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The Man in the Brown HatBy John Plunkett
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I do not know how many of you read Charles Dickens. He wrote a book entitled A Tale of Two Cities. This was a very wonderful and inspiring book. What I would like to do today is to tell you "A Tale of Two Churches."
Right up front, because my introduction is quite long, I will tell you right away that the purpose for my split-sermon today is to encourage all of the members of God's church to practice hospitality. I would like to begin by recounting a short anecdote. I do not know who the author is, but the title is "A Parable for our Times."
The story goes that just as the first hymn started, a man wearing a brown hat was ushered into a front seat. One of the ushers suggested kindly that he take the hat off. "No," the man said, "I prefer to keep it on." There was some consternation at the back of the church. The head usher asked the man to take off his hat, but he, too, was rebuffed. A deacon was enlisted to make an appeal, only to have the man under the hat reply, "I have every right to keep my hat on, and I intend to do so." The deacon asked a deaconess to help; alas, she, too, failed. After the service, the minister approached the man and, in a kindly way, said, "It has been a great pleasure to have you with us this morning...You will be welcome to join our congregation and worship here regularly. However, it is the custom in our church for men to remove their hats and to keep them off during the service. I hope that you might conform to this practice in the future." The man under the hat replied, "Thank you very much. It is good of you to invite me to join the congregation. In fact, I have been coming regularly for three years, but today is the first time that anyone has paid any attention to me. By simply keeping my hat on, I have had the pleasure of talking with the ushers, a deacon, and a deaconess, who have appeared too busy to talk to me before, and now I am having a conversation with you. I feel good about it and wish to express my appreciation."
I could stop right there and you would have the main point of my split-sermon, but let us continue with Church Tale #2.
Do you remember the first time you attended a Church of God service? I remember our first day very well. What stood out in my mind was not the fact that the format of the service was very different from that of any church service to which I had been before, although it certainly was. Nor was it the fact that the doctrines taught were so very different from those in churches that we had previously attended, although they certainly were. What was initially remarkable to Trish and me was the cheerfulness and the friendliness of the people.
Upon our arrival, as we drove into the parking lot, the first face that we saw was a man serving on the parking crew. Despite the miserable rain that day and the fact that we were complete strangers, this man was beaming and smiling and waving a welcome to us. When we walked into the meeting hall, people were not sitting in chairs with blank looks on their face waiting for the service to begin, with an organ playing dismally in the background. No, there was a real buzz in the air. Everyone was talking, smiling, and laughing—and they did not restrict their friendliness to each other. As soon as we were noticed as newcomers, there was someone there right away, smiling and shaking our hands warmly. They introduced themselves and showed sincere interest in us. All of this was despite the fact that we must have looked so very different: Trish, in her bright pink pants and high platform-soled shoes, and me, in my knee-length pigskin coat and long hair and high platform-soled shoes. Oh, the styles of those days! Those first introductions with those people were not shallow or short-lived expressions of politeness. We made friends with some wonderful people that rainy Sabbath, and some of those friendships lasted for decades.
This was repeated when we first came to the Feast of Tabernacles in 1997 with the Church of the Great God in Jefferson City. I can still remember John Reid almost breaking my spine with his hug.
What about you? What was your experience like on the first day that you attended God's church? Were you ignored, like the man in the brown hat, or were you warmly greeted and welcomed, as Trish and I were? I sincerely hope that the latter is true. With these things in mind and despite the relatively low growth rate in the churches of God today, still we all need to be thinking, right now, about new people who may walk through our doors in the coming weeks, months, or years at Sabbath services, Holy Day services, or the Feast of Tabernacles. We all need to be preparing and practicing now for how we will welcome, greet, and give hospitality to those people.
Let us ask some questions. Why should we practice hospitality? It seems like a strange question, but the primary reason is that God commands it.
Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Romans 12:10 Have kindly affection one for another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another.
Yes, with one another, but also with our potential new brothers and sisters, too.
Romans 12:13 ...distributing to the necessity of saints, given to hospitality.
