Real Men Wear Purple & Church Growth

Last week, Erin and I were able to finally get to go up north to see our families after Isaac did his best to delay that trip over Labor Day.  In four crazy days, we did some stuff we don't normally do - getting into her parents' at 3:00am and two days later getting into my parents' at 2:00am, crossing three lanes of interstate traffic at midnight to hang out at a McDonald's on I-90 outside of Buffalo (legally), and riding around in a '52 Buick Roadmaster.  As much fun as those things were though (even if they did make us realize we are getting older), there were two particular parts of the trip that made me think of our shared life together as people who have waded through the waters of baptism and now live out our lives as part of this community of faith.

First, on our way to meet my sister-in-law and her boyfriend in Rochester, we stopped in at Erin's alma mater, Houghton College.  While we had stopped there once before, briefly, I had never spent any real time walking around the campus. While realizing they are now allowing 10-year-olds into college (at least that's what they looked like to us), it was neat to hear Erin tell me stories about this or that place, to see the locations of some of the stories she had already told me, and to be a little more familiar with this place that influenced her so much.

Two days later, we had a few hours to kill in Pittsburgh while my parents were tending to a previously-scheduled appointment, I was able to take her to downtown Pittsburgh, a place, like Houghton for me, I had taken her a couple of times but never really got to show her around like I would have wanted.  We went to the top of Mount Washington, taking in all the views of the beautiful city skyline (like Heinz Field, home of the -ahem- SIX-TIME Super Bowl Champion Pittsburgh Steelers), wrapping up our time together by having lunch at my friend Tommy's pizza joint and hanging out at the farmer's market in Market Square.  During this time, I told her lots of stories, sharing in much the same way as she shared with me while we were in Houghton.

What's all this got to do with church growth?  Well, what is it that we are doing when we share our faith with others?  We are sharing with them some life-transforming memories and experiences we have had, while inviting them to join us as we make new memories and have new experiences.  You never know what will happen when you share the important things of your life with those you know and care about so very much.  (After all, when I found out that the Houghton Highlanders' official colors were purple and gold, as part of the family - even if only by marriage - it was incumbent upon me to sport the team colors, which is why I now own the shirt pictured above.)

Who is it that needs to hear the story of how being a part of the church has transformed your life in such a way that you can't not want to share it with them? If we take the time to share other important things in our lives such as schools and former locations, imagine the joy of sharing the grace of Jesus Christ which has so profoundly impacted our lives, and inviting them to share the journey?

Grace and Peace,

Lamar