If your neighbor wants a cup of coffee, they will most likely go to Starbucks or a nearby coffee shop to get their coffee fix…they are not going to come to your church for a cup of coffee.

It amazes me the great lengths churches have gone to in order to “attract” the postmodern, dechurched, and uninterested. If we dress hipper (it is now a word), sing louder, serve better coffee, etc., etc., surely they will come.

Well, we have had over a decade of this rat race in the church and guess what…they don’t care. The majority of growth that has happened has been transfer growth because your church is cooler than the one that I have been going to so I will start going to yours. I know pastors that get extremely excited about transfer growth.  They blog and post about their big and sudden increases in attendance on Facebook.  They Tweet about their boom in attendance this week on Twitter. They would be wise to remember what a wise, old pastor once told me; “The way that they come to your church will be the way that they leave your church.”

If they left their last church mad because things didn’t go their way.  Guess what, they will leave your church when things don’t go their way there as well. If they left because of dissatisfaction and an overwhelming feeling that the last church was no longer meeting their “spiritual needs” (yeah, that’s Biblical…NOT), as soon as the church across towns seems to be more exciting than yours, they will be out the door because you will no longer be meeting their “spiritual needs.”

These things might do well when it comes to attracting those who are dissatisfied at their current house of worship or even creating interest in someone who is simply not attending but who normally does attend worship each week.

But, and it is a really big but, the world could care less if you have a coffee shop in your foyer or a pizza kitchen after the morning worship service. Your skinny jeans really aren’t impressing them nor are your pyrotechnics. They are seeking authenticity and community. After interviewing college students this past semester, I discovered a growing reality amongst 20 somethings who do not attend church…there is a great level of distrust for the church and a cup of coffee and a donut are not going to fix that.

So, what are we to do in our churches to be attractional to the postmodern, the dechurched, and the uninterested?  The answer is…

Ask a different question.  Here it is. What can I do to be attractional to the postmodern, the dechurched, and the uninterested?  Notice the emphasis on the word “I.” I think it was a guy named Jesus who said that we should let our lights shine in such a way that others around us where we live, move, and have our being would be drawn to our heavenly father when they witness our good works.

What if the church, instead of training our people to do mass evangelism each week or investing in our Starbucks wanna-be vestibules, started training and encouraging our people to be salt and light in a dark and decaying world where they live each day?

What if we trained our people in Apologetics so that when their neighbor or co-worker challenged their faith they didn’t stand there like Elmer Fudd when he lost Bugs Bunny. What if the church took seriously the challenge to equip the saints for the ministry and realized that a huge part of the ministry is being able to give a reason for the hope that is within us?

Okay, okay.  Drink your coffee.  Shoot your fireworks from the stage if you must. But please understand that those things have not and never will attract those that are completely uninterested in the church.  They will never attract the lost to the saving message of Jesus Christ.  That’s my opinion at least.  What’s yours?

When did you stop?

Why did you stop?

What caused you to lose confidence in the very act of praying?

Surely, you did, at one time, call upon the Lord in prayer…didn’t you?

There is a country song titled, “Unanswered Prayers” which was made famous by Garth Brooks a few years ago. Okay, it’s been a little more than a few years but we won’t talk about getting old here. The context of Garth’s song is running into your high school sweetheart after having grown into adulthood, married someone else, had children, etc. The “old flame” was the one he used to pray that God would allow him to have for the rest of his life.  Obviously, God didn’t answer his prayer, they moved on to love another and now, being happy with his life, says that there are times when he thanks God for unanswered prayers.

Can I be honest? There are not many times in my life that I get great joy out of unanswered prayers…at least not in the moment.

It was my parent’s divorce that did it for me. I had a wonderful prayer life. I had been preaching for five years and was in my senior year of high school.  I had a great girlfriend (who actually married me), an awesome car, and what I thought was a perfect family. When I discovered that my parent’s marriage might be coming to an end, I prayed like I had never prayed before. I prayed a lot! I prayed, believed, claimed Scriptures, and everything else I thought might move God to answer my prayers.  He didn’t…they divorced…and I quit talking to Him.

So, there I was, on my way to the Moody Bible Institute in Chicago to prepare for full-time ministry and I was no longer speaking to the One whom I was preaching about on a weekly basis.  I was the prodigal son, only I was still telling others about my wonderful heavenly Father while not being fully convinced that He was all that wonderful deep down inside.

It was up there on Culby 18 that it all changed. Someone on our floor turned the custodial closet into a prayer closet.  I can still remember going in there and just sitting awkwardly as if I expected an audible apology.  I’d like to tell you that the glory fell in that moment and tears broke forth like a raging river but I’d be lying.  I sat in there, silent, alone, and then I walked back out…still upset, still doubting.  A few days passed, and the Holy Spirit was working overtime on my heart.  Every time I walked by that closet I felt strangely compelled to step inside.  One day I did…I was not alone…Someone was inside waiting for me…in that closet I realized again what I had known all along; He had been there all along and had never left me alone.  From that day on, I frequented that closet and God began to heal my broken heart.

That was sixteen years ago.  I wish I could tell you that I never missed a beat in my prayer life after that.  Again, I’d be lying if I said such a thing.  There is much more to say, and I’ll say it in my next post.  For now, let me leave you with these words of encouragement.

Find your closet…step inside…He’s there…He’s been waiting…and He’s listening…talk to Him…PRAY.