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I recently read an article in Leadership e-zine that caused me to really think about the message we give as a church to our community. The article began with a question that I am using as the title.

Malcolm Gladwell wrote a bestseller book called “Blink” in which he makes the claim that often times our first impressions are the correct ones. To illustrate he talked about a psychologist who could predict whether a marriage would last, based on only a few minutes of observing a couple. He also told about a tennis coach who knew when a player would double-fault before the racket even made contact with the ball.

Through junior & senior high football, I learned that a good football coach can tell the likelihood of success as the teams line up on the ball based on their positioning and shifting; whether the defense is reading the play or not. All of this happens in the blink of an eye.

Did you know this happens in communities concerning churches? People who do not attend our church size us up in but a few minutes of conversation. People who visit our church will generally make up their minds about us in the first three minutes.

We all know subconsciously what they are observing that makes all the difference, but it helps to bring it out in the open and ask the question: What makes people like a church, or want to join a church? It’s the difference between feeling safe or vulnerable, welcomed or watched, whether we are a church for people or a church for programs & protocols.

This last one is actually first in importance because people will not feel safe or welcomed in a church that prioritizes programs over people.

It used to be that churches thought creating the right program, with the best teacher and the most dynamic curriculum will cause people to discover God, fall in love with Jesus, and grow to spiritual maturity. It hasn’t worked. We have literally spent billions on church growth and discipleship programs to discover that most of our growth has been through “sheep shifting.”

The generation for whom programs and protocols were meaningful is all but gone. And the current generation of unchurched people has a mistaken notion that church is so institutionalized they offer no real help in finding the living, loving God who can make a difference in their lives.

Jesus commanded us that loving God and our neighbors was to be the focus of our journey with God (Mark 12:30-31). He also said that people will only realize who we are and who he is because of our love for one another (John 13:35).

It’s simple…Loving God and Loving People cannot be worked out in the church building three hours each Sunday. Our everyday lives are where our spirituality is worked out. It is in finding moments to experience God in the Word and then in world around you. It is in offering your heart through service and prayer to every person you meet.

To sum it up, when I think of our Garfield County Churches, I think of Paul’s words in Ephesians four as a commendation of our faith life.

Eph 4:1-6 CEV: As a prisoner of the Lord, I beg you to live in a way that is worthy of the people God has chosen to be his own. (2) Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other. (3) Try your best to let God’s Spirit keep your hearts united. Do this by living at peace. (4) All of you are part of the same body. There is only one Spirit of God, just as you were given one hope when you were chosen to be God’s people. (5) We have only one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. (6) There is one God who is the Father of all people. Not only is God above all others, but he works by using all of us, and he lives in all of us.

Do we pass the “Blink” test of putting people first? Yes. But we can we do better? My challenge to every believer in our community is to make one new friend and invite them to your church. There they will find loving, caring and humble friends. Lots of them!

Pastor Roger Pedersen

Pomeroy Christian Church