"Unchurched" Interview # 1

I was quite surprised, but apparently I'm surrounded at work by people who are unchurched. My first interview was with Dave, one of the 11-7 nurses. He's married and he and his wife are expecting their first baby in March. I asked the survey questions from our handout and then asked some questions to try and get Dave to expand on the subject a bit during the time we had allotted.

Dave and his wife used to attend a Quaker church on occasion, but with his wife being pregnant and at high risk, they have not been going.

Dave felt that the greatest need in his area was food and shelter for the homeless. He would like to see churches get more involved with the homeless in whatever way they have the ability to help them (i.e. food, shelter, clothing, etc.).

Issues that are important to him are homelessness, civil rights, and animal rights. He did not expand on these.

He believes that the primary reason people do not attend church is that they lack spiritual conviction.

If he were to look for a church to attend he would want one that is open in their beliefs-less doctrinal or less dogmatic. In other words, "this is what we believe and you have to, too". He thinks that the focus should be on following their own spiritual path and coming to their own conclusions. He would also like a church that has a strong focus on fellowship and is actively involved in helping the community.

When asked what advice he would give to pastors who really want to be helpful to people, Dave thought it important to take the approach to fulfill people's physical needs first and then their spiritual needs.

In interviewing Dave and others where I work, I was amazed at how few people go to church on a regular basis. They believe in God, but God is taking a back seat to other things in their lives. I would like to see God going from the back seat to the driver's seat in their lives.

I must also confess the ignorance I had pertaining to what Quakers believe. I had to look it up on the internet. They believe in God, in Christ Jesus, and in the Inner Light or "that of God in everyone". They believe that everyone has this Inner Light. Truth, to them, is found inside each individual. So, spiritual truth for one person may be different for another. How well you know God seems to be measured by how well you love others. And although I read "Christ Jesus" several times, nothing I read mentioned the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross or what they believed about that. I guess that's one of the things open to their own interpretation.

While I was interviewing Dave and before I googled Quakers, I was drawn to the Bible verse that says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death" (Proverbs 16:25). A Quaker Friend may or may not believe what is correct according to the Bible, and they may even bear fruit in keeping with the Bible, but the Bible mentions in 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 that there are "men who masquerade as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve." Quakers, it would seem, operate too much in their own wisdom, and perhaps not on the wisdom of God.

As far as to the issues that were important to Dave, the Bible reiterates time and time again that we are to care for the poor and oppressed and that justice should be served through our just God and through our laws. Animal rights may be covered in the Bible as well because it says in Proverbs 12:10 that "A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel".

After interviewing Dave, I find that I have more questions that I want to ask him about his beliefs and I am hoping that these will open up opportunities to discuss what God's truth is.

Thanks for these open-ended survey questions. They are a great opportunity to discuss what the Bible has to say.