the attendants waving you into the perfect parking spot?
the clear and colorful signage?
the way your children are welcomed?
the Krispy Kreme doughnuts? (Is there any other kind?)
the silky smooth coffee?
the compelling delivery of the gospel?
The it is hospitality in a church setting. What helps our guests feel most welcomed?
It’s a question I continue to ask as I long to make our guests at Summit feel warmly greeted. Truth is, it’s sometimes hard to navigate. What’s friendly to one person is creepy-friendly to another. Time has been spent in prayer, ideas have been researched, and brainstorming has happened over coffee. Surely there’s something we can do to create a Christ-love kind of atmosphere.
Recently, while driving one morning, with no sound but my breath and God’s, came this whisper:
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 1 Jn 4:20
There it was—a roar disguised as a whisper:
True hospitality begins with love between Christ followers.
We can have the Kreme-iest doughnuts and a never-ending flow of coffee but if we don’t love one another?
All else is empty.
Loving one another doesn’t mean we’ll always like each other at times, or even agree on every decision. And that’s okay. But loving others as Christ loves us calls us to a deeper connection lived out by dying to self, sacrificing for Kingdom-glory, forgiving quickly so as not to give the enemy a foothold, and praying for one another. Although we’ll never perfect the art of Christ-love this side of heaven, it is our motivation for all things, and our deepest desire.
Turns out, the real question as to what true hospitality is (at church, as well as our homes) doesn’t begin with what we can do — but rather, Whose can we be?
So, what’s one practical way your church builds upon the foundation of love when welcoming guests?
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Would you consider yourself a competitive person? See if any of these five signs show up on your radar, compliments of Story Pick:
1. You get super crazy when you’re about to lose a game.
2. When you are on the treadmill at the gym you have to go faster than the person next to you.
3. When you lose, you take it personal.
4. You fake congratulate your opponent (if he/she beats you.)
5. Your competition doesn’t have an age…kids to the elderly, bring ’em on!
Who needs “Team Gwen” shirts? (The Voice)
It’s fun watching our children compete in sports and competition certainly offers many life lessons hard knocks along the way. Sometimes, though, this competitive spirit can trickle into our churches. If names were stitched on the back of jerseys, some might read:
Dunker
Sprinkler
Confessor or
Shouter, just to name a few.
A competitive spirit can even occur in churches who are very similar.
It’s for this reason (and many more) that I’m grateful to be part of a church that believes in partnering rather than competing. A few tangible ways this philosophy is fleshed out at Summit Upstate:
Our pastors/elders often pray for other churches within our community on Sunday mornings.
Summit blesses other nearby churches financially on a regular basis.
We are encouraged to pray for the churches passed on our way to Summit on Sunday mornings.
As one of our lead pastors, Jason Malone, points out: one local church won’t reach a city.
Personally, I’m also trying to become more intentional about lifting up Gospel-driven churches if they’re criticized in my presence. I can’t say that’s something I’ve always done, unfortunately, but now I try to find what a church is doing right, knowing they will reach people our church never will, and vice versa. We’re all on the same team!
Staying in Step with the Spirit: Some of us are hands, some are feet—but we’re all one Body in Christ Jesus. When we move as the Body was designed to, we can’t help but stay in step with the Holy Spirit, bringing much glory to God.
Heavenly Father, may our churches stand firm in truth with our fingers wide open, releasing any spirit of competitiveness in order that we might embrace the blessing of partnership instead. None of us, Lord. All of You.
I remember the day(s) I caught her eating crackers off the other children’s plates if they turned their head for a split second (and the adorable unrepentant grin she displayed when I caught her eye.)
I remember the night her #10 jersey was displayed on the Brashier gym walls in recognition of the 1308 points she scored during her b-ball years there. Yes, 1308 points! (I’m still convinced it was the glow-in-the-dark b-ball we gave her years ago that was the catalyst for such proficiency!)
I remember the invitation we received this past week for her high school graduation and the cookout that would follow.
Kayla’s
family has been an integral part of our lives for over 20 years now. Her
mom, Teresa, and I co-taught a women’s Sunday School class and bible
studies for years and have remained best friend’s ever since. All of
Teresa’s children feel much like my own. Her four girls feel more like
daughters and I suppose they always will.
Rach, Christi, Kayla, Steph, and Andrew
As we sat around the table last night during the graduation celebration, I couldn’t help but think of my grandmother, aka Ma-Ma (my dad’s mother) and the many life-long friends she made during her 60+ years at Fairforest Baptist Church. Throughout my life I watched as she not only loved her friends, but their children as well. I think Ma-Ma especially gravitated towards the daughters, seeing how she had her hands full with four boys at home!
Today’s “church years” don’t seem mirror those of my grandmother’s, when people remained in one church their entire lives. Nowadays, prayer partners part and families follow.
Yet, nights like last Thursday remind me that we, as the Church, are one regardless of the walls we choose to sit within on Sunday mornings. Relationships can last far beyond the goodbyes. It requires a little intentionality and sacrifice but it’s worth every effort. Our lives are richer for knowing Kayla (Miss Graduate!), her parents, and siblings, as well as other friends we no longer attend church with but remained connected to.
I’m grateful that in some ways my friendships—and the friendships developed with their children—mirror those of my grandmother’s days.
How about you? Did God bring anyone in particular to mind while reading this post? If so, I encourage you to make the effort to touch base with them. It may just be God’s perfect timing at work!
The next best thing to being wise oneself
is to live in a circle of those who are. – C.S. Lewis
Cathy Baker
A Subscriber Gift for You
Join the Creative Pauses Facebook Community
Vacation Devotional Guides
My Amazon Affiliation
I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.comand affiliated sites.
Are you a member of the Creative Pauses community?
Sign up for Cathy's monthly newsletter to join our community and receive the latest seasonal gifts, posts, behind-the-scenes information, creative resources, and giveaways!
Unsubscribe at any time.
Welcome to the Creative Pauses community! Make yourself right at home.
by Cathy Baker
