I have a pastor friend who recently attended his second ever punk show. He didn’t grow up listening to that type of music and for the first one he was in the seated balcony. He had never heard of the bands, but someone had an extra ticket, so he said yes.
Punk shows are very different from the pop/country/worship concerts he had been to in the past. Before he went, he was nervously texting me questions. What do I do if I end up in a mosh pit? Move, no one stays in a pit unless they want to be there. Is everyone going to think I’m a nerd if I wear earplugs? No, there is no street cred to be earned with tinnitus. I ended our conversation telling him, worst case scenario, stand in the back and people watch.
The day after, I reached out because I was incredibly interested to hear about his experience. And like I knew he would, he had a great time! The bands were fun, the venue was cool, but the thing that struck him the most was the experience of community that was on display. It’s a lesson the Church could learn a lot from.
As he put it, “in the best way possible, no one cares. Everyone starts with being happy that you are here.” If people can find such a strong sense of belonging just through liking the same thing, how much better can Christians do when it’s our God given responsibility to help people see that they belong, that they are welcome?
When you see someone new on a Sunday morning are you stoked or hesitant? Paul in Romans 15:5-7 says this, “5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”
We never know the path someone’s life took that brought them to God. However, we can still be excited! Find someone and let them know that you’re glad they showed up. We can help people grow in their faith just by being welcomed as you were welcomed by God when you first came to faith. Let’s be aggressively welcoming.
Next week, mosh pits!