A number of years ago my sister-in-law called me. It’s not often that Britton’s family call to specifically talk with me, so I knew something was up. My sister-in-law asked me a question that made me laugh, she said, “Do you marry people? Do you do weddings?” While I initially laughed, I quickly realized that she honestly didn’t know if this was something I did or not.
When Britton and I got engaged I knew exactly who to ask to perform our wedding – my pastor. I knew this because I’d grown up going to church and knew what pastors did. My sister-in-law didn’t though, and so to her what I do as a pastor or even what my family does on a Sunday morning is foreign to her. My sister-in-law and her husband are part of a growing segment of Canada known as “religious nones.”
“Religious nones” are people who, when asked about their religious affiliation on a census form, check the box “none.” In Canada, 1 in 4 are “religious nones”. This is the fastest growing segment of our society when it comes to spirituality. I say spirituality because it’s not that this group doesn’t believe in God. In my conversation with my sister-in-law, she said, “We are spiritual, we just don’t believe in God and all that stuff,” by which she meant church and organized religion.
We live in a culture that increasingly describes itself as “non-religious” yet they still consider themselves to be “spiritual.” When it comes to religion and faith this group often believes they’ve heard it all and it doesn’t matter today, yet the truth is that they have little to no knowledge of who Jesus is and how Jesus can make all the difference in their lives. The question is, how do you help this group discover relationship and life with Jesus? I think we need to get creative.
This weekend as we continue our series “The Way” and explore what it means to be relentlessly focused on the lost, we are going to explore Matthew 25:14-30. Together we will discover how Jesus envisions us reaching the lost and the “religious nones” around us. I hope you’ll join us this Sunday as we discover you’ve been given what you have for a reason – to creatively engage the lost.
See you Sunday,
Pastor Kirk
Updated Guidelines from the Health Authority
As per provincial regulations, all in-person attendees at Living Hope must wear a mask throughout the service and for the entire time they are in the building.
