Dear Friends
I confess that at times counseling can be challenging, and yes, even frustrating, especially when people keep coming back with the same issues without ever putting into practice the actions you suggest. It reminds me of the story of the pastor who turned undertaker. When asked why he switched vocations, he said when I was a counselor people would come to me and I would try to straighten them out, but they would keep coming back again and again with the same issues. I just grew too frustrated to continue, so I decided to become an undertaker, and now when people come to me when I straighten them out, they stay straightened.
As a pastor, it is hard to see people fail to heed the counsel you often provide, especially when they continue to return complaining that nothing has changed in their life.
Dave Furniss is one person, who proved to be an exception to this pattern. Dave is the guy who can be seen walking up and down the pews greeting people as people are singing our first worship song. One day I commented to him how proud I was of how he had gotten out of his comfort zone to greet people in a what some would call a rather untraditional way. I asked him what prompted his decision to greet people in the way he did. Now Dave was never shy, mind you, about engaging people, but I never recall him being so eager and so outgoing in his efforts to make people feel welcome. When I asked him, what motivated him to become a “model” greeter, “ He said I watched and listened to you and when you kept telling us how important it was to greet people, I simply did what you told us to do. Wow! May his tribe increase.
Dave has been going through treatment for cancer, and he was not in the service last Sunday, but his greeting mission went uninterrupted, as I took a cue from him, and proceeded to try and fill his shoes, while walking the aisles during the first hymn and greeting as many people as I could, just like he taught me. I felt a little uncomfortable interrupting people’s singing, but it was worth it knowing that I was helping to carry on Dave’s ministry even when he wasn’t there. It is a wonderful thing when people heed the advice and challenges of their pastors, but it is just as wonderful when as pastors we learn and heed the advice of our people. That’s why I often remind you that ministry is mutual; we learn from each other.
Now I have never been in a church where greeting people continued through the singing of the first hymn, but I like it, and I hope you do too. In fact, I personally plan on carrying on Dave’s unconventional greeting, and I would offer you a challenge to do the same. What if three or four or five of us chose to get outside our comfort zone and join in carrying on Dave’s welcoming ministry each Sunday. But if this challenge proves to be too much of a stretch for you, let me give you a few alternatives. Why not greet and get to know and welcome the people sitting around you before or after service? Why not invite them to join you in the Family Ministry Center following service? Why not invite them to a Bible study or a special event? And lastly, for those who are really looking to go out on the limb and “do something uncomfortable for God”, why not invite them to your home for a meal and time of fellowship?
Not only will you make Dave and your pastors happy, but you will bring great joy to the One who taught us “to love one another just as He has loved us,” for in doing so “the whole world will come to know that we are His disciples.” John 13:34-35
Yours in faith and friendship,
Pastor Tom
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