How often have you heard a writer say, “My book isn’t for church people. I mean, I don’t want to preach to the choir, I want to reach those searching for Christ.”
Not for nothing, but friends, who do you think is in the choir? Sure, some of the people sitting in the pews of any given church are life-long believers who know all they need to know about God and living a life of faith. I mean, surely there are people like that.
One or two, anyway.
But most of the people coming to church are more like you and I. They’re regular folks who want to follow Christ, to be an example for him in an ever darkening world, but who struggle.
With failure.
With depression.
With finances.
With raising kids.
With marriages.
With…
Well, fill in the blank. Suffice it to say many of us simply struggle. And so we make our beleaguered way to church on Sunday, looking for answers to the questions no one seems able to answer.
Why has my child come out as gay? Did God make her that way? Did I do something wrong?
Why is my marriage always a struggle? Why doesn’t God just fix my spouse?
Why am I losing my home? Doesn’t God love me any more?
Why…
Again, just fill in the blank. Being in church doesn’t mean life is all settled and we know the answers. Being in church means we’re—wait for it—seeking God. Some of us are saved, and some of us aren’t. Some who attend church are just trying to understand what this whole faith thing is about and why they should care.
And guess what? Your books and stories and messages hold some of the answers they’re seeking. More than that, the answers they need.
So please, preach to the choir. Write to the choir.
They need you.
2015 A.D. (Amazon Domination)
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Great post, Karen. I think many of us forget that we need to hear the gospel everyday as well as those who’ve never heard it.
I grew up in the church as a pastor’s daughter. I never could understand why there were always evangelistic messages when it was the same people who were there every week. People need more than a salvation message week after week, month after month, year after year. Ok, I’m saved. Now what? Preaching to the choir ought to be the inspiration to live out the Christian life where the rubber meets the road, in the nitty gritty of things we face on a daily basis. Most importantly -how to flesh out the Love Walk. How to deal with disagreements and offenses and get along with other people so the world will know we are Christians by our love and want to be part of it. Sadly there have been too many casualties and people who have left church because of the lack of love shown there. I’m no longer a “churchian” but I will always be a Christian. If there was ever a group that needed some illumination it’s the “choir”.