Last night I went to the Thursday night service at our church. This service is aimed at people who are 18-30 but its not limited to that age group. We split up into groups and we discussed what church is. The group that I was in was a diverse group by the way that they looked. We had two guys with piercings all over, a guy that looked like a redneck, a guy that has enough guns to create a small army, two girls, me and my mom. They are all great people and we had a great discussion.
One question that was asked was, what did you think of church before becoming a Christian and what do you think of it now? One person said that at other churches they had attended they felt left out and out of place. They said that because they dressed differently they got weird looks and were excluded. That’s not the way that it should be. I think that there are so many people that went to church a few times but they felt like outcasts. Or they’re “not into religion” because of things that they have heard or experienced. Because of this, I think that they don’t want to come back. At a church I visited in Georgia called Mountain Lake Church their slogan was “we’ll change the way you’ll think about church”. So many people don’t want to go to church for so many different reasons. The way they think about church needs to be changed. Just talking to someone or inviting them to do something with you may make them feel welcome and make them want to come again.
So many people have bad perceptions about the church that needs to be changed. The smallest things can make people feel welcome and want to come again. We need to stop judging people and welcome them no matter what they look or dress like. Everyone from all walks of life should be able to walk into any church and feel welcome.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Matt Walton
Matt – I am still waiting for you to one day announce that you are really like 35 and that you are just using the avatar to cover it up. Dude, you rock. Seriously. You are wise beyond your years my friend. When I was your age, I didn’t have a clue about making others welcome. My thoughts on dress and what people were wearing were all about me. You are right on.
Don’t ever lose your grasp on what “the church” should be an look like. We have much to learn from you my friend.
Reminds me of the song “My Jesus” by Todd Agnew.
Cause my Jesus would never be accepted in my church
The blood and dirt on His feet might stain the carpet
But He reaches for the hurting and despises the proud
I think He’d prefer Beale St. to the stained glass crowd
Thanks for the reminder to look on the inside. I’ve been wearing jeans to church for quite a while now, and for some reason my heart has been more in tune with the Spirit during the service, lol. Some like it slick, some like it not – to each his own!
If Jesus was concerned what His “church” would look like, He certainly wouldn’t have picked the misfits He did to build it.
Thanks for sharing. Expressing God’s love for who they are and not what we expect them to be is very powerful. I mean, God led them to the church so we best not get in His way by making them feel left out or out of place.
I would throw the younger me into the “bad perceptions about the church” crowd but I’m still working on my Mother and Brother.
I heard an illustration that was neat -
A man went to a church and he was dressed very shabbily and smelled bad. The elders of the church discussed how to handle the man because he just didn’t fit in with the rest of the congregation. Trying to deal with it diplomatically, they pulled him aside and said to him, “Thanks for coming today; we would like you to pray and ask Jesus how you should dress when you come to church.” The man left and the following week he returned dressed the same way. The elders pulled him aside and said, “Didn’t you pray and ask Jesus how you should dress?” The man replied, “I did ask Jesus and he said, “I’m not sure how you’re supposed to dress for that church, I’ve never been there.”
What would Jesus say? Come as you are!
This can’t be said often enough. Jesus is happy to constantly remind us that we are no better than anybody else. God Bless
Matt – I gotta tell you this. My wife and I watched “First Knight” last night on cable. I will admit that I didn’t understand the round table title on your post. Now I do….
True story – I looked at my wife in the middle of the movie and told her about your post. I said “Matt has wisdom beyond his years. I pray he never loses that”.
For those that might be like me, the round table was designed so that there was no head, there was no foot. All are equal. Great title to use for a post my friend. May we all approach our churches and the people we meet as though we are sitting at the round table.
One other note (which I put on my blog too) is the quote that King Arthur told Lancelot after he returned from saving Guinevere. He said:
“I take the good with the bad. I can’t love in slices”.
Shouldn’t that be the motto of the church as well? We shouldn’t love or greet others in slices. God doesn’t. Jesus didn’t.