In another place, God tells us, through Paul, what the average man in the street will be like in the last days. He will be a lover of his own self, will be covetous, will be a boaster, will be proud, unthankful, without natural affection, and a lover of pleasure more than a lover of God. Is this how God wants His end-time people to be? Of course, it is not.
I Peter 4:7-10 But the end of all things is at hand...And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
That word minister means "serve." We should be hospitable because God commands it, but why does He command it? God commands it so that all new prospective members and visitors who come to His church feel welcome and comfortable and will desire to come back and keep on coming back week after week, according to His calling, of course. God knows that hospitality is an effective method for His children to practice true Christian love.
The second question is, "How can we practice true Christian hospitality?" The answer is quite simple. First of all, what we have to do is to just introduce ourselves. Again, it is easy: Smile and invite a handshake by sticking out your hand, and say, "Hello, I am Horatio Fizkin," or whatever your name is. Shake the newcomer's hand firmly and warmly. You might remember that Mr. Armstrong, years ago, warned against the dire evils of a wet-fish handshake.
Four times in the epistles of Paul and Peter, God tells us to greet our fellow members with a holy kiss. Kisses and hugs are certainly fine for members that we know, but a new prospective member may not respond too well. A sincere handshake is a good substitute for new attendees. It is good for us to practice on our fellow church members whenever we meet.
The second way that we can practice true Christian hospitality is to try and get out of any Sabbath-day cliques of which we have inadvertently become part.
Luke 14:1, 12-14 Now it happened, as He went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees to eat bread on the Sabbath, that they watched Him closely...Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just."
We can effectively practice hospitality by getting to know others with whom we do not normally mix—for example, newer members or members who have attended for a long time, perhaps, but we have never made the time to get together with them.
The third way that we can practice true Christian hospitality is by being alert to new attendees or members visiting from other church areas and from other church of God groups, as well, which is quite common these days. We must make an extra effort to greet them and possibly to invite them for a meal. The last scripture at which we looked was Luke 14, where Jesus equates hospitality with enjoying a meal together. Many church families have found that a meal with new people is the most effective way of getting to know one another. For some members, inviting new people for a meal is not an option. Also, for most brethren, it is not possible every single Sabbath. Please do not think that we have to be wealthy to do this. Many church families are on a single income, and most of us are on a tight budget. It is not necessary to provide a huge lavish banquet for our guests.
Proverbs 15:17 Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a fatted calf with hatred.
The lavishness of food, then, is of secondary importance, but the company and the fellowship are of primary importance.
I remember, back in 1970, when Trish and I had just moved from Vancouver to Victoria, on our very first Sabbath day there we had an unforgettable lunch after services. This was with a lovely, lower-income, church family. What was on the menu? Borscht (for those of you who do not know what that is, it is an East European cabbage soup) and grilled cheese sandwiches, as well. You know, that simple, low-cost lunch remains in my memory to this day, nearly thirty years later, because there was love there.
Also, the host need not provide all of the meal. Many church families have great success with potluck meals. Each guest family or individual brings whatever he can, such as what he would have eaten at home alone, and this way everyone gets to share it together, enhanced by good company. It does not matter if somebody brings egg sandwiches or last night's leftover tuna casserole. Nobody should be trying to outdo the others in any way. Everyone benefits from the variety of food and, of course, from the fellowship that they enjoy.
How not to be hospitable: I told you the story about the man in the brown hat to get a point across. I was not implying in that story that it is okay for us to lower our church standards for newcomers, for example, to allow a male newcomer to sit through services with his hat on. Again, maybe as with Trish and I, the dress or the hairstyle or length of hair of a newcomer may not be of a standard for appearing before God. We must not offend newcomers in this regard. Most newcomers will soon recognize the church dress standards, and most will quickly conform.
However, over the years, we have all heard the horror stories about the well-meaning, over-zealous, long-time church member, who really should know better, latching on to new people attending for the first time and pouring forth a torrent of subject matter about God's church and teachings: Strict morality, Sabbath and Holy Days, clean and unclean meats, dress code, tithes, offerings, fasting, divorce and remarriage, no smoking, no Christmas, no Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, St Patrick's Day, April Fool's Day, and all of the pagan origins, in most elaborate detail. Some of these topics are strong meat for a first time attendee, and the first time attendee might perceive these as negative. At best, the mention of some of these things is unnecessary; at worst, it can be very damaging.
