Dear Church Family,

If we’re being honest, the Christian life seems to be backwards sometimes, does it not? Like when Jesus says that if we will humble ourselves, we will be exalted (Matthew 23:12). Or what about the last being first and the first being last (Matthew 20:16)? Then there is the example of the Macedonians who were over-the-top generous in the midst of their extreme poverty (II Corinthians 8:1-5). And the ultimate is Jesus’s declaration that “he who believes in Me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25). In each of these cases, there are 2 things that simply don’t go together – and yet they do … at least in Christ they do.

There’s another one. It’s hard to fathom. And even harder to reconcile. Some people – some Christians – live several decades and never attain to it. In fact, I struggle with it too. Constantly.

Come prayer time in most church circles, whether it’s Sunday School, prayer meetings, whatever, we have a familiar playbook. We take prayer requests, and if we’re feeling especially spiritual, we add on praise reports. Both of these categories have their own distinctives, right?

Prayer requests usually cover physical problems that people are having. The sickness or disease, the accident, the treatments, etc. Throw in those who are in sorrow over the loss of a loved one. Sadly, it’s much more rare for us to really open up about our loneliness, doubts, struggles, relationships, finances, and temptations, but when we’re in a group that affords such openness, it’s a real blessing. But the point is, our prayer requests are a list of the bad things happening to us and others at the time.

The praise reports are a welcomed break from the struggles list. During this (often too brief) time we talk about all the things that God has given us, all the blessings, all the good things that are going on. Things that we’re thankful for. Things that make us smile.

But what if the lines between prayer requests and praise reports were blurred? What if they weren’t distinct at all? Well guess what – in Christ, our prayer requests become praise reports. And I don’t mean after God answers the prayer requests. I mean WHILE they’re still prayer requests.

Hear the words of Habakkuk 3:17-18:

Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

No mention of future blessing or deliverance. No naming and claiming God’s abundance. Nope. Just transferring prayer requests into the praise report column. Backwards. And James captured the same backward idea when he said, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials” (1:2). Trials ---- & Joy. See? Backwards.

And yet, that’s as characteristic of the Christian life as living even when we die. And really, the source is the same too: faith that Christ is enough. Even if we don’t get all we want, even if God does not answer our prayers the way we would like, even if we continue to go without. God is still enough. And that’s reason enough to praise Him at all times.

See you Sunday!
Pastor Lane

Dear Church Family,

I came across this article late last year and thought I would pass it on to you. It might help explain why we make some of the decisions that we make. It also challenges each one of us to do what we can to make this a place that guests would want to come back to.

Top Ten Post-Pandemic Reasons Guests Do Not Return to Your Church

By Thom S. Rainer
Founder & CEO

In a recent conversation with a pastor I admire greatly, he commented, "We love seeing first-time guests, but we really love seeing second-time guests. We know those folks are serious about connecting with our church."

The conversation leads to an obvious question. How do we get first-time guests to return? Have the answers to this question changed since the COVID pandemic? In our conversations with people visiting churches, the reasons guests don't return remain the same. Here are the top ten reasons from guests before the pandemic. While a lot has changed, some things stay the same.

• "I will not return to a church that has a stand-and-greet time." We heard from over 1.000 guests, and 90 percent of them gave us this response. If you are thinking about bringing back this activity to your worship service, think again.
• "The people are unfriendly." Most church members think their church is friendly because the members are friendly to each other. Many guests felt like they were treated like unwanted outsiders.
• "I could not leave my child in the children's area. It was filthy and unsafe." This concern has grown since the pandemic.
• "I could not find any information on the church." Even though most of these guests visited the website, they were still looking for an information center or persons to give them more information.
• "The church website was terrible (or did not exist)." This issue is more of a first-time guest issue than a second-time guest issue, especially in the post-pandemic world. For most guests, if you have an inadequate website, your church does not exist.
• "The signage was terrible." The primary complaints were about inadequate parking signage and direction to the entry of the church.
• "I heard a lot of insider language in the worship service." Please avoid acronyms.
• "The service was boring, and I did not understand what was happening." Guests have choices. They will not choose a boring church. The first-time guest will not become the second-time guest.
• "Someone told me I was in their seat." Yes, it still happens.
• "The church facilities were messy and dirty." A lack of attention to the facilities communicated loudly that the church does not care.

Though the rankings of the reasons may have changed slightly since the pandemic, the reasons have 

not. And any church should be able to find ways to overcome these challenges.

As you can probably tell, some of these we have addressed well; others we still have work to do. Let’s work together to make IBC a place that guests want to return to.

See you Sunday!
Pastor Lane