October 23, 2016 "... more open and inclusive of all persons..."

As I was completing the forms required by the Conference for our Charge Conference (the annual business meeting of the local church), I came across this  question: “What would you like your church to do to be more open and inclusive of all persons who are different than the current membership?”

This question is interesting in that it assumes that we want to be more open and inclusive of all persons. For many churches, I believe that this is not always true. Many churches claim that they would like to grow, that they want to reach out to everyone and that they are one of the friendliest churches in their community. I have found through my experiences that most churches (not all, but most) actually do want to grow. The sad part is that some churches want to grow by adding people just like themselves. Many people want to sit in “their pew” every Sunday. They want to sing the songs that they like. Sometimes people put expectations on fellow worshipers. They expect everyone to come in “their Sunday best” (as defined by themselves). They expect that everyone should give a certain amount during the offering. They expect that all children should behave a certain way (again as defined by themselves).

When we include “all persons who are different than the current membership,” our comfort zone goes out the window. These newcomers may sit in our regular pew. They may like music that we don’t care for or that we even dislike. They may wear their work clothes or even shorts or athletic clothes. They may not behave the way that we expect them to behave and may on occasion even disrupt worship. And after seeing television evangelists continually ask for money, they may not put 1¢ in the offering plate!

The good news is that I believe that our church would throw open the doors and welcome all newcomers with open arms. I believe that most of us would even sit on the front row if they wanted to sit in “our spot.” We wouldn’t even notice how they are dressed or how much money was given. And we believe that if children don’t occasionally disrupt worship, we don’t have enough children. And if we don’t always like the music, we acknowledge that worship isn’t about us, it’s about God.

My answer to this question is that our church already strives to be open and inclusive to persons who are different once they show up at worship or any church program. What I would like to see is everyone inviting those persons who aren’t connected with any church into a relationship with Jesus Christ. Invite them to come to church with you. Invite them to Wednesday supper. Invite them to our ESL classes. Tell them about our amazing preschool. Tell them about our thrift store or invite them to come work with you. And if the time is right, remind them that even though we may seem different, we are all the same. We are all broken and a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is the only way that any of us can be whole again.

How would you answer this question?