Radical
For a few years now, we've been talking about the "five practices" at our church—five things that every church that wants to be fruitful must invest in. In fact, as a friend pointed out yesterday, it's not just churches that need to be involved in these practices, but with slight adaptation, every organization can benefit and find fruitfulness in their mission by pursuing and investing in these practices. But we've been focused on them here for a while now, and as with everything, sometimes we need a refresher course, a gentle reminder of who we are and what we are about. Let me remind you of what those practices are: radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity. (Taken from Robert Schnase's book "Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations.")
Not only are the actual practices important, but the adjectives are even more important. It's one thing to extend hospitality. For some of us, putting out coffee and few day-old donuts constitutes hospitality. For others, putting up a sign and waiting for people to come by is enough hospitality. Or hospitality means simply shaking a hand or two when we get to church...if we feel like it. But we're not talking about doing the minimum when it comes to hospitality. Just as Jesus radically welcomed everyone who came to him, so are we, his people, called to go "above and beyond" in welcoming—even in "seeking" those who need to know Him.
Radical hospitality means stepping out of our comfort zones—which, for many of us, means talking to people other than our friends on Sunday morning, stepping across the aisle to welcome someone we don't know, offering to buy that person a cup of coffee so the two of you can sit down and get to know each other. "Radical" calls us to go beyond what we normally do—even talking to that person who looks so unlike us, or that person we would really "love to hate" because they stand for things we don't agree with.
Radical might even take us further—it might cause us to lift our eyes beyond our own situation and actually see other people. At a particular shop I frequent, I realized a while back I hadn't really bothered to ever talk to the employees there, although they all knew me. So I've begun to make more of an effort to get out of my introverted self, talk to others, offer encouragement. I don't shy away from talking about being a pastor—which always gets an interesting reaction! But it sticks with people, I learned. I told the person who cut my hair that I was a pastor and invited her to come to church—and when someone else from the church had the same person cut their hair, she remembered it and told them he was the second person from that church she'd had! (She hasn't yet shown up at church, though.)
Or...could it take us even further? I have a friend who now lives in another state who taught me how not ever person fits in every church. Churches are different for a reason, and when someone told him that his church really wasn't what they were looking for, he would suggest another church in the community that might be a better fit. That's not just radical hospitality—that's risk-taking mission! Most of us are too afraid to do that because we think we're in competition with each other. But radical hospitality is about welcoming people to the Kingdom of God and the Body of Christ, wherever they might fit best.
Want to get radical? How will you extend radical hospitality today?
Not only are the actual practices important, but the adjectives are even more important. It's one thing to extend hospitality. For some of us, putting out coffee and few day-old donuts constitutes hospitality. For others, putting up a sign and waiting for people to come by is enough hospitality. Or hospitality means simply shaking a hand or two when we get to church...if we feel like it. But we're not talking about doing the minimum when it comes to hospitality. Just as Jesus radically welcomed everyone who came to him, so are we, his people, called to go "above and beyond" in welcoming—even in "seeking" those who need to know Him.
Radical hospitality means stepping out of our comfort zones—which, for many of us, means talking to people other than our friends on Sunday morning, stepping across the aisle to welcome someone we don't know, offering to buy that person a cup of coffee so the two of you can sit down and get to know each other. "Radical" calls us to go beyond what we normally do—even talking to that person who looks so unlike us, or that person we would really "love to hate" because they stand for things we don't agree with.
Radical might even take us further—it might cause us to lift our eyes beyond our own situation and actually see other people. At a particular shop I frequent, I realized a while back I hadn't really bothered to ever talk to the employees there, although they all knew me. So I've begun to make more of an effort to get out of my introverted self, talk to others, offer encouragement. I don't shy away from talking about being a pastor—which always gets an interesting reaction! But it sticks with people, I learned. I told the person who cut my hair that I was a pastor and invited her to come to church—and when someone else from the church had the same person cut their hair, she remembered it and told them he was the second person from that church she'd had! (She hasn't yet shown up at church, though.)
Or...could it take us even further? I have a friend who now lives in another state who taught me how not ever person fits in every church. Churches are different for a reason, and when someone told him that his church really wasn't what they were looking for, he would suggest another church in the community that might be a better fit. That's not just radical hospitality—that's risk-taking mission! Most of us are too afraid to do that because we think we're in competition with each other. But radical hospitality is about welcoming people to the Kingdom of God and the Body of Christ, wherever they might fit best.
Want to get radical? How will you extend radical hospitality today?
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