I’ve been thinking about answering this question from the standpoint that the New Church is so sensible and inspiring that it’s easy to recommend.  Obviously, this is a question that can come up in a deep conversation with a friend, or talking about where you send your kids for school, or in a conversation at a memorial service, or even when you’re just standing in the grocery store line.  Sometimes it’s just a passing question to make conversation, and other times it is asked with an actual desire to know more.  I want to be ready to happily discuss the New Church as something that’s made my life much better.

One good piece of advice I heard is to focus on something you like about the New Church: “It’s a new Christianity and one thing I really like about it is …”

Other possible ways to answer the question might include:

“It’s a really awesome form of Christianity that makes sense to me, appeals to both my head and my heart, and holds out hope for all people on the planet.”  

“It’s a worldwide Christian community devoted to living the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Word and its deeper spiritual meaning.”

“It’s Christian, and it relies on the Bible and also teachings that help us understand the Bible’s deeper meaning.  It makes clear the Bible’s messages about one God who created us in His image, loves us, and actually came Himself into the world to show us the path out of any dark places in which we might find ourselves.”

“Jesus said ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.’  When He said that, He was letting us know that more truth would be provided to help us understand the deeper messages inside the Bible’s teachings – He was predicting the New Church teachings that He would provide when the time was right.”  

“It’s a Christian church that follows the Bible and its deeper messages about who God actually is, how He runs the universe, what He made us for, how life after death works, how it can actually make sense to believe, and pretty much any other big spiritual question you can imagine.”

“It’s a Christian religion that’s all about how to live daily life from an eternity-minded perspective.  It’s open to any questions people can come up with; somewhere in the teachings will be a principle that can be used in any situation.”

“It’s a new Christianity with sensible and inspiring teachings about all the big topics, like who God is, how He runs the universe, why we are here on this planet, what life after death is like, how true love can last forever, and so on.  Are you interested in something particular?”

Every time this question is asked, it’s as if a door opens on a lovely but passing opportunity. So when you happen to have this question come up in conversation, how do you answer it?  I’d love to hear other people’s approaches.