An effective way of emptying the church
A heard a pretty funny joke this weekend that is also a bit indicting:
A Baptist pastor, Methodist minister and Catholic priest from a small town were talking about a common problem they each had: bats were congregating in their sanctuaries. The discussion turned to how they attempted to get rid of the bats.
The Baptist pastor, who liked to address problems head-on, said, “I went and got my shotgun and started shooting at the bats. Unfortunately, all that did was leave holes in my sanctuary roof and the bats are still there.”
The Methodist minister, who was a gentle, caring soul, chimed in, “I set some elaborate traps for the bats, caught them, then drove 50 miles away and deposited them in some caves over in the mountains. Unfortunately, they beat me back to the sanctuary and are still there.”
The Catholic priest then calmly noted, “I was able to get rid of my bats pretty easily.”
“How?” both the Baptist pastor and Methodist minister asked.
“Well, I baptized and confirmed them, and I haven’t seen them in church since.”
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Hello Eric. I’ve heard this joke or some permutation thereof before. I will add, having spent seven years as a DRE and three as an RCIA coordinator, this phenomenon rings true to my experience. It’s very frustrating. We are missing the boat somewhere.
You don’t even see the bats Christmas and Easter?