Just read Jeff Jenkins (pastor of Anchor Church) post from yesterday about loving kindness. He shared that his goal was to reach 100 people in McKinney this weekend but he only got to 23 because loving kindness brings up stories and stories take time. I totally agree.
There was a church we attended for several months where no one spoke to us before services. We'd get there a bit early, have a seat, and no one spoke to us. Straight up? There have been times in my life when silence in a church felt crushing, when I had gone with just one prayer, "God, does it even matter if I'm here?" Or, "Can you please have someone notice me?" And it was CRUSHING when no one did. So, the kids and I were the anti-crushing. In fact,we decided to be the ones who were the answer to prayers like those.
I had the goal of meeting every single person who was sitting by him-/herself. I never did. I don't think I ever got more than 5 people in before I asked, "So how was your week?" (Fine,because we are in church and everyone is always fine in church) "Yeah, what happened?" And next thing you know, I'd be sitting on a chair by them, listening to the story of the so-not-remotely-fine week, sometimes getting a Kleenex, sometimes just listening...usually stopping because the worship music gets so loud we can't really talk anymore.
If I had it to do NOW, I'd just invite them out to the foyer to have a seat, talk some more, and pray. But even with just listening until the music started, I have no clue how many, but the majority, of people said something like, "I came to church asking God to show me He cared. Thank you."
People are not just looking for loving kindness, they are praying for it.
Jesus is the answer. How about letting Him answer through you?
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