By Josiah Anthony, Argyle Campus Pastor, Cross Timbers Church
I was getting my beard trimmed by my barber the other day. His name is Spoony. Like many people living in North Texas, Spoony grew up in church. But also like many people living in North Texas, he had a lot of bad church experiences.
He knows I’m a pastor, and in my opinion, he is a pastor too, just a pastor that happens to cut hair. So naturally, when we get together, we talk about life, church, Jesus and our family.
During my appointment, he shared a bit of his story with me about his recent experience at a local church. As he shared, there was a part of me that half expected him to talk about the relevant message series they were in, the engaging songs, maybe even how smooth the transitions were on stage or how there was a welcoming environment in the kids’ ministry and parking lot. You know, all of the things that we pastors work countless hours on to make sure we are an “attractive” church to the local community.
But he didn’t mention any of those things. Instead, he spoke on the authenticity and transparency of the people. He told me he loved the church because they actually had pastors on staff willing to get on stage and form an entire message around their struggles. Not the struggles of their past that they have overcome, but their current struggles they haven’t quite figured out yet.
As pastors, we work really hard making sure we have an excellent experience on the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, all of those details that create a good church, like kid ministry, student ministry, and parking lot flow are important. But guys like Spoony encourage me and remind me of what this world really needs from the local church, which is authentic relationships and genuine people that help everyone grow closer to Jesus Christ.
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