Breaking and Entering....The Church?

Breaking and entering is a topic that typically draws a lot of negative attention.  That is not the case for this blog post.  My hope is that people who are mature followers of Christ would break and enter.  My hope is that seekers would break and enter.  Let me explain.

    The church can sometimes feel like a fortress.  It is filled with people who all seem to know each other and all seem to know the campus.  People have their special seats, their own special friends and their own schedule for when and how they will arrive on campus. Many of these people do not include reaching out to people whom they do not recognize in their plans.  So much so, people who have been coming to “the fortress” for over a year have still struggled to find their way in the church.  My encouragement to these people is to break and enter!  Find a way to implant yourselves into the patterns, routines, and friendships in the church.  Don’t be quiet about it.  I had a couple come up to me one Sunday and tell me that they have been coming for a month and no one had come and had a conversation with them or welcomed them.  You better bet I made it my new role to introduce them to everyone in the church that I knew.  They had to break and enter to make a home here.  My challenge is that as a church we need to make it easier for people to break in by practicing hospitality instead of routine or comfort.  Next, if you are new, JUST BREAK IN!  Don’t take “no” for an answer.  Invite yourself to people's homes, tell their kids a funny (appropriate) joke, attend everything until you find someplace that suits you, serve everywhere.  BREAK IN!
​
    For those that already have broken into “the fortress.”  You need to break and enter into the community.  It was once said that for every year you attend church you lessen your ability to reach those outside of the church by 10%.  That means if you have been in church for 10 years you stand almost no chance of reaching anyone outside of the church.  You form a Holy Huddle and begin only socializing with other believers.  For those that find this to be the case for themselves, break and enter into the community.  Over the last five years I have broken into the community by coaching, substitute teaching, helping with counseling at the local schools, playing adult softball, joining the Clearlake Bassmasters, and running the Christian Club on a couple local campuses.  This time has forced me to interact with other non-believers and has let my light shine before men so that they may see God.  Have you hidden your light under a bushel?  Break and enter into the community at large!

-Pastor Paul Mollett

​