“No one spoke to me at that church.”
“That’s an unfriendly church.”
“I’m never going back there again.”
We pastors have heard it all. Sometimes, it’s anonymous notes informing us that ours is a cold church, that not a single person spoke to them last Sunday. They will not be returning.
Usually, it’s hearsay. A visitor told a friend who passed it on to a neighbor who told one of our deacons.
Church visitors, it would appear, can be a troublesome lot. Always demanding to be greeted warmly, seeing that as their right and as the confirmation that ours is a church founded on the Rock and faithful to the Word.
I beg to differ.
Three passages of Scripture seem to speak to this issue, but in a reverse sort of way. See what you think …
One.
In Mark 2, we read: “Again He entered Capernaum after some days and it was heard that He was in the house. Immediately, many gathered together, so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door.”
The story tells of four men in the community bringing their paralyzed buddy to see the Lord. Unable to persuade anyone to move back and let them in the house, they carried the stretcher onto the roof, tore it open and lowered it inside. The Lord was so touched by their faith (see Mark 2:5), He forgave the man his sin and healed him of his paralysis.
I wonder some things about this …
a) When Jesus began teaching in the house and crowds gathered, did everyone greet everyone else?
b) Did anyone leave that day because “no one spoke to me”?
c) Wasn’t whether anyone greeted them irrelevant, the point being to get to Jesus?
Then, did the four men carrying their friend on a stretcher get upset because no one welcomed them? Did they leave in a huff declaring they would never be back to that house-church again?
Or, did they keep their eyes on Jesus? Wasn’t whether anyone said ‘hello’ or not completely beside the point?
I suggest that ours may be the most self-centered generation of believers in history, at least in this country. We train greeters and ushers and parking lot attendants in the art of friendliness and meeting the needs of seekers, as though this were a big deal in Scripture. We hire pollsters to find out what seekers want and tell us how to keep visitors. In truth, we’re afraid they’ll go to the church down the street. And where’s the crime in that?
