Unchurched Survey Two

My second interview was actually conducted with a friend of a friend... Chris is not actively attending any church. Although, when he was young, his parents thought it was important for him and his brother to have some exposure to organized religion, so they all attended the Catholic church. At some point his parents left it up to him to decide whether or not he wanted to go to church. He was never really impacted by what he had experienced, either positively or negatively, and hasn't attended church since.
His interest include domestic politics, specifically reducing the size and scope of government, a national drug enforcement policy, science policy, funding, education, as well as entrepreneurship.
He believes most people don't attend church for the same reason that he doesn't, "they have never felt a connection to religion or been moved to truly believe a particular church's teachings and thus see no point in attending". He even went further to say that, at this place in his life, he wouldn't even look to attend a church. His spirituality is not something he feels the need to share with others in his life. This poses a couple questions- What are we doing, or teaching, to allow people to connect with the God we follow in faith? Is there a clear and practical purpose, or point, for what we are about?
Wrapping up the interview, I asked Chris what encouragement he would give to pastors in their work. He said pastors should always emphasize the positive societal aspects of religion like respecting other people, trying to help where they can, being selfless and generous, and being honest in their dealings with people. Pastors should not emphasize the negatives such as highlighting differences between people. "Don't encourage proselytizing. Don't tell people that your religion is 'right' and others are 'wrong'". Don't focus on the "reward aspects of religion," positive or negative. He said that he very much doubts that many people, in the moment they are considering their actions, are truly considering whether or not a particular course of action will cause them to be sent to heaven or hell. Fear or guilt should never be used to motivate people. (Agreed!)
However, all these suggestions force us back to evaluating how we are presenting the church... Are we living our lives reflecting the grace we have been offered? We should be worshipping the one who made it possible, growing in our relationship through community, prayer, and devotion, and reaching out in the same forgiveness and grace that was extended to us.