An Invitation To Stay

“When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (Lev. 19:33-34)

To offer hospitality to a stranger is to welcome something new, unfamiliar, and unknown into our life-world… Strangers have stories to tell which we have never heard before, stories which can redirect our seeing and stimulate our imaginations. The stories invite us to view the world from a novel perspective. - Thomas Ogletree, Hospitality to the Stranger

  I am always attempting to learn new things which would benefit the church and help us to reach out to our community and share the abundant grace of God with our neighbors. When I am on vacation, Karen and I will attend worship at churches where we have never been before, small churches, larger churches, non-denominational churches, etc. I have said before, I have stolen some of my best ideas during these visits by seeing what others are doing.

  What I found amazing were the variety of welcomes we received at each church. Some are friendly, in some no one greeted us, some simply ignored us, some are curious as if no new people had attended worship in years, and others guessed I was a pastor on vacation. When I am out and about I like to take photos and a few months ago I took the photo I have included in today's post. It is about a Social Club and their motto is “Everyone is Invited.... Few are asked to stay.” Sadly, I have discovered this could also be the motto of many of the churches Karen and I have visited over the years.

  I stated in my sermon series on evangelism, we are called to extend an invitation to others to “come and see” what is happening here. Of course, an invitation would seem hollow and empty if the people are not welcomed and shown hospitality once they arrive at our door. We are called upon to extend hospitality along with invitations. Each new visitor who walks through our doors is a gift from God and we are called to welcome them with graciousness for this gift. In the Bible, offering hospitality is not just a nice idea, it is a moral imperative. God's people remember that they were once strangers and refugees who were taken in by God, “You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:19)

  Many congregations would declare themselves to be friendly, open, warm, and interested in growth. They would say with conviction, “We are a friendly, caring group of people who would welcome anyone into our fellowship and extend the best of hospitality.” As church members we often find ourselves haunted by our own words, because we discover that the strangers in our midst who come through our doors do not always have a warm experience of hospitality during their visit.

Why Haven't You Invited Me?

“But how are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'” (Rom. 10:14-15)

 Nothing is more destined to create deep-seated anxieties in people than the false assumption that life should be free from anxieties. - Fulton J. Sheen

  Nathan Williams told of two men who had been business partners for over twenty years. They met one Sunday morning as they were leaving a restaurant. One of them asked, "Where are you going this morning?"

  "I'm going to play golf. What about you?"

  The first man responded rather apologetically, "I'm going to church."

  The other man said, "Why don't you give up that church stuff?"

  The man asked, "What do you mean?"

  "Well, we have been partners for twenty years. We have worked together, attended board meetings together, and had lunch together, and all of these twenty years you have never asked me about going to church. You have never invited me to go with you. Obviously, it doesn't mean that much to you."

  We are told by Jesus that our task as the church is to extend invitations to “come and see” and share the good news, but most often we don't. We allow our fears or embarrassment rule our behaviors rather than look around at the people we have know even for many years and we fail to act.

  What’s the point of any conversation? Is not conversation about sharing life together? Getting to know one another better? Connecting? The best conversations leave us with a mutual respect and increasing fondness of each other with the hopes of continuing the conversation soon. If our faith, our church, and our discipleship is important to us should it not come up in our conversations. But conversations like that seem to be few and far between, especially if they get wrapped up in what we think is “evangelism.”

  If our stories of what Jesus has done for us and the fellowship we have found in the church family is truly important to us should it not come up in our conversations.

  We often make assumptions about people about their appearance, their mannerism, and we form stereotypes in our mind about specific groups which in turn kills relationships. “Come and See” (John 1:46) are the words the disciple Philip says to his friend Nathaniel. On one level, it is an invitation to friendship, discovery and discipleship. Our faith can be communicated in this way and it can be done with respect and fondness for others. We don't have to sell Jesus, the Holy Spirit will do this for us, if we are willing to share our own stories of what Jesus means to us.

  Today, I have a short video below called "Time to invite someone to church," which illustrates that we make too many assumptions about people which may prevent us from extending an invitation. Watch the video and consider in your prayers and thoughts today, what prevents you from extending an invitation to others to come and see.

     

All God's People are Welcome!

"When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, "What are you looking for?"  They said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day.” (John 1:38-39, NRSV)

If you want your neighbor to know what Christ will do for him, let the neighbor see what Christ has done for you. - Henry Ward Beecher

  Evangelism is good news. The good news is not about introducing a new church program, gaining more members, or increasing budgets. Evangelism is the good news of God’s healing and saving love in Jesus Christ. Evangelism is a lifestyle in which a follower of Jesus Christ both shares faith and serves others in need. Evangelism is about bringing this good news into our communities, evangelism has been poorly accepted in many congregations because many images exist which presents evangelism in ways, it was never intended.

