Hi Everyone,
I’m in Wenatchee at a Conference-wide clergy gathering. Our keynote speaker is Bishop Robert Schnase talking about his book, Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. Our opening lecture described these five practices: Radical Hospitality, Passionate Worship, Intentional Faith Development, Risk-Taking Mission & Service, and Extravagant Generosity. He stated that for a church to thrive it must excel in all five of these areas. My favorite statement of his so far was, “If next year was 1959, the church is ready for it.” Most Methodist Churches still pattern their worship, educational programs, and outreach ministries on a 1959 model.
Radical hospitality in 2009 means that every aspect of the church should be welcoming. Have you ever considered paint color a hospitality issue? How about the appearance of plants or are the windows washed? We all laughed when he told the story of driving up to a church he’d never been to before. They had a playground there that was overgrown with weeds, the paint was chipping off and there was a lock on the gate. This is like a giant billboard to every family with children DON’T COME HERE!!!
I’m happy that we’ve been working on making our church a hospitable place and I know we won’t quit until we’re ready for next year to be 2010!
Shalom,
Jerry
