Well, I have to say, I am probably going to get phone calls and emails over this one. Today Bridge Church has two billboards going up in the area that say “We Apologize For…” with the web address, www.weapologizefor.com. Here is what this is all about:
I grew up in a church that was good at sharing what it was against. I didn’t really understand all this church stuff when I was a kid or teenager, but knew the church fostered an “us against them” mentality. The “them” were those people who were the pagans, and of course the “us” were the good church going people who didn’t dance, drink, curse, smoke etc… As I got into ministry I carried that mentality with me. Why? That is what I was taught. I was taught that we had to win these pagans to Christ, and if we did it would manifest itself in a bunch of outward signs.  They would get their hair cut, wear Dockers, carry a big ol’ KJV and Amen the preacher. What a load of manure!

While here in northeast Ohio, God showed me how screwed up my thinking had been. I actually started ti encounter and engage these so called “pagans.”  As I listened to them, they had amazing things to say!  What they told me, spoke volumes about the church and the people who attend it.  About half of the people I spoke to had grown up in church and decided not to attend in adulthood.  An equal amount had never been to church, yet held opinions about those who do.  These new friends shared that church didn’t make a difference in their lives (irrelevant), that the people who did were hypocritical, and that they felt judged when attending or even associating with church folks.  They really didn’t like the rules that churches had (News Flash:  Church people don’t like them either!).

All of that rambling to get to the point. I am going to be giving a public apology for the church being irrelevant, for being judgmental, for being hypocritical, and for being legalistic. In the last week, I’m going to share about the fantastic Good News that church folks have often kept to themselves.  This is not an indictment on any specific church or churches in the area. This series was born out of my childhood experiences mingling with my adulthood conversations with people who have not heard nor seen the true gospel.  I believe this really needs to be done, and since no one else has stepped up to do it, I will. Each Sunday for five weeks beginning on October 21st, I will be offering an apology. I am sure there will be some people in churches who won’t like what we are doing.

Maybe they will need to apologize.