  Jesus tells us we are to “go and make disciples.” Jesus did not say “go and make Presbyterian's,” though if we prove faithful in our responsibility to to make disciples, God will take care of the Presbyterian part. If we are faithful and work to bring in the harvest that God is preparing for us to participate, God will make sure we have the people needed to get the job done and bless our congregation.

  As I said in my message on Sunday, September 29, 2013, evangelism in it's basic form is about extending an invitation to family, friends, and neighbors. Inviting them to “come and see” for themselves. Then once they accept the invitation. We must make sure they are welcomed with hospitality and grace into the family of God and come to recognize this is a place where they can belong. People want a place where they can belong, a place where they can be themselves, a place that will help them to become better people, and a place where they can learn how Christ will help them become this better person by becoming Christ's disciple.

  People are afraid of the church. They are afraid they will not be accepted, they are afraid they are not perfect enough to belong, and they are afraid they can not be healed of their broken lives. Our task as the church is to be the better people these individuals need in their lives to reassure them that God loves them deeply and nothing is so bad that God can not forgive and help them become a new creation. They need a place where they can trust that their life can be different within a loving, compassionate and caring community of faith.

  The following video is called, “All God's People are Welcome!” and was used by a Presbyterian Church in Wisconsin. The video deals with people's objections about going to church and how all should be welcome to come.

  Yesterday, I completed a three part sermon series on Evangelism, though you will hear more later. Over the next few weeks, I will continue to build on the ideas and scriptures I covered in my messages and show you how we are called to share the good news of Jesus Christ. I also hope you will discover a renewal of your spirit and faith and find new energy and hope in Christ when we reach out to our community and share this good news.

  I recently hear a story of a 10 year old who became involved in a church because of attending VBS and attending weekly worship at the church with his neighbors after VBS. Then this 10 year old child extended an invitation to his grandmother to come to worship with him. This simple invitation by this child, resulted in a significant transformation in this woman's life. If a 10 year old can do it, we must be able.

Extending an Invitation

It’s like a middle school dance. Everybody wants to dance, but nobody wants to ask.

“Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'” (John 1:46) 

  Tomorrow, I will be concluding my three part sermon series on evangelism. This Sunday is Evangelism Sunday in the Presbyterian Church, (U.S.A.) Though this will not end my efforts to engage the congregation more into outreach and evangelism, I hope I will spark your interest in learning more. Evangelism is a vital part of the life of the church and not just something we think about a once a year and say we have covered it. Evangelism is very important to the daily mission of the church. I will be posting on my blog in the next few weeks more thoughts and ideas about how the church can improve its work in evangelism.
 Tomorrow, I will be using a scripture reading from the Gospel of John in the first chapter where Jesus calls his disciples. He asks them to follow him and the simple phrase, “Come and See” is used. One of the simplest forms of outreach and evangelism in the church is the simple act of extending an invitation to our family, friends and neighbors to worship, to bible study, a picnic, or special event or other activities within the life of the church. Though a simple invitation is one of the simplest approaches to an overall church effort in evangelism. It is also one least used approaches by church members.
  The following video is called “I Invited” and it simply illustrates the power of extending an invitation to others and how far reaching a simple invitation can lead to others.



  It sounds obvious, but few people are doing it. In his book The Unchurched Next Door, Thom Rainer says that only 2% of church people ever invite someone to church. The answer most often given for why not, is we are afraid. And it’s not clear what we’re afraid of: 82% of the unchurched individuals are somewhat likely to attend worship if someone would just ask them.   So if you’re a person in the pew not inviting anyone to church, it’s time to ask why not. Maybe you’re scared they’ll say no, maybe you’re embarrassed of your church, maybe you just don’t think about it. Or maybe like a lot of us in Christian circles, you don’t think you have many unchurched friends you can invite.   If you’re just scared, find ways to make it less scary. First, select a few people you think you could invite and prayer for them and ask God to give you the opportunity to invite them without fear. Invite a friend to a special event instead of Sunday morning or find a mutual friend and tag team the invitation. In the scripture above, when Nathanael expresses his doubts about anything good coming out of Nazareth, namely Jesus, Philip does not engage Nathanael in a debate or discussion on the merits of people coming from Nazareth. Philip simply extends the invitation to Nathanael to “come and see” for himself about who Jesus is.