We Christians have developed a fine art of excluding certain persons from experiencing our faith. Oh, I know. You would say not my Church. Why, we are the friendliest, most welcoming Church in the area.
Truth is, I have not really found a totally welcoming Church, yet. And I have looked.
Each time I think I might be close, I come to understand just how closed and excluding we are. For instance, we have such homophobia in the Church today that we are trying to exclude the LGBT community from life in the Church as we wish, and to exclude them from life in the community as they “deserve”.
If I am wrong, then why do we pass laws forbidding anyone to marry into a same-sex relationship? And why do we forbid gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender from an active role, and full inclusion in the Church?
Think about the poor, the disenfranchised, women and children, immigrants, legal or illegal. What is your Churches ministry and response to these? Many Churches have one or two people involved while the rest of Church says it is OK to minister to them outside the four walls, just don’t bring them here. They are not our kind of people. How many time I have heard this? Too many.
With women, many Churches refuse to accept any leadership or pastoral authority from them.
And this includes denominations that do accept and ordain women. Some of their Churches say that the policy of women in ministry is the denominational policy, not theirs.
I know that within the United Methodist Church, where I am ordained, their are MANY churches that refuse a women pastor. And if the Bishop sends one, the local church makes life so miserable for her that within a year or two, she either moves again to a new parish, or leaves the ministry. The church goes on without any repercussions, all in the name of denominational monetary support.
Children and youth ministries are often the last funded and the first cut. These ministries are so under funded and outdated in most churches that children no longer are seen in significant numbers.
Last Sunday I asked for a show of hands from those who had come to know Christ either as a child or teen. 95% gathered raised their hands. Then I ask why Children’s Ministries accounted for less than 0.1% of our Church budget? The vast majority of the budget goes to caring for the property, staff salaries, and Denominational Budgets. As a side note, only about 1.2% goes to all other ministries.
And many times do we actually invite people into the four walls of the Church? Or welcome them when they come in on their own? It is a lot less than you think.
In 2002, I did a little experiment. I took two years off from my Church. I began to attend a different Church each week or so, in the area. Sometimes I would go back a second week to give them another opportunity to welcome me.
In all, I visited over fifty churches from a variety of denominations. Some were conservative, others liberal. I did not have one case of a welcome note, follow-up visit, or call from the church membership or staff. In only seven of the churches was I welcomed by someone in the pew. In the other Churches, some looked at me, some smiled, others turned away, and I sat alone in the pew.
Following the service, the pastor said hello and thanked me for coming, at the majority of these churches as he, or she, greeted their parishioners at the door. Only two asked me my name and if I was visiting the area.
My response was to share my name and that I lived in the area and had recently moved there. I also add that I was looking for a church home. There was never a follow-up question or comment other than, in both cases, “Well, welcome to the area”.
I share these thoughts, not to judge or condemn, but to challenge and encourage you in your thinking about what it means to be a child of God, and the impression we give to those outside the church when we we are not hospitable. It is even more disturbing when we are intentional about excluding people from full participation in the life of the Church.
I truly believe that the moment we chose to exclude one person from the life, ministry, and work of the Kingdom of God, we exclude ourselves. The scriptures remind us that as we judge, we shall also be judged.
