Would Your Church Make a Good Buddhist Temple

3 miles down the street from the church that I serve in sits a shell of a building.  For as many years as I can remember, this building was known as a gathering place for Baptists to worship in during the weekend, and as a christian school for children to learn in during the week.  This is no longer the case.  In fact, if you drive by that building today, you will no longer see words such as:  church, baptist, Jesus, or Christ anywhere on the building.  What you will read in big bold letters is:  BUDDHIST TEMPLE.  That's right.  Let it soak in for a minute.  What I typed is not a typo, but 100% fact.  A once thriving church with a Christian school now serves as a meeting place for Buddhist's in southwest Oklahoma City.

Now before you pass judgment and point your finger at them angrily, allow me to pose to you a question:  
"Would your church make a good Buddhist temple?"  Don't shake your head in disbelief and write off the question like it has no validity.  This is a very serious question that you should ask yourself.  Would your church make a good Buddhist temple?  Please believe me when I say that there was no way that the members of that church, nor the teachers of that school, would have ever imagined what was in their future. However, that is the truth in which they are faced with today.

In order to help you process this question, allow me to post a couple of questions that might serve as a litmus test for your church:

1. Is your church in the community meeting people where they are, or do you just expect people to come to you?
2. Do you only meet on Sunday's and Wednesday's and go home after service and feel as if you're doing enough to make an impact in the world?
3. Do you have sacred cows in your church that would cause a war to break out if a motion was made to do something different?
4. Do you often reminiscent about the "good old" days, and long for how things use to be?
5. Are your finances more inward focused than outward focused?
6. Is the word "visitor"a foreign word to you because you see them so rarely?

If you've answered "yes" to any of these questions, your church may be on their way to becoming a Buddhist temple too.  It's already been proven that it can happen.  Perhaps your church is next!