A guy has been going to a particular church for two months. During those two months maybe one person introduces him- or her-self every week. The guy knows a few people at the church, but they’re all on staff or have responsibilities before, during, and after the service, so he can’t sit with them. Every week he sits alone, not by his own choice, but because nobody took the opportunity to ask him to join them. For a while he wonders if it’s him. If he did something to offend people. One week he chooses a good table (they don’t have pews at that church) that he saw a lot of people sitting at week after week. But instead of people joining him, he sat there alone. After a while he realized they don’t know him well enough to not like him, so it’s got to be something about the people there. “If church is about teaching and fellowship, then why do I even go?” he wonders. “I can just download the podcast if all I’m getting out of it is the teaching.” Yes, sometimes “church” is about what we get out of it. My dad gave me an update from a church we attended when I was just a cute kid (before I was born to about 6 years old). They still get updates today, and this is from last week. There was an open letter in it from a guy I’m told wasn’t much older than me. In it he calls out the church, saying, there’s no joy. They wonder why the attendance is down? It’s because the people don’t act like what they believe is important. That’s the gist of the letter. It got me thinking about the Great Commandment and the second one too. “You shall love the Lord your God, and love your neighbor too.” It’s funny how people neglect the second so easily. And they have no idea that in doing so, they break the first as well. If you love God, you’ll do what He says, and he says to love people.When the guy in the first story goes to that church, he feels invisible. To the people at that church, he could easily be anybody- a guy searching for truth, a guy addicted to porn, a guy teetering on the edge of suicide. He could be the seminary student in town after a hurricane just trying to find some community before he goes back to school. He could be anybody. But nobody knows who he is, because nobody asked. Nobody took the time to really get to know him. Nobody but the two people he knew from a long time ago. Two people he talks to, but can’t sit with because they lead worship. And nobody even knows who he is, because nobody asked him.
So my friend says to me about that situation, “How can I bring someone to a church like that? If the people are unfriendly, why should I go back?” How friendly is your church, and what are you doing about it?