Could a place like this happen by chance? Don't think so.
At the end of November I talked about GIFTing. This is something we can do as a church family all year long. So many times when people come to a new church, it can be intimidating. Also, the minute they come through the threshold, they are seeking comfort in a new environment and also discerning if this is a place they want to come and worship at on a regular basis. Karl Vaters shared a statistic that people usually decide within the first 9 minutes if they are going to return to a church or not. Thus, first impressions are important (no pressure). Many times people come to a new church and find themselves literally navigating around current attenders existing relationships just to get to the sanctuary. (Excuse me, pardon me)
But what if the current attenders made it their goal to GIFT new attenders with welcome faces and easy access. Let me remind you again of the simple accrostic I learned from Karl Vaters at a workship I attended. Greet someone you don't know. (or don't know well or haven't seen at church for awhile) Introduce someone to someone else. Follow up with someone you've connected with previously. Thank someone for a job well done. We also need to understand that the smaller the church, the more important it is for each person to be involved in helping others feel welcome. This isn't a job for just a few people, but everyone. I'm challenging everyone who is a regular attender of the church to do at least one of these every week they attend on a Sunday morning. We are two days away from Christmas Eve and I anticipate folks we have never seen or haven't seen for awhile attending our church. So now is the time to practice GIFTing. Who have you invited to this year's Christmas Eve services? Will you be prepared to help make a theFederated Church of Brookston a place of warmth and welcome this Christmas Eve and all year round? I hope you embrace the challenge and slow down long enough on Sunday monrings to put it into practice. Allow me to be cliche. GIFTing should be the congregational gift to others that keeps on giving.
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How Many Ways Can We Say Thank You
Thank You, Thanks, I appreciate that, I am grateful, Gracias, Merci, Grazie, Spahseebah (phonetic spelling of Russsian word for thank you), toda (Hebrew), eucharistos (Greek). Ooh, wait a minute, does that last word sound familiar? To me it sounds a lot like Eucharist. The Eucharist is the given name for the Lord’s Supper in the Catholic Church, but it also means “the giving of thanks.” Coincidence? I don’t think so. More on this not so coincidental word in a minute. I don’t know about you, but the older I get the more my favorite Holiday has shifted from Christmas to Thanksgiving in terms of the actual day of celebration. Yes, I love Christmas and it’s meaning for us as Christians is vitally important but when it comes to the actual day of celebration I have begun to prefer Thanksgiving. Why? To me Thanksgiving is so much more simple and straightforward. So many fewer decisions are involved in Thanksgiving, like what are we going to eat? With exception of a few variables, it’s pretty much a given: turkey, stuffing, cranberries of some sort, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole is usually in there, and of course, the all important pumpkin pie. There are other wonderful givens built into the holiday as well. It’s always on a Thursday in late November, a nice respite from the work week and right before all the stress of Christmas. Any more givens? The Macy’s Day Thanksgiving Day Parade. It isn’t really thanksgiving in our family unless you watch the parade for at least a little while on Thursday. Anything else? Oh yeah, FOOTBALL! Yes, and you can always count on the fact that it’s Detroit and Dallas playing. Thanksgiving is as straightforward as it comes. Thank you to the Pilgrims and the Native Americans for setting the example for us so many years ago. Did I forget any other givens? OH Yeah, What are you supposed to do on Thanksgiving? Hmm, let me think about it for a minute... GIVE THANKS!! It’s hard to mess up that simple directive, isn’t it? Just be thankful to God and to others and for what has been given/provided for you. It’s a simple thing! It’s a healthy thing! So if it’s such a healthy thing to give thanks, why don’t we do it more often? The truth is most of us do and if not, we can. Back to that word Eucharist. Every time we take of the Lord’s Supper we are called to give thanks. That’s what the original word means. We are thankful for the price that Jesus has paid on our behalf, for the ransom that God has paid through his son. Some churches celebrate this weekly. We have opportunity to do so monthly! The truth is we should give thanks to God and others daily, if not several times daily. How do you feel when someone thanks you? I know how I feel… appreciated. So if we can give that gift to God and others shouldn’t we do so as often as we can as long as it is heartfelt and with sincerity? Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday these days, not just because of its simplicity but because of its directive. Bottom line, Thanksgiving is more than just a holiday it’s a lifestyle that we as Christians are called to live. |
AuthorRev. Dave Doles is the Pastor of The Federated Church of Brookston, IN. He has served in ministry for 20 + years and has a heart for the small church. Dave believes the size of the church is not what matters but the heart within the people and their willingness to be a healthy and vibrant church. A sign of a healthy church is one that doesn't just look inward but outward. When a church doesn't give to its community it is deciding to die, but Christ promises life and life to the full and this life comes through giving of oneself to the cause of the KIngdom. ArchivesCategories |