Lost Coins

Lost Coins in the Pews
by Dr. Guy Brewer, Senior Pastor, Murray Hill United Methodist Church, Jacksonville, Florida

As a preacher's kid in the 1920's, William remembers searching for lost coins in the pews.

"Every Sunday afternoon, I would go through the sanctuary looking for loose change. I'd find enough lost coins under the pew cushions to pay for a movie and a Coke. After Christmas and Easter services, I'd make enough to pay for popcorn, too!"

As far as William was concerned, the more lost coins in the church the better. Jesus' parable of the lost coin presents the opposite picture. When religious people objected to Jesus' friendship with known sinners, Jesus told three stories to illustrate God's love for lost people (Luke 15). Jesus spoke about a sheep lost in the wilderness, a son lost in rebellious wandering, and a coin lost inside the house. Ironically, the church is often concerned about lost sheep and prodigal children while ignoring the lost coins in the pews. Today we use the term inactive members to describe lost coins in the church. C. Kirk Hadaway and other researchers suggest that forty percent of church members are inactive. What lessons does the parable of the lost coin teach us about reaching inactive members?

How To Search For Lost Coins:

Inside the house. During my seminary years, a friend gave me a $100 bill for my family's expenses. In the excitement of the moment, we lost the money inside the house! Like the woman in Jesus' story, it was no comfort to us that the money was somewhere in the house. By contrast, many United Methodist churches accept the fact that forty percent or more of their members are inactive as "normal." The first step in reaching inactive members is the realization that many people are lost inside the church.
Initiate the search. Some years ago, our three-year old son became lost while we were visiting a water park. This was a moment of sheer terror: a small child who did not swim lost around acres of water! Of course, we stopped everything and searched diligently until we found him. It never occurred to us to sit back, relax, and wait until our son showed up. Like the woman searching for her lost coin, we knew the stakes were high. What a contrast to the attitude typically shown to people lost inside the church. Ironically, inactive members are often blamed for their predicament. Negative attitudes toward inactive members lead to labels such as "lazy" and "uncommitted" to explain away their lack of involvement. To find lost coins in the pews, church leaders must stop blaming and take the initiative.
Incredible joy comes when the lost coin is found! The punch line of Jesus' parable is that all of heaven rejoices over one lost person who returns to God. When we found our three-year old eating a hotdog at the Lost and Found counter, we did not know whether to laugh or cry. The joy at finding him unharmed overwhelmed us. Seeing inactive members through God's eyes, as God's lost children, motivates the church to join the search.

From the perspective of William, a young boy looking for spare change, the more lost coins in the pews, the better. On the other hand, Jesus calls us to be a church where there are no lost coins.

Posted 3-9-01