Hebrews 5:12-14 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.
A parallel scripture to this is I Peter 2:2, where God tells us that newcomers to His church are potential newborn babies. Rather than strong spiritual meat, they naturally desire the sincere milk of God's word that they may grow thereby. Avoidance of advanced subject matter with new people, holding back from pouring forth all of the biblical knowledge that we have gleaned in our multiple years in the church does not mean that we are ashamed of our beliefs. Rather, it means that we are giving polite consideration, and it is an act of loving concern to our new members.
Another possibility to consider is that God may not be calling the new person at this time. There can be a danger, as Jesus warns in Matthew 7:6, that we might be giving holy things unto dogs or casting pearls before swine. They are not my words; they are Christ's words. Spiritual dogs or swine might trample God's jewels under their feet and turn again and rend you. My advice is to stay with the milk of the word when conversing with new attendees.
Another question is "Who should be hospitable?" I have harped for many years that God wants all of His children to zealously seek opportunities to serve Him and His church in practical ways. Hospitality is a church activity in which all age groups can participate: adults, seniors, teens, young children, everyone. The other question under the banner of who: "Who should we greet?" The simple answer to that is all new faces of all age groups—again, adults, seniors, teens, and younger children.
In preparation and practice for welcoming new attendees, we should try to seek out some in our local congregation that we do not know so very well and make a real effort to get to know them better. Some of the Church of the Great God congregations and other small groups, as well, have had some small growth in recent years. Look around. How many in your congregation or group do you not know so very well? Also, what about the hundreds of members at the Feast of Tabernacles each year? Do you stick with the same friends and family members every year? Again, I remember our experience in 1997, and the welcome that we were given at Jefferson City.
It is true that we all get along best with the people of our own age and with those with similar circumstances and interests as ourselves. Birds of a feather certainly do flock together. Singles gravitate naturally towards other singles; teens gravitate, usually, towards other teens; and families gravitate to other families, usually with children of similar ages as their own. That is a natural thing to do; there is certainly nothing wrong with that. However, we should not allow our hospitality to be over-restricted by age grouping. It really is good to cross age boundaries from time to time and ensure that no one is ignored or left out. I have found by experience that young people are often amazed by the exciting, true tales from yesteryear that only the elderly brethren can tell in such incredible first-hand stories.
We can and should bridge other kinds of boundaries, too, not just age boundaries. When we are looking for new people to greet there must be no—absolutely no—respect of persons due to race, to health, or to apparent income levels. God's word is very, very clear on these points. God frowns on respect of persons because of income levels, for example, and there are many other reasons, too. Let us just look at income levels for the time being.
James 2:1-6 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, "You sit here in a good place," and say to the poor man, "You stand there," or, "Sit here at my footstool," have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man.
Likewise, it is wrong to fail to greet those with physical deformities or other disabilities, either physical or emotional or even mental. Jesus did not; neither did the apostles. They loved such people, and they even loved and encouraged such people who were afflicted with demons. They were angry with the demons, but they had great compassion of the person who was affected by the demons.
I Corinthians 12:22-26 No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary. And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
We usually apply those scriptures to the spiritual gifts of church members, but it is interesting to go back and read it again and apply it to the church members themselves and prospective members, too.
Finally, just briefly here, we have to question when: "When should we be hospitable?" We cannot leave it until the day that a new person arrives at our church services and hope that all will go well. We need to begin right now. In the Holy Days and the Feast coming up, we need to be rehearsing our hospitality skills. Then we must continue in our hospitable ways, giving warm welcomes to all new faces in our local congregations and, again, at the Feast of Tabernacles. At every single service, Christian hospitality should be never-ending.
In conclusion, if you see a man at Sabbath services wearing a brown hat, please make him very welcome.
JHP/pp/klw
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