Is this what Jesus told you guys to do?

I have been reading an awesome book called Jim and Casper Go to Church by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper. The book is about a retired pastor, Jim Henderson, who pays an atheist, Matt Casper, to attend a number of churches with him. The two travel from California, to Texas, to Illinois to attend church services. At each service, they record their impressions and informally rate the church’s appeal. The point of the book is to make the church aware of how it is perceived by non-Christians and visitors.

At each church service, Casper’s chief question is, “Is this what Jesus told you guys to do?” “This” refers to a variety of practices that Casper and Jim observe in the churches they visit. Having grown up in the church, and having been intimately involved in three different churches and one college ministry, the practices he questions are traditions in which I have participated for years without question. A few of the customs Casper questions are as follows:

- Being told to greet one another. You know this one if you’ve ever been to church. Usually toward the beginning of the worship service, the pastor says, “Now stand up and greet one another – welcome each other to church this morning.” This morning, my pastor even encouraged us to walk around the room and say “hello.” Casper points out that at most of the services he and Jim attend, the only people who say “hello” to them are the ones who are told to greet them or the “overly happy” greeters at the front doors. He wonders why people are not more willing to be welcoming on their own – if we really have something special in Jesus, why are we not pleasant to visitors attending our services – or even one another – without being prompted?

- Money being spent on production. Jim and Casper attended some of the mega churches in the US in addition to smaller lesser known organizations. At the mega churches, Casper questioned the amount of money the church was spending on equipment to “produce” their service. Couldn’t that money be better used elsewhere (ie: to help other people)? Although my church is not a mega church, it did make me wonder what impression we are giving to visitors. Do our words of self-sacrifice and service meet our actions?

- The music. As a band member himself, Casper intently listened to the lyrics of the music and questioned several well known praise songs. In response to one song he comments, “And the lyrics? ‘Hope changes everything’? What does that mean? Hope changes nothing except your own feelings. Action changes everything.” Of course, “professional” Christians can interpret the lyrics and draw the intended conclusions, but it did make me think about the songs we sing in church on a regular basis. I know some of the lyrics hit me wrong; how do they appear to people unfamiliar with the songs?

- The message. Jim and Casper note that too often the message is either full of vague promises that are not backed by significant portions of scripture or it is not focused enough on action. In response to one sermon on self-control, Casper puts it concisely, “Well, sure it improves their lives. But was Jesus all about improving his life? In my opinion – whether or not you think he was the Son of God – he was about effecting change within and without. And too often, the change churches seem to asking for is strictly personal.” In almost every church, Casper was left asking, “What do you want me to do? What action do I take in response to this message?” He notes that what should set Christians apart from other people is the change they are making in the world, and he did not see evidence of that change in very many churches.

The book has made me more closely examine my own church service and be more sensitive to visitors in our midst. The best thing about this book, too, is that it puts the responsibility of outreach on church members and not only on church leaders. I have to admit that I am insanely critical of church leaders. I have strong opinions about how pastors should preach and what they should say, and I find myself placing close to 100% of the success of Sunday morning on their shoulders. Jim and Casper Go to Church has reminded me that much of the success of Sunday morning and the rest of the week is on my shoulders. They note that being greeted in the parking lot by a member was much more effective than being greeted at the door by a church leader. Casper says that having a Christian who is willing to listen to him and hang out with him after work gets his attention more than a pastor standing in front of a church. I love books that stick with me after the last page is turned, and this is truly one of those books and one I recommend to everyone who calls themselves a Christian.