Further Thoughts on "Attracting" versus "Blessing"

In my last blog, I quoted Tom Bandy's statement that our pressing question is not "What must we do in order to attract people?" but "What must we change in order to bless people?" 

Are those two impulses -- attracting and blessing -- mutually exclusive? Does it have to be one or the other? 

Over the last 25 or years, it's been fashionable to talk about the "missional church" as

opposed to the "attractional church." The Missional Church is outward turning. The Attractional Church is inward turning. Missional means getting out into the world and joining God in what God is already doing. Attractional means sitting in the pews and waiting for people to come to you. Or that's how it's often framed. 

So, we might think that, if we're supposed to be missional, it shouldn't matter whether we attract people to our church. And you hear this. "Why don't we just tear all the church buildings down and get out there and help people!" Or, "Who cares if we're down to 15 on a Sunday? We're not supposed to be into attracting people." 

It's not that simple, however, In order to engage in mission, you need people. Those people need to gather. They need to come together. That's the difference, I think, between the church and much of contemporary spirituality. You can be spiritual all on your own, in your own way, your own time, without the aggravation of other people. But in the church, we are bound (Latin religare -- think "ligament" -- or, "religious!") to one another. Mission requires other people. 

But more than that, if you are really engaged in serious mission, blessing others with the hope and healing, the challenge and change of the Gospel, you will attract people. You won't be able to help it. Truly missional churches are attractive church. People want to join them. Not everybody. Those who want a church without a mission, a sort of private chaplaincy service, or a religious club, will look elsewhere.  

But a vibrantly missional church which actively blesses people will not be able to help attracting people. 

So it's not a simple either/or -- either attracting or blessing. They go together. As we bless people who have not been touched before by the Gospel, we will attract them. As we attract them, they will be equipped to bless others. 

The real dividing line between different kinds of churches begins with the little word "Why?" Why do we do what we do? I believe there is no more important task for the church today than to subject all of its work, activities, programs, and behaviors to the searching light of this three letter word "Why?" 

Start with the basic question, "Why would we want to attract people to our church?" If the answer turns out to be, "Because we;re tired and we need some new people who can keep our present worship service and the church activities we have enjoyed doing for the last 50 years going," then you have a problem. 

If the only answer to the question "Why do we continue to run our roast beef dinner every year?" is "It brings in $2000 for the budget," then you've got a credibility issue. Because if that's all you've got to say for yourselves, people not already connected to the church will have exactly 0% interest in helping you meet your budget. 

If the only answer you can come up with to the question "Why do we continue to have a church choir with an average attendance of 8, most of whom can no longer sing?" is "Because the choir members enjoy it," then you've got a problem. 

All of the above responses really amount to saying, "The church is here to serve and bless those of us who are already here." If that is the case, it will be next to impossible to attract and hold anybody in today's wide-open religious marketplace. 

On the other hand, if the answer to the question "Why do we do what we are doing?" -- whether we're talking about worship, programs, activities, projects -- is "Because our purpose is to bless others with the Good News that God has come in Jesus Christ to heal them and give them hope and fill them with abundant life," then you've got something to work with. If you are really committed to that purpose, then everything you do will directed towards the people God is calling you to bless in your community. Even the blessing your own regular church members receivet will be for the sake of inspiring and equipping them to bless others. 

If that's what you're about, word will get around, and you will attract people. 

So, it's not a case of "Will we attract people?" or "Will we bless people?" But you start by focusing on blessing, because that's the main answer to the question "Why are we here?" If you try to start with attracting, you'll find that only those people who are looking for a church like the one you currently have will respond, and their numbers are getting fewer and fewer every year. 

If your main goal is to bless others outside your current congregation for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel, you won't be able to help attracting people.