I recently heard a true story about a young pastor in an eastern state who came to his first parish. The church council had posted a sign in the church parking lot which prohibited skateboarding. A few months into his ministry, some teenage boys showed up and began skateboarding in the church parking lot. Instead of going out and yelling at them, the pastor went and got his own skateboard and begin skating with the boys. He figured if the council was going to be mad at the kids, they were going to have to be mad at the pastor as well. A relationship began to develop between the pastor and those boys. One boy asked after a few weeks, “Can I come inside of your church; I have never been in a church before.” He invited the boy in and the young man began attending and was later catechized and baptized into Christ Jesus. Why? Because the relationship which the pastor was willing to develop with the young man was more important than the message on the sign.
Signs which say what you can’t do are not welcoming. They send the wrong message. They cry out in a bold voice: NO! NO! NO! In essence, they are saying we really don’t want you here. This is our space and you are not welcome. The music group The Five Man Electric Band had a song back in 1970 which reflected that same thought:
Signs, Signs
Everywhere there’s signs.
Blocking up the scenery
Breaking up my mind.
Do this Don’t do that
Can’t you read the sign.
Instead of looking at ways of keeping people out, would it not be more Christ-like to find ways to welcome people in?
Within our churches, through the Divine Service, God brings to people His preached Word and the Holy Sacraments. This is what all people need. Too often we think that our church exists for ourselves. To begin with, it is never our church, but Christ’s Church! He is the Head of the body. The church exists for the baptized and the yet to be baptized. What messages do your church signs and the signs in your parking lots convey? Are they shutting out the very people that the church needs to be reaching out to?
John says:
If we confess our sins,
He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
I John 1:9
And the blood of Jesus His Son
cleanses us from all sin.
I John 1:7b
Our sins are forgiven and in Christ Jesus we are called to love our neighbor as our self. We too were welcomed into His church through His gracious and merciful washing of Holy Baptism. May our churches be welcoming places in Christ Jesus!
