I spent yesterday in Gastonia and Lincolnton, NC meeting with bi-vocational and smaller church pastors who are part of a leadership certificate program through Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute. I enjoyed meeting these brothers and hearing their stories. They love the Lord and are faithfully serving Jesus, some doing so after working a 40-50 hour work week at a secular job. We talked about a lot of different things and I hope I was able to encourage them and provide a few practical ideas. Take a moment and pray for them right now – God knows who they are.

At lunch Bill Mackey (he’s coordinating this program) and I were looking for a place to eat in Gastonia. We settled on a HoneyBaked Ham café, but only after a somewhat frustrating few moments of looking for a restaurant. There are several places to eat in Gastonia. That was not the problem. The problem was the lack of rhyme or reason to how the city has developed over the years and the locations of the restaurants. It’s like a maze.

I’m sure the residents of Gastonia know where everything is and the best way to get there. However for someone like me, passing through for the day, is was frustrating.

That’s how church buildings are for guests when they get up the courage to attend for the first time on a Sunday. We “members” know where everything is and the best way to get there. Our guests don’t know this. They need our help. They need us to go out of our way to welcome them.

Attached is a blog post by Thom Rainer, President of LifeWay (our Baptist publishing house). In it he lists the ten commandments of guest-friendly church members. I encourage you to read it and ask yourself – “Am I obeying these commandments?”

Pastor Steve Hogg