… but I’m not going to lead a capital campaign to raise the money.
… but I’m not going to park far away.
… but I’m not going to risk stirring things up right now in the church.
… but I’m not going to attend a different service time.
… but I’m not going to start a new church.
… but I’m not going to stand for the pastor dressing casually.
… but I’m not going to give money to launch a new site or relocate.
… but I’m not going to watch someone on a video.
… but I’m not going to put in 50- or 60-hour weeks.
… but I’m not going to let them start playing drums.
… but I’m not going to change how I preach.
… but I’m not going to give up my favorite seat.
… but I’m not going to turn things over to a bunch of 20-somethings.
… but I’m not going to attend on Saturday night.
… but I’m not going to …
You fill in the rest of the blanks.
The problem with outreach today is that the most basic and elemental issues related to building a relationship with someone apart from Christ
… and then engaging in spiritual conversations,
… and then inviting them to an open and winsome and compelling “front door” so that they can come and see, come and hear, come and experience,
… is resisted by the very people who say they want those unchurched people to come and find Jesus.
Why? Because it would call for sacrifice or inconvenience of some kind. A leader would have to work harder, or invest in vision-casting and face potential opposition. Attenders would have to be part of a church that no longer exists solely to serve them but to serve those who have yet to enter the doors.
Which means that evangelism is fine in theory, but not in practice, because in practice, evangelism almost always involves death-to-self, the complete anti-consumer state of mind.
So can we change? Sure. But only when we look in the mirror and own the truth about our consumerism: We say we want them in heaven,
… but we act like they can go to hell.
