Jan 30, 2008

Expecting Any Visitors?

Most homes have two ways of living: regular living, and "guests are coming" living.

We all know what regular living is like. That's our everyday life and everyday living. And then, when we know guests are coming over, our regular living goes through a transformation.

At least in my home it does. My wife goes on alert and she begins barking orders and the rest of us come to attention to obey her orders...
  • clean up your room
  • take out the garbage
  • vacuum the house
  • clean the floor
  • straighten the living room
  • do the dishes
  • put on the coffee maker
  • etc.
And pretty soon, the house is in shipshape order. And we're ready to receive guests.

I mention this because churches function like our homes. We get real comfortable doing things certain ways. And we forget what it's like to be a guest or a visitor. And worse, we forget that we're expecting visitors.

A church that doesn't expect visitors has some serious problems.

But a church that expects visitors and doesn't get their house in order is just plain dumb.

Getting our church house in order is much more than having a clean place. It's an attitude and an expectation that visitors are indeed coming over because our people are inviting people. And just as we go out of our way in our home, church members need to think intentionally about how best we can welcome, receive, and host visitors in our church homes.

So, you expecting any visitors this weekend?

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