Get two or more pastors in a room and roll out this request, "Tell me about your church." Invariably one or more of the pastors will begin to regale the others with what is wrong with their church. I know, I've been on both sides of that statement. Most of the time, this refrain is added, "They just don't get it." It stands for a myriad of shortcomings.
However, tonight--TONIGHT, St Paul got it right.
Tonight was the end of the fall semester Spirit of St Paul Wednesday night dinners and programs. More about Spirit of St Paul another post.
Here's the point of tonight. We invited 40+ students from a local elementary school to our Wednesday night program. We had a couple teachers as chaperones. In addition, we had approximately 160 of our own men, women, youth and children at the event. We served the kids first, sat them at the front of the room at reserved seats. Several of our youth acted as table monitors helping the kids with dinner and dessert.
Afterwards, we had Santa Claus come and read "The Night Before Christmas" to everyone there. Then, all of the kids from the school received a gift bag with small toys, mittens, a ginger bread man and a copy of "TNBC." Several of the kids had never been to a church before. Several were taken to our sanctuary to see it. After the evening, the kids were taken back to school to their parents.
For one evening, the focus of the evening was not about us or our kids, but the least, the lost and the lonely. For a church more willing to write a check instead of getting our hands dirty, this is the start.
Tonight, they got it right--it is better to give than to receive. Amen!
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