WIGTAKE

WIGTAKE was a corny little acronym that I remember from a Missions class I took in seminary.  It stands for "What's It Gonna Take?" to reach people.  Working on church staff for 15 years, I was aware that the way we in the church world typically did evangelism was ineffective.  Apparently, it was effective in some previous era.  While I was mindful of that, being a chaplain for the Federal Bureau of Prisons has helped me become familiar again with the world, its habits, and its desires. 
Here are a few things I have observed:
First, it only takes a few simple things to help a person find pleasure.  It only takes a beer (or 12), a good game on ESPN, something good on the grill, an afternoon on the boat or the beach, or a day with likeminded people doing the simple things together to get away from whatever stress and pressure is going on in other areas of life.  These things aren't much and they are momentary, but people keep going back to them and never seem to tire or get bored of them. 
Second, people who find pleasure in these simple things tend to look happier than many of those I've known in the church-world.  I've been at a school for the past two weeks for some training for my job.  There is a bar on campus.  Last night, I sat in there and watched some of the College World Series on ESPN.  Yes, you read that right.  I went to a bar.  I realize this will cause some of my former church members that I pastored to have a coronary and to possibly pray for my backslidden soul, but I'm not naive in thinking that many of those who sit in the church pew on Sunday haven't spent a Saturday night there either.  I sat there and watched a few games.  I talked to some people and shot some pool.  Many people there knew that I am a chaplain.  They weren't quite sure why I was there, but I didn't hear anyone pass judgment or try to pretend they were there for other reasons.  I mostly observed.  What I observed is that people were having fun.  They were friendly with one another.  Strangers were talking with strangers and becoming friends by the time the night was over. 
I left there before the real knuckleheads showed up and things got crazy.  And I am well aware that many people there woke up this morning wishing they had not stayed there so long last night.  But I'm willing to bet my next paycheck that those same people who woke up with regrets this morning will go right back there tonight. 
Third, I have spent a lot of time and money going to conferences, reading books, and talking to church leaders who are considered cutting-edge and effective in reaching people.  With all due respect to them, I'm highly doubtful that much of what they are doing will reach the people I have been exposed to lately.  A lot of the buzzwords and things we say we have to offer in the church today are just putting lipstick on a pig.  Look on church websites and they say things like "A Place to Belong" or "Get Connected", but I observed people find an easier time "belonging" and "connecting" in the bar last night than I ever observed in any church.  My pastor has noted a few times lately that Willowcreek Church in Illinois (Bill Hybels' church), known for it's cutting-edge outreach and been the model that many young church leaders as myself have tried to strive for, has admitted a major error in a recent self-study.  They have noted that they have been advertising themselves as a place that "meets everyone's needs."  But the truth is that no church can meet everyone's needs; not Bill Hybels, not Rick Warren, not Mark Driscoll, not John Piper, not Rob Bell, not Andy Stanley, not Charles Stanley, not Ed Young, and not even the Apostle Paul himself.  I'm glad that Willowcreek had the humility to admit this mistake and made the profound conclusion that only God can meet a person's needs. 
Conclusion:  I read many blogs of other church leaders every week.  I read some from the older generation of church leaders and some from the younger generation.  I read some from the more conservative to the more moderate.  I recently read one written by an older pastor who claims that we need to get back to preaching the simple gospel message like Billy Graham did and people will come.  Of course, many of my generation say that everything must change because people just don't come to church anymore for revival meetings or to hear someone preach even if he is someone famous.  Their solution is to dangle a carrot in front of someone's face and trick them into church.  I've been guilty of trying this too and I now think that it's an insult to someone's intelligence to try this method.  Just because someone doesn't know God, doesn't mean that they are also stupid and can't see through what you are trying to do.  Getting back to what this older pastor blogged, it's interesting that even Billy Graham wishes that he could do it over again and not have the mass gatherings, but would rather invest his time in mentoring a small group of people. 
So I don't really have any systematic solutions for WIGTAKE.  All I can say is that for each of us who claim to have salvation in Christ, let others know in your own way.  Let them see that your joy has more depth than simple things like steaks on the grill and beer.  Let them see that you are a more genuine friend than the stranger they meet at the bar.  Let's make our gathering places (aka, our church buildings) a place that we enjoy going to and not dread (you know what I'm talking about if you've been part of a church for an extended amount of time).  Let them know they can be themselves around us without judgment.  Let them see us own up to our shortcomings and try to live consistently to our faith.  Don't be afraid to say that we don't have all the answers.  Don't throw a bunch of corny and hokey salvation tracts at them (I'm not a fan of those in case you couldn't tell) or pass them off on your pastor or tell them just to go to church.  Put yourself in their place.  If you didn't know God, how would you want someone to show you that he is real and is what you are looking for?