down your door (or do we)?
It’s hard ground, but not impenetrable. It’s time to get on that campus and start meeting people. Today is the day we stop ignoring our neighbor and start engaging them.
1 Comment
August 21, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Hey boyf!
Keep it up! It looks great.
Sometimes I start a post and just write a tiny bit to remind myself what it is about – then come back to finish it later. That way, I have that post for that day and i don’t miss 3 days in a row…
I am exited about TPP!
you’re gonna do it – and I want to help you. It’s genious.
Another person who might have some unbiased ideas: Wes.
Love you!