The Small Church Shepherd: The Other Missions Window

We stood leaning over the bed of his pick up in my driveway. When I asked he said that he had been raised in church and that he had raised his children the same way but hadn’t gone much himself. However, he was a very active chaplain for a well known fraternal order. He enjoyed going to the hospitals and providing cheer and comfort to children in some of the most severe treatment wards. When I asked what he did, he said that mostly he brought clowns with him and that seemed to cheer the boys and girls. When I asked what he did in his spiritual responsibility at the meetings of his order, he indicated that he simply read the required prayers. Though he declared himself a Christian, he thought all religions were good. He understood little of the person and work of Jesus. This man is not atypical of many in North America today. On published polls or surveys he would be listed as a Christian. Wade Clark Roof a researcher from the University of California at Santa Barbara says that 77 million baby boomers in the United States are like him. They declare themselves to be “born again” but only about half of them associate in any way with conservative churches. Read more