“Welcome the stranger within your gates. For you were foreigners in Egypt.” — The thrust of Leviticus 19 (see verses 10, 18, and 33-34)
This is one of the greatest frustrations and painful aspects of pastoring. You try to do well–to prepare sermons blessed of God, to lead your team to present effective ministries, to build powerful worship services, to develop disciples, and reach those in darkness–and then your best people fail to do the smallest thing. In so doing, they end up negating a thousand good things they do.
They fail to think of the outsider. They look right past the newcomer. They give no thought to the first-timer.
My blog from Monday, March 22, 1999—
“I made a number of visits tonight. Left notes at three homes (no one there) and visited with Carol and Bob Coleman. They’ve been visiting our church several weeks. She said, “We love it. Great music, etc etc–but only three people have greeted us!”
“Three! Our people think they are friendly but in truth they are friendly to each other. Bob told me he had volunteered to help Clyde with cooking the wild game supper at church. Was brusquely turned aside with ‘We already have enough help.’ Then Bob came on to the dinner and brought a friend. One hour later, they were back. Said not a soul spoke to them. So disappointing.”
That church, you will want to know, had a reputation from the previous decade as strong on evangelism and soul-winning. In fact, when I had asked the congregation to do something heroic and go the extra mile–more than once, our people opened their home to mothers from Third World countries bringing critically ill infants to our Children’s Hospital in New Orleans–they always responded well. So, they were not uncaring.
They were not uncaring.
They were unthinking.