Instructions Included
I was at a Sri Lankan coming of age event for some teenagers recently. It was a great time with lots of great food and nice people. Much of the function was carried out in Tamil, most of the foods were unfamiliar, and, even though I was taking part in the ceremony, because it was my first time I had no idea what to expect. Fortunately for me there were some very kind people who took their time to tell me what the different foods were, to translate the speeches into English and to let me know how things were going to be done. It made my experience in a foreign culture a positive adventure.
There are some things that we become so familiar with that we never think of someone not understanding them. For instance, a while ago I was approached by a fairly new believer with the question “Pastor, can just anybody use those envelopes for the offerings or how do we get to use them.” That question showed me that someone was heading in the right direction but it also showed me that I had been guilty of doing something I had hoped I wouldn’t. I was taking it for granted that it was obvious who and what the offering envelopes were for, after all, they are available in a rack in the entry and in pockets on the back of every seat, clearly marked as offering envelopes. I was guilty, guilty of assuming that everyone understood that if you wanted to use one you just go ahead and do it. Now I take time at offering time to explain that everyone is welcome to use an offering envelope and to put as much cash in it as they would like.
We now live in a culture where relatively few people have much of a church background and even fewer are acquainted with the habits of Pentecostal Churches. When a guest walks through our doors they are walking into a foreign world with strange customs far from their comfort zone. In our familiarity with church culture it is easy to assume everyone understands. It’s a good practice to work from the premise that guests and new believers know nothing about our practices and traditions that are second nature to us. When we do, we will slow down and take some time to explain in simple terminology what is happening, what the procedure is, and what the expected response will be.
Change can be as simple as asking ourselves some simple questions like:
- Do we take the time to explain what we are doing or do we just allow them to stumble along?
- When there are guests present do we take the time to explain the expressions of worship or do we just let them wonder?
- When communion is being served do we explain the mechanics of the service step by step before we actually serve the elements?
What are the “simple” things that we do as a church that we think everybody understand simply because we do? When we make an effort to see a church service through the eyes of a first time visitor it can be amazing what we see.
So, now I don’t just teach to tithe and give offerings, now I keep some envelopes on the pulpit to remind me that someone else is probably sitting in one of the seats wondering if they can use an offering envelope or not.
Got any other “simple” things that need to be explained? Leave a comment.
One Response to “Instructions Included”
January 15th, 2009 at 10:45 pm
What a great thought! We have to change our assumption from “Everyone knows this” to “No one knows this”. It’s better to have explained too well, than not to have explained at all. My compulsion is to keep commenting, but I’d only be restating what you so capably wrote.
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