We live at the very end of a cove. In fact, we really like where we live. Our street is rather quiet and our kids can ride their bikes and play and we don't have to worry about traffic or any creepers looking at our kids. Our neighbors are wonderful people that we really enjoy sharing life with. A couple of homes have grown children so we're able to seek wisdom and learn from their experiences. Other homes have kids our ages and we desire to raise our kids up according to God's Word. They attend school together and make up a little grade school posse.
Last night we decided to take over our cove for Halloween. We brought out lawn chairs, a couple of tables, and a couple of fire pits. As it got dark we roasted the hot dogs and made smores and the kids went trick or treating on our block in the quest of who could become the biggest candy glutton. We were able to pass out candy and enjoy the evening cool air as a group of families.
Toward the end of our evening a couple hand in hand walked down the street to our cove. I noticed they didn't have any kids and we're watching us pretty closely. The gentleman had long hair in a ponytail and was in Harley Davidson get up from head to toe. They introduced themselves to us and came down because they were curious. They saw the fire pits, kids playing, and wanted to know what was going on. As the conversation progressed she is a single mom with a 16 year old daughter and they live several doors down. We engaged in pleasantries and I am hoping that our conversation will give me an in to invite them to our church in the near future.
I wonder how often people outside the church look on the inside of church and see love, community, security, fun, hope, and care and long to have that in their lives. I believe that just like last night, people are looking at churches wondering what all the joy is about and can they have a part in it.
This begs two questions:
1) Is the environment in my church like the environment on my cove? Do we foster love, community, and care in such a way that those on the outside want what we have in the inside (1 Peter 2:12)? Too many churches chase after meaningless mishaps and add depth to gossip driven drama and forget that people are looking in to see if what we have under the steeple is any different than what they have in their sin.
2) Would my church accept, with open arms, outsiders? Ben, who sought us out last night, seemed like a really fun character. His long hair, leathers, and curious personality might not be accepted at several places of worship - what a travesty...I hope that my church will be a place with arms wide open to people looking in.
Who knew fire pits and Halloween be an opportunity to foster care not only in my neighborhood but also my church? I'm praying I'll be able to talk to Ben and Amy again...
It seems to me that the answers to both of your questions is "Yes". At least that has been my experience.
ReplyDeleteI was not a church-goer when I was asked to help with a VBS class. Through that week back in the June, I was continually impressed with the family-friendly atmosphere, how welcome and comfortable I felt. For the rest of the summer, that warmth stayed with me, along with the idea that there are worse ways for children to be taught than the ways of Jesus.
When I invite someone to church (and surprisingly, I do that quite often), my response to the inevitable, "What do I wear?" is that I have seen pretty much everything from traditional dressy styles to blue jeans, tank tops and flip flops. It seems that BBC gets it: it isn't what's on the outside; God speaks to the heart.
If your cove is anything like BBC, then you have a truly lovely cove to live in. What a blessing.