This Sunday is Easter and when you look around your church you’re going to get that uncomfortable feeling that comes from being around all kinds of people you haven’t seen in a while or perhaps never before. You know, the slackers who only show up at church twice a year, the backsliders who haven’t been to church in 5 years, and the heathens who wouldn’t know the Pentateuch from a pentagram.
They’re going to take your favorite pew, sit and stand at the wrong times during the service, and double your wait in the coffee line after the service. You don’t want to have to put up with those distractions and inconveniences week in and week out, so here are 12 ways to ensure those people don’t come back the week after Easter.
- Keep to yourself. Avoid eye contact. And by all means don’t welcome anyone you don’t know.
- Walk up to someone you haven’t seen for a while and say, “Hey, hey… Look who it is… You don’t think just showing up for Easter is going to get you out of the Big Guy’s doghouse, do you?”
- Make sure all the greeters, ushers, singers, speakers, and everyone involved in leading the service are all of the same ethnic background so that if anyone of a different ethnicity shows up they know they are considered second-class citizens.
- Take down all your signs so only the regulars know if a door leads to the pastor’s office, the ladies room, or a broom closet.
- During the service have the pastor pray, “Lord, please forgive all those sinners who have failed to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.”
- Invite the worst singer in the choir to do a solo.
- Find a way to tie the Easter message into a soliloquy on the Iraq War and make it clear that everyone who disagrees with the pastor’s position is on the devil’s side.
- During the service ask all the visitors to stand and then introduce themselves to the entire congregation.
- Announce that next week the pastor will begin a 12-week series on hell.
- Put a sign up in the children’s ministry area that indicates you have a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy when it comes to volunteers with criminal records.
- Just assume that everyone understands what communion is all about. Then when people start coming forward to receive communion have the ushers quietly walk up to the “really big sinners” and ask them to return to their seats.
- Announce that visitors must fill out a form with their contact information and should expect an elder-evangelist tag team waiting in their driveway when they get home.
Of course, if you actually care about guests and irregular church attenders because you believe they matter to God, you might consider doing just the opposite. 😉
Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com
Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.
An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.
Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication.
50 Comments
The article is listed under humor – take it as such….
I have actually been to churches that did all of the above – or most of them anyway
HA HA! THIS IS LIKE AN APRIL FOOL’S JOKE!
but is’nt that what happens in church every week!
what church do YOU go to?? 😉
http://CypressMeadows.org
You're welcome to join us if you're every in the Tampa, FL area on a Sunday.
BTW, I'm not suggesting in the least that my own church is perfect or gets the items in this post right all the time.
I’m sure this is the way Christ would want you to respond….wow, this is actually offensive and i dont’ get offended easy.
Wow. I’m used to jokes, but this one is a bit too cold for even me. Bad taste.
Did you not read the line at the end where he says to do the opposite??
Paul,
Where is your church? I have been looking for a church like yours.
Here are some additional possible entries:
– have a booth in the lobby with free income analysis and appropriate tithe calculations
– all regular attendees arrive early to insure that all the “one and doners” will have to park way down the block
– have your greeters ask everyone for prayer requests: “What sins are your dealing with that we can help you confess?”
I was very disgusted and offended by the content of this email. Even though the last line was a turning point, it came way too late and I’m sure that if others stopped reading before they got to it, as I was tempted to do, then they received the wrong message. We should NEVER suggest such unChristlike behavior even through sarcasm.
WONDERFUL! Nothing ‘Offensive’ here!
The Lord Jesus LOVES Laughter!
And ANYTHING that ‘GETS THE POINT ACROSS’ to HIS
‘Deaf’, ‘Dumb’, ‘Blind’, ‘Sound Asleep’, ‘Busy Doing Social Things’, or ‘We got-it-all-together, perfectly-organized, planned and scheduled down-to-the-minute, carefully-controlled’ Churches !
LISTEN CHURCHES !
Offended????? Those who were offended by this need to calm down. Just because you don’t like something, there is no need to become offended by it.
God has a sense of humor (proof: the duckbilled platypus, rap music, Donald Trump), so why don’t YOU?
I’ve been to this church!
While the content was hilarious, it struck some realistic cords. The “hints” seem totally bizarre, yet many churches habitually practice one or two of these points without realizing how harmful they are. Since this behavior will chase visitors away, just the opposite behavior will make visitors feel welcome and safe. Perhaps there’s a lesson hidden amongst the humor for each of us to learn.