The title sounds silly to us Christians. However, as a protestant, I have been more than a little confused at what I am supposed to do when I attend a Catholic wedding mass, or similar service. And, have you ever been to a religious service at another religion (Muslim, etc)? Well, it may be that some of the people in our communities are just as confused about how THEY should act in one of our services!

Rick Rusaw has written an article, “Escaping the Church ‘Donkey Syndrome‘” published on the SermonCentral website. The theme of the article is the Externally Focused Church. He defines “Four Characteristics of Externally Focused Churches.”

• First, externally focused churches are convinced that good deeds and good news can’t and shouldn’t be separated.
• Second, they see themselves as vital to the health and well-being of their communities.
• Third, externally focused churches believe that ministering and serving are the normal expressions of Christian living.
• Fourth, externally focused churches are evangelistically effective.

These are all very powerful concepts that our congregation is trying to do. But we are not doing a lot in helping “outsiders” know “how to go to church.” That idea has escaped my imagination.

We must accept the fact that an increasingly large portion of our population has no idea of “how to go to church.” Externally focused churches have the advantage of deploying people into the community where they can be the church to people through their love and service. Their light is not hidden under a bushel; no, they are letting their light shine.

Rusaw says that what these unchurched people are seeking is authenticity. By that, he means that they are looking for something to make their life work. “When people who talk about a loving God demonstrate love, the gap between doubt and faith is narrowed, and the people around them often find themselves wanting to believe.”

According to Rusaw, externally focused churches operate with some combination of two strategies:

• First, they identify needs of their communities and start ministries or programs to meet those needs.
• Second, they partner with existing ministries or human-service agencies that are already accomplishing a shared mission in the community.

You may be asking yourself about Rusaw’s title, “Donkey Syndrome”? Well, not only is his article a valuable resource for ideas on becoming an externally focused church, his writing is fun to read and there is a good lesson in this title. You will just have to read the article to learn what the lesson is.