The big, ivory family Bible was always there, plopped on the middle of the living room table, so sacred we weren't allowed to put anything on top of it. We never bothered reading it either.

If you were to ask Mom and Dad, they would have told you we believed in God, believed Jesus was God's son. We were good people, doing good works, and as Mom always said, "God knows our hearts."

We didn't go to church though, and didn't know what it meant to be a born-again Christian, having a personal relationship with Christ.

I was one of them. One of those people the surveys talk about: one of many who didn't know Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount.

I didn't know that Easter was an occasion to celebrate anything other than a new outfit and colored eggs.

I didn't know the difference between the Old and New Testaments. I didn't even know how to look up a Bible verse.

It wasn't until I moved away to college that my curiosity about Christ really kicked in. I didn't have a Bible of my own, and was too embarrassed to buy one. I didn't want others knowing the only Bible I grew up with was used just as a prop.

I turned down friends' invitations to Christian college fellowships and Bible studies. I was ashamed, afraid my ignorance of the basics would single me out among more devout friends.

So before heading into a church, I took a crash course in Christianity. I did what any misguided college student might - signing up for a religion class. Go ahead and cringe. Even I knew enough to know that I was on a search for Jesus, not Buddah. I think my religion professor had other ideas.

Finally, I took the plunge. My first step was showing up at church. I didn't bring a Bible, thinking I wouldn't have to worry about struggling to find the right verse. I didn't want to feel intimidated by those who grew up in church and seemed to have all the answers.

I've come a long way since then. I finally managed to unlock the mystery of looking up Bible verses, realizing that first came the name of the book, then the chapter and verse, separated by a colon. Now my Bible is full of well-worn pages complete with study marks.

I learned that those guys standing on the corners around Western Kentucky University's campus handing out small, green New Testaments weren't part of a cult. They were Gideons, men who loved Jesus and wanted to share Him with students like me.

If my story seems odd, just look around. There are plenty of people like me, young and old, male and female, rich and poor, who just don't know the basics of Christianity. It's not that they have anything against a life in Christ; they just don't know what it's all about.

Don't worry. I'm not asking church leaders to dumb down their messages. Quite the opposite. People want answers, and what better place to get them than the church?

Recent research by leading church consultant Thom Rainer shows that the unchurched - 59 percent of Americans - have a general idea of what goes on in a Sunday-morning service. They come into Christian congregations expecting to hear about repentance, salvation and Baptism. For most of the unchurched, though, knowledge of Christ is at best superficial.

Don't shy away from talking about sin. Don't back down from God's commandments or sidestep controversial issues. But when you peer out at your congregation, realize there are plenty there who need a little extra help. They don't know where to turn in the Bible. Help them, as my pastor does, by allowing extra time and telling them not to be ashamed, guiding them as they flip through the thin pages.

Churches that are truly trying to reach others for Christ will always have people in attendance who don't know all the answers, don't say the right things, who don't act like we think they should. Don't blame them. Don't turn away from them. Just love them and help them.

And remember 2 Corinthians 4:1-6:

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,' made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ."