August 12, 2002
TOGETHER:
Pay attention; eternity is at stake
___Rosemary and I arrived a little early for the morning service in our church. Since I had been preaching in churches across Texas for several Sundays, it felt good to be "back home."
___A young couple sat behind us, and I turned to welcome them to our service. I asked whether they were visiting or if they were members who had joined the church in our absence.
___"No," they said, "this is our first time to be here."
CHARLES WADE
Executive Director
BGCT Executive Board
___We assured them they had come to a good place, and there was a place for them in the life and work of our church.
___The worship service began. While we were singing, Rosemary noticed a man standing nearby had tears in his eyes. She slipped a note to me, so after the service I spoke to him. I discovered he had gone through a divorce a few months ago and had begun to find his way back to God through the ministry of our single adults, the choir and the messages of our pastor.
___After the worship service, Rosemary spoke again to the visiting couple and introduced them to some other young adults and to our minister of adults. They were in no hurry to leave. They had discovered potential new friends in an unfamiliar town.
___I was reminded again how important it is to pay attention.
___Sometimes we have gone to churches, and no one seemed to care that we had walked through the door. It has surprised us that a warm welcome, ordinary courtesy and helpfulness count for so much. We are used to church, we belong to the Lord of the church and are profoundly "at home" in church. But a genuine smile and sincere interest made a difference even to us.
___School is about to start, and many families are looking for a place to worship. Some may be in your church this Sunday. Watch for them.
___One of the most effective couples in our church watched for the opportunity to invite a new couple out to lunch after church. God used their generosity to draw many people into the fellowship of our church.
___When God wants to bless one of his young children in the faith or draw to himself the heart of an unbeliever, he looks for a church that feels more like an incubator than a refrigerator.
___It works best when every member of the church is quick to welcome people with open arms and the pastor has a winsome personality that draws people right in.
___But a friendly, loving church can begin with just one person--you. Warmth and love are contagious. Start smiling at people. Speak first to everyone you see. Pay attention.
___If this is not a natural and easy thing for you to do, pray something like this on Sunday: "Dear Lord, you loved me before I knew you. You reached out to me before I even knew I needed you. Thank you. Help me to see people today in a new way, especially the people I have never seen before. Be the Lord of my smile and my time. Open my eyes and my heart so that the love you have placed in me can spill over on someone who really needs to know they matter to you and to me. Save somebody today, and let me be a little part of it."
___We are loved.
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