Welcome

Welcome. What an interesting word. It seems like a word that should mean"come on in."

It's the kind of word that you see on signs advertising restaurants along the expressway.


You see it on mats at doorway entries.


It is even seen above building doorways.


We say it to people throughout the day.


But do we really mean it?


The church I attend wants people to feel welcome. We do all kinds of things to ensure that people who visit become part of the family. Some of the things that we do are subtle and others are overt. The goal is to make people feel welcome.


Here's what I am wondering. Is it possible to hang a sign over the door of our church and then build a fence that people have to pass through to experience our welcome?


Many churches adopt a model that says, "we want you to behave like us...believe like us and then you belong. A fence is erected. The welcome sign is out, but there are some rules.


The church I attend has adopted a model that looks like this. "We want you to belong...we want you to believe, then we think you will behave like a kingdom person." The welcome sign is out.


I think all churches want people to feel welcome. But there are fences that must be passed through before a person is welcome.


There are a lot of people that I meet daily who aren't a part of the church today because the fences and barriers were larger than the church's welcome.


I am just wondering to do we spend more time on "welcome" or "fences?"


Just a thought....