I remember hearing about a pastor who had someone come up after his Sunday message and say, "I really liked your message, but you left something out. You didn't tell me what to do. What am I supposed to do now?"

Why do some people avoid church like it's filled with impossible hoops to jump through? A simple survey of our neighborhood in 1992 was eye-opening. Nobody said, “I don't go to church because I don't believe in God,” or “I don't like Jesus." Instead, their responses were primarily social barriers: you have to dress in a certain way, or you have to sit on hard pews, or you have to like old fashioned music, or you like to endure guilt, guilt trip sermons, or you have to pick a denomination.

The presents are unwrapped, the decorations start to look tired, and the leftovers are almost gone and now we’re left with the question we wrestle with every year: how do we leave Christmas behind once again and move forward? We've celebrated the Good News of Jesus' birth, but is there Good News for us in the New Year?

There is so much good in the world, but when something bad happens to me or someone I love, or whenever I watch or read the news, the world seems pretty scary. It seems like all we ever hear about is bad news, and I don't know about you, but all that bad news can really wear me down!