Friday, November 03, 2006
Embracing Newcomers
A while back, Jollyblogger joined in on a discussion about welcoming and newcomers to church. The issue made me sad, it does when it comes up in my church. People often want to come to church anonymously, but that fact reflects numerous problems with society and the church.
We must first start by acknowledging that society increasingly creates and rewards anonimity. The internet may be the worst contributer to that effect ever invented. But increasingly, even when we venture into public, we seek to isolate ourselves - from iPod earphones to cell phones, when we are surrounded by 1000's, we try to "live" in our own private bubble.
There is something wrong with this, and particularly for Christians. Being a Christian is a communal thing. Lord knows I wish I could stay at home and lay claim to the title, but I can't. I need the teaching, I need the community, and I definitely need the accountability.
That last need is why people crave anonimity when they visit a church. They don't want the accountability inherent in being a part of a church community. This is a fact that strikes me as absolutely oxymoronic because so few churches demand anything from anybody anymore that it is heart rending that the world thinks we hold ourselves more accountable than we actually do.
So what to do? Well, I see two things actually. For one, when you are in the church, I think there needs to be more accountability, not less. But when it comes to visitors, I think the question is a little different. We need to model community without demanding it, or working too hard to force it.
A few years ago, my wife and I were seeking an "outlet" church. Someplace we could visit on occassion when we just needed a different view. We visited one church where we really loved the preaching and the service, but we were descended upon after the service with people virtually begging us to "join them." I would have enjoyed getting to know them, and sharing a bit of fellowship, but they seemed to want so much more. The were more needy of my fellowship than I was of theirs.
Which I think is the bottom line on this issue. If we are doing church right, people will be attracted to us, not put off by us. Think about it. Why do people work so hard to isolate themselves in public? Because, public is an unhappy place to be generally.
I cannot help but think that if a congregation really looked like Christ would have us look, people that visited would be upset if they were not invited openly to be included. I don't think the answer to the question of how to be welcoming lies in the form of visitor introduction you use. Rather I think it lies in examining how we function as a church and then doing better where we need to.
I always come back to the fact that Jesus was the most attractive person ever to walk the planet. If we are His agents, should we not endeavor to be equally attractive? Which, by the way, takes us back to accountability, but that's for another time.
Related Tags: church, newcomers, welcome, attractive, Christ, accountability
We must first start by acknowledging that society increasingly creates and rewards anonimity. The internet may be the worst contributer to that effect ever invented. But increasingly, even when we venture into public, we seek to isolate ourselves - from iPod earphones to cell phones, when we are surrounded by 1000's, we try to "live" in our own private bubble.
There is something wrong with this, and particularly for Christians. Being a Christian is a communal thing. Lord knows I wish I could stay at home and lay claim to the title, but I can't. I need the teaching, I need the community, and I definitely need the accountability.
That last need is why people crave anonimity when they visit a church. They don't want the accountability inherent in being a part of a church community. This is a fact that strikes me as absolutely oxymoronic because so few churches demand anything from anybody anymore that it is heart rending that the world thinks we hold ourselves more accountable than we actually do.
So what to do? Well, I see two things actually. For one, when you are in the church, I think there needs to be more accountability, not less. But when it comes to visitors, I think the question is a little different. We need to model community without demanding it, or working too hard to force it.
A few years ago, my wife and I were seeking an "outlet" church. Someplace we could visit on occassion when we just needed a different view. We visited one church where we really loved the preaching and the service, but we were descended upon after the service with people virtually begging us to "join them." I would have enjoyed getting to know them, and sharing a bit of fellowship, but they seemed to want so much more. The were more needy of my fellowship than I was of theirs.
Which I think is the bottom line on this issue. If we are doing church right, people will be attracted to us, not put off by us. Think about it. Why do people work so hard to isolate themselves in public? Because, public is an unhappy place to be generally.
I cannot help but think that if a congregation really looked like Christ would have us look, people that visited would be upset if they were not invited openly to be included. I don't think the answer to the question of how to be welcoming lies in the form of visitor introduction you use. Rather I think it lies in examining how we function as a church and then doing better where we need to.
I always come back to the fact that Jesus was the most attractive person ever to walk the planet. If we are His agents, should we not endeavor to be equally attractive? Which, by the way, takes us back to accountability, but that's for another time.
Related Tags: church, newcomers, welcome, attractive, Christ, accountability
