Has this ever happened to you? A number of months ago Amy and I were out of town, so we decided to visit a different church on Sunday. After the service we stayed around for coffee and cake. While I would normally take the initiative to introduce myself to others, I decided to wait and see if anyone would engage us in conversation. Sadly, it never happened.
Granted, our experience may not be same as others who have visited. Maybe they were having an "off" day. Maybe the congregation normally engages visitors with zeal. Nevertheless, on the day we visited, we stood alone.
No church is perfect, and I am sure that even churches that are excellent at engaging visitors will miss the mark from time to time. The purpose of my post is not meant to focus on what churches get wrong; rather, I hope that by pointing out this deficiency, we will be encouraged to make appropriate changes.
In light of what I've said so far, I'd like for us to ponder an important question: Who should feel responsible for the visitor who stands alone? The answer is you. When someone chooses to visit your church, God has brought that person there for a purpose. It is not by chance that the person has visited. So, you should make every opportunity to engage the person.
If you are like me, I am sure that you desire for every visitor to feel welcomed. This may be their first exposure to the gospel and the Christian community. So, here are a few thoughts to keep in mind. First, engaging with visitors doesn't have to be complicated. A smile, a handshake, and a friendly "Hello" will speak volumes. Second, do not assume that someone else has already greeted the person. This is probably the biggest mistake we can make. We must recognize that the responsibility belongs to us and not to someone else.
Hopefully, the Lord will bring new people to your church this Sunday. And when He does, be ready and willing to engage them with the love of Christ.(The cartoon shown above has been used by permission from Dave Walker at CartoonChurch.com. This CartoonChurch.com cartoon originally appeared in the Church Times and is taken from ‘My Pew: Things I have seen from it’, published by Canterbury Press.)
...family and vacations! We had a great trip from SC to VA today. The traffic was light, the girls were great, and the gas prices were low! We'll be celebrating Amy's birthday tomorrow night (even though her birthday isn't until the 18th) and enjoying time with family throughout the week.
On Good Friday we were reminded of the darkness that Jesus embraced on our behalf. But today we are reminded that the darkness did not prevail:
In him was life,and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (John 1:4-5, ESV).
The grave is empty! Jesus has risen indeed!
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where helay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” (Matthew 28:1-10, ESV).
Any attempt to confess what one believes is a creed. Saying "no creed but Christ" is just as much a creed as a written statement is a creed. You should see the self-contradictory problem with saying "no creed but Christ." Even though it is shorter and rather ill-conceived it is nonetheless a confession or creed. Hence, rather than liberating themselves from the snares of creeds, those who say this have actually entangled themselves in a poorly conceived one.
The Scriptures say in James 2:19, "You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe--and tremble! It is never enough to say that you "believe." The real question remains: what do you believe about Jesus?
--Faith of Our Fathers: A Study of the Nicene Creed by L. Charles Jackson, p.2
(You can read the first chapter from this book here.)
And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, he is calling Elijah.” And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way hebreathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Sonof God!” (Mark 15:33-39, ESV)
When God created the world, He said, "Let there be light" and the light appeared. He is light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 John 1:5). Yet, there was a day when God the Son hung upon a cross in darkness. The Light of the World was surrounded by darkness. The darkness was not His own, instead it was our darkness--our sins. Yet, because He bore our darkness we can now have the light of life in Him:
Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12).
Has this ever happened to you? A number of months ago Amy and I were out of town, so we decided to visit a different church on Sunday. After the service we stayed around for coffee and cake. While I would normally take the initiative to introduce myself to others, I decided to wait and see if anyone would engage us in conversation. Sadly, it never happened.
