Meeting Half Way

 It is Sunday morning.  Many people are going to church or have been to church.  

A pastor I knew once told me that he would meet people who came into his church half way.  He made it clear that he would only meet them if they came halfway.  He felt they had a responsibility to choose to get involved and if they didn't, then he wouldn't invest.  

Another pastor I knew linked to a blog article written by a pastor in Kansas on his church's Facebook page.  That article explained that if a church member was not attending church, then that member was being negligent.  They were sinning and it was the member's fault.  There was never any mention of the church having a role in why the member wasn't attending.  I'm condensing the article and being blunt with that statement, but essentially, that was what the article said.  

I'd like to post a different thought here that I think is worth pondering.  Most people that come through the door of a church for the first time find it difficult to do so.  I have visited churches and walked in and out without anyone saying a word.  I have walked into churches and not been able to tell where to go.  My children have gone to Sunday School classes and been ignored by the other kids.  

I know I am a wounded bird.  My wounds are slowly healing, but it's taking time.  There are many wounded birds like me.  When a wounded bird walks through the door, they don't have it in them to go half way.  Consider that the people who walk through the door of a church the first time may have been deeply hurt by another church or by Christians in their lives.  

So, what then?  How can you love someone with God's love that walks through the door of your church?  Should you have requirements or expectations of what they must do first before you welcome them?    

If someone walks through the door of your church, take a big first step forward.  

What does this look like?  It looks like saying hello to one person you haven't spoken to before the next time you're in church.  After hello, what can you say?  Tell them you're glad they're there.  If it's awkward, the weather is always a safe subject.  I'll post many other posts with ideas about what you can say in conversations, but for now, start with...

Hello.