Warm Welcomes

Recently I visited my wife’s family in Ohio for the holidays.  For the first time, I visited a Catholic Mass the day after Thanksgiving. For the first time in a long time I was in an unfamiliar situation. Not only was I in yankee land, but a Catholic mass is completely different than any service that I have ever been in. So many things were going on that made no sense to me. There were rituals everyone knew what to say exactly when to say it. I grew up in a Baptist church and knew what was going to happen before it happened and was pretty comfortable with it. But this was different. It was an all-new experience for me. Had I just been curious and wanted to experience church for the first time I would have been uncomfortable and lost. Thankfully I had a wonderful host in Mrs. Fox who was warm and explained everything to me. When something seemed weird she explained it. I was thankful for a host that was willing to walk me through it.

It made me think about all the church signs I see telling everyone in the town that they are welcome. No one wants to walk in and feel the way I did there. People don’t have a desire to invite that type of situation into their lives.  Those “welcome” signs are about as warm as a door mat under 3 feet of snow. It’s not personal and not effective. A lot of times we think we have done our duty to reach our community by hanging a sing in the front yard. If you desire to reach your community you have to get out be the one in a place that’s uncomfortable to you. Start with the people you know. Make a personal invitation. "Meet me outside at 9:45." "let's meet for breakfast/coffee first." "Ill come pick you up" Remove any of the insecurities someone might have walking into a new place. Who lives next door to you? Have you invited them? Its hard to believe but many people grow up in the bible belt and never get invited to church. Its like we have a treasure and we want to hoard it all to ourselves, like the supply will run out. News flash: God is infinite. 

One important note: Getting people to visit a church won't solve all their problems. Getting them to attend regularly or even become members won't either. People need a life changing experience; drawn by the Holy Spirt, they need an encounter with Jesus that leads into a life long relationship with God. They don't need to stop drinking and smoking and straighten up. They need wicked, dead hearts ripped out replaced with beating hearts of flesh. We need new life as the old is worthless. A church visit won't do that, but it sure can help. If you want to make the biggest impact, abide in the Spirit. Let the love of God fill you and let it pour out to the people around you. Instead of just inviting people, let them see the difference God has made in your life, lest you be like Lot and give unheeded warnings. 

a lesson i'm still learning from

The love my father showed me growing up cant be measured. The lessons he taught me can't be numbered. One however, constantly comes to mind and I remember everything he said, because he really didn't say anything at all. 

After Hurricane Fran destroyed the NC coast, many men from the church i attended at the time stepped up to serve. I remember many trips were made to the coast. One trip in particular sticks out. We were working in a cul de sac. Ripping out carpet, taking out ruined appliances ripping out sheetrock. Almost entirely gutting many homes. What made this one different were the homeowners were there working bedside us. What we wood and nails to me, was life and memories to these people. Most seemed to be in decent spirits given the conditions but I'm sure the 13 year old me didn't notice all the struggles of the people trying to fight back all the tears. I remember people being glad they didn't have to fight this battle alone. 

The days started early. By 8 am we were there starting to work and the work was intense. Tiring to the muscles but also to the senses. The smell was rancid. Lunch time came and a much needed break was taken. The group we were working with came around and fed us lunch. A styrofoam to-go box i remember. I'm sure filled with a sandwich and a bag of chips. My dad let down his tailgate and I hoped up and began to eat. We grabbed a water and from the seemingly endless supply and he told the man he wasn't hungry. We took our break and continued to work. After the long day of work we headed home, stopping at a buffet to restock on energy. I remember my dad eating and me talking about how hungry i would have been if I had skipped lunch. 

I later realized he was hungry. He simply passed his plate on to one of the people from the neighborhood. He got up at 3 am drove for hours on his gas and with his tools to serve people he didn't know and then gave up his food when he was hungry. And he didn't assume that lesson on me. He didn't make me give up my lunch. He just did it and let me watch. He didn't say a word and to this day still hasn't. It's an act ive seen him make time and time again.