July 19, 2007
Sometime back I was in another city and made the decision to eat at a rather famous restaurant. Because of its reputation I had wanted to eat there for a long time, but had never taken the time (or money!) to do so. This time I happened to be near it during the noon hour, and I decided that I could afford the lunch menu.
The food was excellent. It was not great, but it was way above average. The overall experience was disappointing, however, primarily because of the service. Driving home I had to think about why my reaction was so negative. The waitress was reasonably prompt in bringing me the menu. She kept my water glass filled. There were no serious omissions in service. What went wrong?
In order to figure this out I had to think about another world class restaurant here in Dallas that is co-owned by a friend and member of Christ Church. Every time I have dined there the food has been great, from salad to dessert. The service, however, is as great as the food. Not only do the servers keep your glass full and seem to magically appear at the precise time that you need something, but they inevitably welcome you with a warm and genuine smile, and when you leave they sincerely beg you to come and visit again. They come as close as one can get to playing the role of the grandmother who can’t wait for the kids to come visit, and when they leave begs them to come again soon.
The difference is hospitality. What I received at lunch that day was good service, but no real hospitality. And hospitality is what I expect from a world-class restaurant.
There is, of course, a reason that I am sharing this with you. I am absolutely convinced that hospitality is what most people are looking for when they visit a church. They want to be welcomed in such a way that they feel like they are visiting “grandma’s house,” and they want to leave knowing that their hosts sincerely want them to return soon and often. Most of the members who join Christ Church tell us that they joined because “it just felt like home.”
Here is the part where you come in. For the average visitor the “waiter” or “host” is the person sitting next to them in the pew or standing next to them in the narthex. No preacher can do what you can do: provide outstanding hospitality to the person who is searching for a community of faith. You might think of it in this way: Jan and Bart and I are back in the kitchen whipping up the meal (and we are doing the best that we can!), but you are out there among our guests. When they walk out of Christ Church their assessment of our ministry will depend greatly on the hospitality that only you can provide. Thank you in advance for making them feel like they’ve been to “Grandma’s” house!
P.S. And thanks to those of you in the 11 a.m. service who responded to my impromptu plea for a motorbike for our partner pastor in Cameroon. Due to your generosity, we are now able to purchase motorbikes for TWO of the pastors who are serving with the Rev. Wes Magruder in this exciting mission field!