Remember Me? I’m back!       

Ok, it’s been way too long since I’ve posted anything here.  Let’s see if we can get this moving again. 

I know last time I talked about tradition and meant to follow with something else on the subject.  Too much time and too many thoughts since then.

I have a strange thought process rolling around in my mind.  Who counts more?  Newcomers or Old-timers?  Insiders or Outsiders?  Strange question?  Think about it.  In the average church do we base decisions on what is best for insiders or outsiders?  When we consider opinions and reactions are we more concerned with newcomers or old-timers?  Is that a simple question or is it more complicated than a first glance suggests? 

            It seems to me the longer you are a follower of Christ the less you understand how someone far from God thinks.  We “once were lost, but now we’re found.”  Once we knew what it was to be far from God, unfamiliar with church and how things usually happen there.  We become a believer and begin to attend church.  We get to know what life is like there.  What is expected and accepted.  We begin to grow and learn.  Then one day, not sure exactly when, we become an insider.  We become a part of the established congregation.  We’ve been around a while.  You might even call us an old-timer.  Old-timer is not an age; it’s about how accepted and established a person is.  You can be in the youth group for a few months and be an old-timer, an insider. 

You might be an insider or old-timer…

If you’ve ever said, “Who are all these new people?”

If you’ve ever thought that it’s not fair or appropriate for someone to ask that “new” person for their feedback or opinion before they ask you.

If you can’t easily remember how foreign and difficult the initial experience at church can be.

You might be an outsider or newcomer…

If you find yourself wondering how to connect with some of these people who already have their relationship calendar full and sometimes seem to look at you like, “who are all these new people?”

If you wonder why most of the music is kind of slow.

If you wonder what makes an organ sacred.

If you don’t know what KJV, NIV, NASB, CEV or ESV stands for.

If you can’t quickly find the Bible book of Micah.

If you occasionally feel like you are in a foreign place and need a translator to understand what is happening.

            So, back to my question.  Who matters more?  Should more decisions be made with consideration for Newcomers or Insiders?  You know, policy decisions, music decisions, mission/purpose decisions, outreach decisions, pretty much everything.  Well, I don’t think the answer is quite that simple.  But consider this.  Best I can determine the mission our Lord left us with involves some pretty serious involvement with Newcomers.  If we ever develop a we vs. them mentality we are in trouble.  It wasn’t so long ago that I was a Newcomer (ok, maybe it was a while…) and so were you.  If any church gets an Insider mentality or approach to decisions across the board, it is a matter time before Newcomers no longer feel welcome.  The ability to reach and disciple new people will significantly diminish.  The word Ichabod comes to mind.

            So, who matter most?  We all do.  Get over any mentality that produces labels.  It’s about us, we, family, community.  We have one Lord, one Faith, one God and Father (see Ephesians 4:1-6).  You, new or not, are not separate or different.  We are all sinners saved by grace, adopted into God’s family through faith in Jesus Christ.  Next time you look across the table or aisle and think, who are these new, old, different people?  Walk over and introduce yourself and bridge that gap!  Take the initiative!  Be family!  Be one, as our God is one.  There is no we vs. them, there is no me or them in God’s family.