What If They’re Not A Visitor? – What Does This Mean?

The Lutheran church is often maligned for her lack of friendliness. We are well aware of the issue. We even assign greeters to welcome folks as they come into the building. Just like the back pew preference, I suppose we’re not alone in Christendom in this either. But, is there a possibility that there’s another underlying issue?

I’ve concluded over the years that some of our chilly interaction is caused by fear. Not some introverted fear of interaction itself, but a fear of being exposed or causing great pearl clutching offense. Both, I suspect, originate from the same source.

We’re afraid to greet a strange face, because they might be an infrequent, long-time member. We fear offending them and chasing them off. We also fear being exposed as a newbie, regardless of how many years are under our belts, in the face of a generational member, who deserves more credit than us.

To the second concern, impostor syndrome is a real thing. In most of the rest of our lives, it’s sort of an irrational fear. But in Christianity, it’s legitimate. We come to confess our sins, hear the absolution, hear the word of God, and receive his gifts of forgiveness of sins life and salvation. We do it often, constantly reminding ourselves that we don’t belong or deserve these gifts. Baptized into Christ, we are imposters no more. We are grafted into the body of Christ. We are members of the one body, the one family of faith.

The fear of offense is also legitimate. But, we should not be paralyzed by it. The misidentified delinquent member may get mad, but they lack standing in the case. They are the ones who’ve hidden their faces from the congregation. They are the ones who’ve absented themselves from the place where God promised to deliver his blessings to His people.

Think of it this way: Attendance is membership. Membership is not a listing on the membership roll caused by a protracted failure to clean-up the rolls, not a ancient familial connection, not a community presence, not a huge donation in the recent or distant past. “I don’t have to go to church to be a Christian” you’ll often hear.

That’s true but consider this. “Just a like a fish doesn’t have to be in water to be a fish. What happens to that fish when you take it out of the water for too long?” (Tyler Edwards, “Do You Really Have To Go To Church Every Sunday,” Relevant Magazine, 2017). God gives us His church to keep us in the faith and guard us against the Devil, the world, and our sinful flesh.

Our fear can block us from serving those returning folks and, more importantly missing new visitors among us. By simply not engaging, we won’t be exposed or hurt somebody’s feelings. At what cost? How many folks have visited among us without a word from the person sharing their pew, seated behind, or seated in front of them? How many people did we miss getting to know and folding into this body of faith?

You Are the Church! A simple word of greeting from one individual to another can make all the difference in the world to that person you don’t know yet. “Hi, my name is Esmerelda, and you are?” “Can I show you how to use that bulletin?” “We’re on page 167.” Even the simplest things can make their scary visit more comfortable. It can’t be done by formatting of the bulletin, welcome banners, or uncomfortable announcements. It can be done by each of us offering a word greeting or assistance.

That’s also true of the long delinquent member too. They may have forgotten what comes next, or never learned in the first place. If you don’t know them, they prob’ly don’t know you either. We’re here for the same reason. We come to the house of the Lord to hear and receive that forgiveness bought for us by the death of Jesus.

Let us attend to the house of the Lord.

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar
Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church & Preschool
La Grange, TX