Evendays

Happy Birthday, Sister!

Last week we changed our Sunday worship time in Lausanne from morning to late afternoon, starting at 17:00. (That’s 5 PM to you non military types. To figure that out, take the first number, add twelve to it, divide that number in half, then multiply by the difference between your time zone and GMT. Unless it’s summer, of course.)

The first Sunday we had visitors down from the mountains (we hadn’t seen them in over a year) and friends from the Bern and Geneva churches. Yesterday, the couple from Bern was present again and 16 of us hung around for pancakes.

People paid a big price to come… Roger Federer was winning his first ever French Open (Roland Garros), but who said worship is easy, right?

Speaking of which, worship is a privilege. To enter into His presence… That He accepts our praise… That is privilege. That is indeed extraordinary. (Lord, help me not to forget it.)

So we are driving 50 minutes to Geneva on Sunday mornings to be with brothers and sisters there. It is not home. Lausanne is home. But it does the soul good.

This is not about Dillon’s song, "But the times… They are a changin’" (BTW, Dillon gave a concert in Geneva last week, $85 for the cheapest seats in the stadium, and the critics said it was one of the worst concerts they’d ever seen / heard / been exposed to).

One thing the men at church have been working on is the possibility (a trial period) of changing our worship time from Sunday morning at 10:30 AM to 5:00 PM. This would still allow us all to worship, to eat together a couple of times a month, and to travel the weekend, yet free Wife and me up to spend morning time with the Geneva church, thus benefiting from extra Christian fellowship and opportunities to minister.

I love Lausanne. I love our little church. My heart is here. My life is here. Yet keeping on the way we are going, not changing anything in the way I reach out (in ministry) or in what the church is doing when we gather around the Lord’s table will, most probably, lead to fewer and fewer people present. We have been in a downward spiral and are looking for the energy to move forward with wisdom and love.

Which is a big challenge to some of the Christians here. Most said: "Let’s meet whenever we want. Count me in. I will be there." But a few talked about the difficulty of changing their habits, the tradition of meeting in the mornings, the desire to keep things as they are. Some talked of completely dropping out.

I am not afraid. But I do believe that pastors are called to look after the weakest sheep. And it will be hard if we decide to leave some behind during our upcoming trial period.

Would you pray for us?

Sunday was a full day. Coffee time. Colossians 3 study. Communion. Sermon. Lunch with fellow Christians. Chorus practice in Geneva then English worship and sermon. House church with Pepperdine Lausanne. A good day.

Eugene Peterson, in one of his many books, writes about meeting a parishioner while in town. The church member explained why she wasn’t at church these days. Peterson said he listened carefully, and made a mental note to pray for her because he had learned long ago there was no way to convince people to come to church.

I wonder.

I know of one Swiss church where the sisters and brothers—many of them, anyway—long to be together. Another one I know, almost any reason suffices for not coming: Friends for lunch… A neighborhood association meeting in the afternoon… Upcoming exam… Going on vacation… Just back from vacation… The only morning to stay in bed… Exam next week… Tired from exam last week… Cat at home… Dog… Too beautiful out… Too rainy… Parking is hard… The pastor… Oh yes, the pastor…

My friend Stanley used to say the only way for people to want to praise the Lord together is if they are deeply in love with the Head of the church.

I don’t know. Any counsel here is welcome. I’ve tried Peterson’s advice. I’ve attempted to present the Savior’s love in a compelling, interesting, life-grabbing way. Without much efficacy.