I am on vacation! YAY! I am so happy to be spending some great quality time with my family. I am also excited about the opportunity to worship in a new place and meet some new people. I show up about 15 minutes before worship starts and am greeted by two people. Once they find out that I am from out of town and am only visiting their enthusiasm to get to know me fades. My family gest seated and notices that about 70 people filter into the sanctuary. Not one turns to offer a smile, a good morning or a handshake. They file in like they are on a conveyor belt taking their seats and sitting quietly waiting for the service to start. Service begins with some great worship music. I anticipate that a time will come soon to greet one another. NOTHING. The message begins. The message ends. Everyone gets up and leaves. What happened?!! I gather my family and leave. I don't remember much about the sermon, other than it had a theme based around the fourth of July. The only thing I remember is how I felt....like an outsider. Not really welcomed. I know that if I would have moved to this area I would not have come back to this church again based on how I felt there. This made me wonder, how many times this happens in other churches. How many opportunities do we miss to welcome "outsiders" to be part of our church community and to experience God's love? Are we doing everything we can to extend the hand of friendship and fellowship to newcomers? Or are we missing a great opportunity?
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