Prodigal Friendly Church

I was reminded once again this week by an article by Dary Northup why it is important that we should be a prodigal friendly church. You may know the story from Luke 15 where the young son runs away from home and ends up spending his inheritance. This son finally comes to his senses and decides to come home thinking that he will work for his father as a servant. To his surprise, his father welcomes him with open arms but yet his elder brother would not even acknowledge him as a brother. We must remember that Jesus was talking to the religious leaders of his day. They were the picture of the elder brother. This spirit of the elder brother is still amongst us today. It is important that as a church we do not allow this spirit amongst us. We must be a church that welcomes all no matter what their spiritual background is. Here are five things Dary Northup says is a important to a prodigal friendly church.

1. Appreciate diversity- from clothing, hairstyles, etc. Sometimes as Christians we get a cookie-cutter mindset of what a Christian is to look like.

2. Respect the spiritual journey of every person in the room- The church should be a safe place to ask questions, to disagree and to share opinions. We are all on a different journey with our walk with God.

3. Trust the Holy Spirit to lead people in lifestyle changes- Remember that we are not called to be the Holy Spirit in a persons life. When we try to clean a person up, it just brings confusion.

4. Church must understand the differences between absolutes, cultural expectations and preferences. Some Christians try to make our preferences Biblical absolutes then they are not. When churches place cultural expectations or personal preferences on a prodigal or the unchurched it places an undue burden that they may not be able to carry.

5. Prays for an authentic move of God in people in every church service- There are no gimmicks in the world that can compete with God's Spirit moving in the heart of a person. The prodigal friendly church prays for that move of the Spirit in people's lives.

Let us not have a spirit of the elder brother but continue to be a church that welcomes people and allows God to move in their lives.