Why don't they come?

Why don't people go to church? I don't mean people who used to go and now have stopped; that's another topic. I mean those who are supposedly "searching." When I see people around me begin to believe, they often display an aversion towards attending any sort of organized meeting.

Problems in individual congregations are many. But there's a larger issue at stake. Sometimes it seems that the desire to be a part of a worshiping body seems to evade seekers or new believers. And it's not a cultural thing; I have seen it in many places.

What's the problem? Is it the churches themselves? Is it their reputation? Is it the way we witness? I rarely invite anyone to church on Sundays anymore. But I talk about my church all the time. People get interested and start asking when they can visit. But they never come. Some are interested in Bible study and different Christian topics. Bible study is okay, but a church service isn't. Holidays are okay, but regular services aren't. Why?

If God is truly calling a person to himself but the person is nervous about attending a Christian service, can't God drive away that fear? Can't God work despite the imperfections of a church service and reveal Himself irregardless? Is the hesitation an indication of the person's degree of interest?

But most people never even get as far as the church doors. Why is it so difficult?

Recently a "seeker" friend asked to come to church and we had even agreed on a time and place to meet. But then as usual, there was an excuse. Why? I wasn't even forcing her, she had expressed the interest on her own.

The phrase "bring the Church to them" rang in my head. Yet is it an answer? Are "outreach" events the same experience as regular meetings? By simply attending events where Christians gather, will a new believer be able to take root and become a part of the Body? Or will he continue to wander?

Dangerous crossings

Crossing the street near my building is always really difficult. There are many forms of transportation moving quickly. Recently, a new crosswalk got installed. I did see a car stop once or twice, but that's a rarity.

The other day, I was looking at the crosswalk more closely, and I realized why it is so difficult to cross there.

1) The crosswalk is painted where the driveway comes out! That's right, if you are standing in the crosswalk on the driveway side, you are standing directly in the way of cars both coming and going (and usually there's not enough room for two cars and someone has to back up, also potentially flattening pedestrians). Or if you are crossing towards the driveway, you are walking right into the path of a car. See that silver car pulling out?


2) As pictured above, you have to compete with cars, buses, and trams.

3) Not only is one end of the crosswalk a driveway, but the other end overlaps with a bus stop. So if you are trying to cross the street from the bus side, like this brave soul pictured below (small dark figure), you might get run over by a bus!


4) Going partway doesn't work either. This pedestrian has to stop and wait since blue car decided to go ahead and make a left turn. He might be okay standing in the center. Maybe there won't be any trams for a few minutes. But there's always a wise guy who gets impatient and decides to zoom down the center aisle. Or someone pulling a u-turn. Anything's possible.





The other crosswalk on my block is at the intersection near the metro station. That one is even more dangerous. A red light doesn't mean anything, except that it's a chance for some cars to turn while the others are stopped. They turn left and right on a red light. And they don't care who's in their way.

My mother always told me, "We can get a new ball (doll/bicycle/etc.), but we can't get a new Elizabeth." Along those lines, I would rather be late than risk getting flattened. I'll wait 5-10 minutes to cross the street if that's what it takes.

Moral of the story: Always Never cross at the crosswalk.

Where were you?

As usual, the older kids at the orphanage weren't particularly interested in English. "I have A's in English," they all said. Riiiiight.

I could hear the counselor snapping at them to take the opportunity to get help from me while I was there. Eventually, 12 yr old Liosha approached with a textbook and reluctantly sat down at the table with me. As usual, he seemed very distant and spoke with his head down as if he were talking into his shirt.

"Where were you?" he asked suddenly.

"When?"

"All this time."

"I was in America visiting my parents, and then I came back."

"But why were you gone for so long? You weren't even here for September 1st (the first day of school)."

"I was waiting for my visa," I said.

He gave some grunt to indicate that he would accept that answer. Could it be that he had missed me? Or was he afraid of abandonment, even by a teacher?

We practiced some dialogues together, and as I used funny voices for various characters, I saw the corners of his mouth begin to turn up in a smile.

A visitor and the return of Misha

People are always blogging about meeting other blogging friends in person. Now it's my turn. A few days ago I met Mary, a young woman who reads my blog and arrived in St. Petersburg recently to work in transitional homes for older orphans. She visited the orphanage with me to see what I do.

As with all visitors, I decided to have Mary act like she didn't speak any Russian, so that the kids would have a chance to practice their English.




Misha had come right out to meet us when we got there. I hadn't seen him yet this year. He told me that he's being adopted in a few months. I'm really happy for him because he had seemed to be really longing for a family. Some kids are less at-risk, but with how withdrawn Misha had been lately, I think a change of environment is going to be good for him. He seems to be pleased with the prospect.




The English lesson went okay. It was chaotic as usual. I suppose it would be boring otherwise.


On the bus on the way home, we had a little adventure. A pair of young men got on with all these bags, and started to hand passengers books to "look at and give their opinion." Then of course the men started quoting prices. I quickly looked out the window to make myself unavailable.

Mary asked me a question in English and I answered quietly. Suddenly the men approached us.

"Excuse me, do you speak English?" Oh no, here it comes. They probably thought we had money and would love to buy some souvenirs. We both just stared at them. I saw no reason to speak English when I speak Russian fairly well. Mary didn't exactly want to engage in conversation either.

The talkative guy gave a little speech about the books in English. He said he would even give us one as a "gift." What a lie! We continued to stare at him. Then he started naming languages to see which we understood. Mary had a straight face, but I started laughing. Then Mary suddenly started speaking to me in Spanish. The man looked at me and accused me in Russian of being her translator. Nooooo. Then I kept having to translate from Spanish into Russian, but my Spanish is pretty rusty. Even after I said Mary didn't want to buy any books, the man kept asking us questions. He was intrigued, especially after Mary said she was from Ecuador.

The guy said to me in Russian, "So you're just learning Spanish, huh? And you get to translate for her? You're lucky, it's a good opportunity for practice." Umm, yeah.

Moral of the story....I don't know what the moral of the story is. Don't speak English in public?