Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)
Barriers
Since several people have asked me how I got to Tuscarora Inn for the Eastern District Annual Conference (October 2007), I thought that I'd put it into this week's devotional. Yes, I rode my bike. It was a wonderful experience--seventy-five miles in six and a half hours. I had two challenges--barriers--that needed to be overcome. The first barrier was finding a route that would get me across the Delaware River, and the second barrier was mountainous terrain. Fortunately, a bridge crosses the Delaware not far from Tuscarora Inn at Belvidere, New Jersey. With the help of on-line maps I could trace my route from my house in Belleville across the state to Belvidere. You can view this route at www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1454911. The next barrier was getting over some of the higher elevations. The first challenge was getting over First Watchung Mountain that separates the towns of Montclair and Verona. The next big hill was Long Hill that runs along the Passaic River in Morris County between Summit and Chatham. The third hill came after riding through the Great Swamp which is 240 feet above sea level up to Jockey Hollow an elevation of 600 feet. After Jockey Hollow I had a relatively flat ride until I got to the biggest challenge of the day--Schooley's Mountain in Warren County. After crossing the Raritan River at Long Valley at an elevation of 530 feet, I rode up Schooley's Mountain to an elevation of over 1,000 feet. The last challenge was a hill in Oxford that goes up about 300 feet. So with training, determination, and God's help I was able to overcome the barriers and arrive at my destination. The conference had some wonderful speakers and I had a great time. During one of the sessions one of the speakers asked the question: "Does your church have barriers that keep people from becoming a part of it?" I thought that this was a good, thought-provoking question. Is it possible that our church has barriers, albeit unintentional barriers, that keep visitors from feeling comfortable in our church? In my experience, new comers have at least two barriers to overcome: making new friends and learning a new church. To help people get over the first barrier we must welcome people to our church with open arms and open hearts. Sunday morning should be a time when we enlarge our circle of friends. We should try to make everyone feel welcome and wanted. To help people get over the barrier of learning a new church we need to make sure that people don't feel lost. The church building should not be a maze where people stumble around searching for the nursery or the rest rooms. A few simple signs strategically placed can help solve this problem. Additionally, our worship service should not be so strange that people feel out of place. They shouldn't feel as if they've gone back in time thirty years, nor should they feel like the church is too extreme. We should try to have a worship service where people of all generations and all cultures feel comfortable. These two challenges: making new friends and learning a new place of worship, if not properly addressed, can be barriers for new people. But God can help us address these issues with sensitivity and wisdom so that becoming a part of our church is not like trying to get over a mountain. Riding Hard for Jesus, Pastor Steve November 16, 2007
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