It’s been asked that if a tree falls in the forest and nobody hears it, does it make a sound?  It might be appropriate for us to ask, if the church meets weekly and nobody pays attention, is it still relevant?

There are many things that draw people’s attention.  Work, education, family, recreation, television, internet, cell phones, shopping, Blackberries, vacations, renovations, litigations, mortgages, repairs, maintenance, upkeep, planting, weeding, and for the last six months, snow shoveling!  In the midst of all this “noise” do people even hear the church?  Is anyone listening?  Does anyone even care?

I believe that many people do in fact care.  In the midst of all the “noise” they are desperately looking for something to fill the void in their lives.  Pastor Jud Wilhite (Central Christian Church, Las Vegas) wrote, “I believe with all my heart that the church is the world’s hope. Government can’t change the heart. Education, as important as it is, can’t change the heart. Healthcare and Social Security reform won’t change the heart. Only God can do that. And He uses people–the church–to reach out and impact others.”

If what this pastor said is true, and I believe it is, the answer to man’s needs will only come through the presence of God in their lives, and often that presence is realized through the work and ministry of believers; people who are being “salt” and “light” (Matthew 5:13).

But how have we been doing?  Is it possible that in our good-intentioned efforts to maintain the “sanctity” of the Church we have become so closed-in that we are unheard and irrelevant in the 21st century? Certainly our doors are still open.  We put out the “Welcome” sign, but how welcome will some people feel?  Does the stranger, the one who looks different, acts different, or has a whole set of “problems” really fit in? How about the person who is obviously struggling with an addiction?  How about the person recently released from prison?  Are they made to truly feel welcome?  Would you have them sit beside you?

It seems to me that there are at least three essentials before a person can truly make a church their home.

1. People need a sense of belonging.  This is more than a handshake or a greeting.  It’s the sense that they are a part of the fellowship; that their presence matters, that their voice is heard, that they have something valuable to offer.  It’s a sense that there are people there that care about them; that if they didn’t show up, someone would notice.

2. People need to feel that they won’t be judged.  This goes hand in hand with the first item, because if they feel like they’ve been judged, they certainly won’t feel they belong. This is a tough one because we need to be very careful not to accommodate sin, but at the same time we can certainly understand the struggles people have and empathize with them, unless of course, we’ve never sinned.

3. People need to be challenged with the truth. It might feel good to hear what you want to hear, but people look to the church to guide them in truths of God’s Word. At no point should the church try to be “relevant” by watering down the gospel.

Those are my thoughts.  What are your thoughts?  How are we doing?  How can we do better?  Are we truly an approachable people?  Are we prepared to go out of our comfort zones and meet people who are different than ourselves?

I love our church.  We do many things well.  But we’re not perfect either.  I pray that as we ponder these questions, we will become more sensitive to the needs of the community around us and thereby become the Salt & Light Jesus calls us to become.

Ever since I was a child I can remember television advertisements encouraging fitness. The idea was to get active, whether it meant swimming, biking, a team sport, of just walking. Today there are many people who enjoy a good workout as a means to not only stay fit, but also to reduce stress. It seems that fitness and stress reduction have cropped up everywhere, including schools. Who wouldn’t want to teach children to take care of their bodies? What could possibly be wrong with teaching children to relax?

Just this past week CBC television covered a story about an elementary school in the east that was participating in a study to find out the impact of yoga on children. They were teaching children to practice yoga as a means of promoting calmer, less stressed students.

Yoga is certainly nothing new, but it has spread in recent years. There are yoga exercise mats, yoga clothing, yoga cruises, all sorts of yoga books and much more. Yoga is practiced in schools, offices, medical centres, and even in some churches. There are some who practice what they call “Christian Yoga”.

With so many jumping on the yoga bandwagon you might wonder why there are others (like myself) who are critical of what’s going on when it all seems like harmless fun.

To understand yoga we need to understand its basis. Where does it stem from? What is really happening during yoga?

For some people, yoga is just an exercise. But is it really? Yoga may involve exercise but yoga is essentially a whole philosophy based entirely on eastern mysticism, a philosophy that is seriously contrary to Biblical Christianity.

Merriam-Webster defines yoga as “a Hindu theistic philosophy teaching the suppression of all activity of body, mind, and will in order that the self may realize its distinction from them and attain liberation.” Even the word “yoga” comes from the word meaning yoking. The whole point of yoga is not exercise; it is a practice that strives to unite the individual soul with the “greater soul” of the universe. In fact, if you told a Hindu that you were going to practice yoga for exercise or stress relief they would be just as insulted as you should be if someone told you they were going to practice baptism as a way to learn how to hold their breath longer. You don’t need baptism to practice holding your breath and you don’t need yoga for fitness or stress relief. A Christian can engage in any number of forms of exercise that are not based on Hinduism.

Brian Flynn, of One Truth Ministries writes, “rather than trying to persuade Christians that they are in error, (the hard way) we have chosen to accommodate their error and call it “Christian” Yoga to make them feel better. For once I can say that on a spiritual topic I agree with the Hindus, there is no such thing as “Christian” Yoga.”

Swami Param of the Classical Yoga Hindu Academy agrees. He writes, “Every week, we get calls from Christians and Jews who would like to study “yoga.” When we inform them that all of Yoga is Hinduism, they are shocked! Of course, they choose not to come to our classes. These people should be informed, for they waste our time to say nothing of their confusion. The phoney yoga teachers do not care. Many Christians and Jews have taken such classes, and, when they discover they have covertly been learning Hinduism, there are many mental and emotional ramifications.”

The fact is, yoga is a form of eastern religion, a religion that teaches an entirely different philosophy from Biblical Christianity. Exercise is good, but when it embraces a method that includes meditation of the soul with the greater soul universe (as just one example), there shouldn’t be room for it in our schools, let alone our churches.

I had posted the following story on my Facebook account and since it was generating some discussion, I thought I would post it here. Please feel free to comment.

One Sunday morning an old cowboy entered a church just before services were to begin. Although the old man and his clothes were spotlessly clean, he wore jeans, a denim shirt and boots that were very worn and ragged. In his hand he carried a worn out old hat and an equally worn out Bible.

The church he entered was in a very upscale and exclusive part of the city. It was the largest and most beautiful church the old cowboy had ever seen. The people of the congregation were all dressed with expensive clothes and accessories.

As the cowboy took a seat, the others moved away from him. No one greeted, spoke to, or welcomed him. They were all appalled at his appearance and did not attempt to hide it.

As the old cowboy was leaving the church, the preacher approached him and asked the cowboy to do him a favor. “Before you come back in here again, have a talk with God and ask him what he thinks would be appropriate attire for worship.” The old cowboy assured the preacher he would.

The next Sunday, he showed back up for the services wearing the same ragged jeans, shirt, boots, and hat. Once again he was completely shunned and ignored. The preacher approached the man and said, “I thought I asked you to speak to God before you came back to our church.”

“I did,” replied the old cowboy.

“If you spoke to God, what did he tell you the proper attire should be for worshiping in here?” asked the preacher.

“Well, sir, God told me that He didn’t have a clue what I should wear. He said He’d never been in here before.”

It is clear that judging someone by what they wear is wrong.  There could be a hundred reasons why someone dresses the way they do.  Having said that, it doesn’t mean that it what people wear doesn’t matter.  The point is, we can’t judge someone by what they wear, at least not if it’s simply a matter of “style” or “quality”.

True, we don’t want to be stiff-necked, but is going to church the same thing as going to the beach?  In other words, shouldn’t I show due regard to where I am going and dress accordingly?  Can we take a too casual approach to our worship of God?  If so, why?

What do you think?