Turfidist, a Religious Disease

I want to warn you that if you live in our small community this post could either tick you off or make you jump and yell "Yes!". I know that writing a post like this will make me unpopular but the truth is never popular where sin is present. It makes me sad to write a post like this but no one else is willing to talk about it outside of the walls of their own church. Moaning and groaning and complaining will not change things but action will. 

In our small town there seems to be an attitude that I call "Turfidist". I have heard comments from pastors such as, "If you do not attend church in our community you should not minister here" and "If you are not part of our congregation I do not want my men meeting with you". There is also an attitude of jealousy among the church leaders which showed itself on the front page of the local newspapers where some complainted at a city meeting that some churches were getting treated better in regard to the city's signage policy.

I want to make two points about these attitudes.

1. I believe it would be a good thing if the pastors of our town would apply the Bible to whether someone who goes to church in another town but is doing ministry in our town.

Mark 9:38-40 (The Message)
38 John spoke up, "Teacher, we saw a man using your name to expel demons and we stopped him because he wasn't in our group." 39-41 Jesus wasn't pleased. "Don't stop him. No one can use my name to do something good and powerful, and in the next breath cut me down. If he's not an enemy, he's an ally. Why, anyone by just giving you a cup of water in my name is on our side. Count on it that God will notice."

Jesus, the son of our Creator, told His disciples not to interfer with the work of those who were casting out demons in His name but were not part of their group. It would seem a good thing for someone to be doing the work that God has called them to do especially if they are ministering to people others are not. I believe we should rejoice in the work of someone who is able to reach those we cannot.

It seems that Jesus is telling us to rejoice when someone not in our group is experiencing success in sharing the gospel with those who do not attend church. My view of ministry is it takes place more outside of the church than inside. Jesus went to the countryside to minister more than He did in the synagogue and maybe we should be too. 

2. As far as the signage conflcit is concerned it would be good for leaders to look at the stats on what causes people to visit and then become a member of a congregation. In the studies I have seen here is the percentage breakdown on why people began to attend a church.

   1%     Special Need
   2.5%  Walked in

   5%     Pastor
   2%     Visitation
   5%     Sunday School
   1.5%  Evangelistic crusade
   3%     Church program
 81%     Friend or relative

In Matthew 10: 1-23 tells us about how Jesus sent out the 12 disciples to minister. The verses talk about healing and casting out demons which both involve some form of personal contact. From the stats above and from scripture we find that people respond to a relationship. As pastors we should be more focused on building relationships and rejoicing in the victories other churches are experiencing.

I have had the opportunity to sit in on monthly luncheons in our community and at one of these a miniter asked asked if the other pastors had the same difficulty he was having in growing their congregations. None at the meeting were experiencing growth and could not come up with ideas on how to touch those who were not attending church.

Our community and surrounding county has about 52% of people not attending or associated with a church. It would seem to me that when we shop, go out to eat or attend an event at one of our local schools 52% of those we come in contact with probably do not attend church. According to the above stats only 5% of those people will be drawn by the pastor but 81% will be drawn by a personal relationship with someone else.

You might be asking yourself "How do I apply this post to my life?"

1. Use scripture in battling any "Turfidist" issues in your life. If someone is sharing the gospel in areas of your community that you are not touching then rejoice that Jesus is being shared.

2. Remember that it is relationships that draw people to Jesus. It is how Jesus operated. God created us to need relationships and that is how the church in the 1st century grew. If it worked then it will work today. Afterall it is the standard Jesus set for us.

If you live in our town or in our county I encourage you to take the following survey and share with me what your idea church would look like. My Ideal Church