My 87 year old mother recently had to have a total knee replacement because her knee joint had degenerated to the point where the meniscus and cartilage were both totally worn out resulting in bone on bone movement within the joint. Now her knee is a nice metal contraption.
After joint surgeries several weeks and sometimes months of physical therapy are required yo regain full functionality of the joint. My mother was assigned to a local physical therapy center which is housed in a very impressive multistory brick office building.
The problem: the front of the office building has a set of seven steps leading up to the front door. Inside, the elevator is at the back of the building at the end of a long hall. The physical therapy practice is located on the third floor. WRONG! For a person who has difficulty walking and who needs a walker or a cane to get about, access to their therapy would seem to need to be made easier rather than more difficult.
For many people, going in to a new place or situation can be intimidating. Walking into a church may seem to be totally foreign to them. Our churches need to be welcoming but many churches, intentionally or unintentionally, put up obstacles to non-members. Following is a short list of attitudes and factors which may prevent people from encountering the Gospel in a church. Is your church guilty of any of them?
1. Some churches may be victims of their own "success". Their church is intimidating by being enormous with massive crowds of people. Many people are uncomfortable in large crowds.
2. Some churches unfortunately have a history of hostility to people of other races or nationalities.
3. Some churches have such an emphasis on their senior pastor that they develop a "cult of personality" with a very passive congregation.
4. Some churches fall into the Prosperity Gospel heresy and dilute and trivialize the Gospel by attempting to please everyone.
5. Some churches become very insular and appear to be hostile to outsiders.
6. When someone asks a visitor to move out of "their seat" this sends a very unwelcoming message. Some churches even practice pew rental. The seats in the church belong to the Lord and not to any individual person.
7. Some churches are intentionally located on campuses far from urban population centers to reduce the numbers of undesirable people who may attempt to attend their services.
8. Intense micromanagement of the church by a pastor or the deacons and/or elders can give the church a repressive atmosphere.
9. Visitors may be officially allowed but not really noticed or actively greeted. This gives off the smell of "You can come if you want to."
10. The church wants to grow for questionable reasons such as the pastor's ego or for an ever increasing need for more revenue. These churches are impressed with themselves. Visitors are not stupid and they can feel this.
11. In some churches, visitors can feel the hidden hostilities which the church members have brewing with each other. The church members are unpleasant and phony. Hypocrisy is one of the worst smells.
12. Some churches are stuck in the past. All the members are elderly, with no young families or children. These churches are dying.
13. Some churches talk all the time but do nothing. No one wants to be associated with this.
14. People hate social cliques, and especially when they are present in a church.
15. Many people are made uncomfortable by church members who obviously use excessive "holy" terminology with no attempt to use plain language to express the same ideas. This smacks of an "insider" mentality. Even worse is the use of archaic English. God does not care which language you use, He understands them all.
16. One of the quickest turnoffs to a visitor is for them to see someone being a "respecter of persons."
The poorly dressed repentant prostitute drug-user is just as important in the eyes of God as is the rich man or a celebrity.
17. It says something extremely negative to a visitor when the church sanctuary is empty five minutes after the church service ends.
18. Weird, lustful, or disapproving glances aimed at them are noticed by visitors.
19. Many people are uncomfortable when public attention is drawn to them. "Stand up if you are a visitor." "Hold up your hand."
20. Many churches expect the unchurched to act and speak like Christians. We have to speak to them as they currently are without giving the impression that we are in any way approving of their totally messed up situations. The place for the sick should be a place of healing.
21. Lack of accessible entry to the church. For a person who has difficulty walking and who needs a walker or a cane to get about, access to the worship area and classrooms needs to be made easier rather than more difficult. Wheelchair ramps and/or elevators can be very welcoming.
22. Lack of accommodation for physical limitations. One church I once attended had plug-in access to earphones for the hearing impaired. These earphones were linked to the microphones on the podium and amplified the sound of the choir and the pastor.
23. Lack of translation services. Sign-language services for the deaf and translators of the most commonly spoken languages in the area show a welcoming environment.
Our churches should be welcoming places, This does not mean we should not uphold biblical standards. There must never be any compromises of the Gospel message. It means we should be like God. God is the real point of the Parable of the Prodigal Son. This is really the Parable of the Joyous Father.
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