Someone gave one of the Baptist churches here some dining room furniture, a china cabinet and a sideboard.The church hopes to sell them and use the proceeds to fund their building renovation.They are not very valuable, but every 40 Euro helps.I offered to refinish them.

On the ends and tops of both pieces were deep scratches.I began smoothing out the scratches with a vibration sander.Then I realized that I had not checked to see if this was authentic oak or simply veneer.I stopped and checked; it was, indeed, only a veneer of oak.I changed my methodology.

Faith is a bit like furniture: you must check to see if it is authentic or simply veneer.Some faith goes deep to the center of people's lives.It leavens all that they do, think, and dream about.There is no part of them or their lives that can be separated from their faith.Faith is the wood out of which their lives are built.

For others, faith is simply veneer, something in which they shroud their lives.But it has no real depth.You remove it; and they don't look as nice, perhaps.But they go on functioning as before.

In a society, religious faith, over the centuries, has a way of becoming veneer.It is pervasive.It provides a nice appearance to things.But pull back the surface and there is nothing there.It is pretty window dressing, but the window is empty.

A woman we know made much of her son's first communion.He went attended the required classes, had a big party, and went through the church service.But when the woman was having trouble in her marriage, she went to a tarot card reader for guidance and hope.Her Christianity is a veneer; there is nothing authentic beneath the surface.

This is not uncommon in Belgium.The church buildings are beautiful and majestic beyond description.Religious art is commonplace.Tax dollars go to provide religious instruction for every child in the schools.Most people have a Bible, somewhere.But it is all mostly veneer.It looks very nice.But don't dig deeply; there is no depth.

This affects our methodology.You must find a fresh way of putting the Gospel.You have to come at it in a way that surprises people.You can't simply tell people things.They think that they already know that.You have to show them the way; you must lead them to a new place.This takes patience and time.There is no fast or easy way.You must adjust your methodology.

Throughout the book of Acts, Paul has a fairly straightforward approach: "Jesus is the Christ—believe and be baptized!"In chapter 17, however, he finds himself in Athens among the intelligentsia.He changes his approach.He affirms them in their religious quest for the "unknown God." Then he says:"What therefore you worship is unknown, this I proclaim to you [Acts 17:23]."They had a veneer of religious faith.Paul invites them to go deeper.

This is our mission in Belgium: to invite people to go deeper, to lose the veneer and robe themselves in authentic Christian faith.Our goal is to build a church of people who are equipped to bring others along.

Jim Kelsey

Belgium