This is a true story told me by a friend who is a very outgoing person, as is her husband. In fact, her husband has appointed himself our west-entrance greeter. He stands outside and greets people as they come in, helps people carry things in … that sort of thing.
When we take a break in our service to “meet and greet,” she seeks out people she doesn’t know, even going halfway across the auditorium to do so. (She attends early service, and so there’s usually an easy path due to the relatively low attendance.)
So anyway … she was visiting a congregation in another town with some friends. It was a moderate-to-progressive Church of Christ (I’d be more specific but it’s not like we put up signs specifying this stuff, you know). She arrived a little early and noticed that no one spoke to her or her husband. The church was very friendly, in the sense that they spoke to each other. But no one spoke to her.
During services, they had a “meet and greet,” and she was greeted vigorously. But after church, she and her husband hung around, hoping to meet some new people (that’s who they are), and no one there spoke to them.
She tugged on her friend’s sleeve, asked why no one was speaking to them, and the friend went to the preacher’s wife and pointed out the problem. The preacher’s wife said (and I kid you not), “But we had a meet and greet!”
What is the underlying assumption behind that comment? What attitude does the preacher’s wife (and the congregation) have toward visitors? How might that attitude influence the potential of that church for growth?
The rightness or wrongness of gambling has long been controversial among Christians. Some say gambling is always wrong. Others say it’s only wrong when you can’t afford the stakes — if the price of losing the bet is more than you can prudently afford. I think all agree that it’s wrong to become addicted.
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I recently received a request from a reader for a recommendation of a Church of Christ congregation in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.
