Guest Services Doesn’t Have to be Either / Or.
When you start getting serious about creating a welcoming environment for the outsider, you’re going to stir up a range of emotions for the insider.
Some will be excited (“Finally…I can invite my unchurched friend and it won’t be weird for them.”). Some will have a bit of trepidation (“How is this going to affect my place in the church?”). And some may view it as an actual rejection of their own longevity (“We’re making a big deal about first-timers, what about those of us who have been here forever?”).
Guest Services doesn’t have to be either / or. In fact, a hospitable culture should never be either / or. Doing so violates the very spirit of a hospitable culture.
If you feel this tension in your own congregation, let me suggest three principles to keep in mind. These principles are applicable to you and to your folks who have been around forever.
1. “What’s in it for me?” is a natural question.
I use the word natural in the spirit of Romans 8:5-11. “What’s in it for me?” is a question we all ask when we’re setting our minds on the things of the flesh. Even as we lob that accusation at others, we too easily see the areas where we do it ourselves.
So we address the natural (or carnal, or fleshy) question of “What’s in it for me?” the same way we’d address any other natural, carnal, or fleshly question: through patient discipleship, pastoral care, and pointing people to the “outdo one another in showing honor” mentality of the Christ follower.
2. If only new people excite us, we’ve missed the point.
I get that church leaders get excited about new people: new people mean you’re growing. New people tend to bring new excitement. New people are a measurable metric.
But we dare not celebrate the newcomer at the expense of others in the congregation. James 2 has something to say about being partial to the sparkly new thing in our midst. To use Acts 6 as a loose analogy, If the Greek-speaking widows are being ignored at the expense of the Hebrew-speaking widows (or vice-versa), that’s an imbalance that needs to be corrected.
3. All people are all of our mission.
Reaching those on the outside is not just the job of the paid staff or a higher echelon of leadership. It should be the job of all of the congregation. It was assumed by Jesus when he gave the Great Commission. So as we answer the “What’s in it for me?” question, part of our answer must be, “You are a disciple who makes disciples. That’s what’s in it for you.”
Now again, you may not necessarily be able to start with that bold (and a bit brash) statement. If someone is thinking in the flesh, going 0 to 60 to the Spirit might give them whiplash. And well-intentioned whiplash or not, good-for-them whiplash or not, we have to again apply the patient, pastoral wisdom that is befitting of the leader and helpful to those we lead.
A healthy culture of hospitality can’t rise and fall on leadership. It has to be a priority of everyone on the inside if it’s going to be felt by those on the outside.
In my book People Are the Mission, I climb up a different side of this mountain by taking a long look at the “older brother” of Luke 15. Chapter 5 addresses the sense of entitlement, the desire for convenience, and the maintenance of the status quo that often marks the insiders who are hesitant about the outsiders. If you want to take a multi-page deep dive on this topic, that’s a good place to start.
