Recently, I went to a party at the offices suites where we have our church offices in North Andover. It was your typical going away party sort of gathering food, drinks and a handful of people all in a small conference room with no party decorations. Some of the people there I have interacted with regularly. Many of the people there I only knew by face. And the bulk of the people there I have never laid eyes on before. And everyone seemed to have a pocket of people where they fit in, could eat with each other and talk about issues such as the intricacies of the law (the apparent lawyers), the detailed ins and outs of Wall Street (the obvious financial planners), the newest political brew ha-ha in North Andover (the ostensible townies) and NASCAR (the most loyal fan base of any sport who seem to pop up everywhere).

So after I walked in and got what I wanted to eat and drink, there were a flood of questions and thought about what to do next. "Now, what? Where do I go from here? Who can I talk to? Is there anybody who will make room for me in their conversation? Will anyone see me and say, 'Hi'? Does anyone notice me?" I tried to break in ever so slightly with the very few people I knew. I tried to interact with some of the newer people asking them about their work and life. I even leaned into the NASCAR discussion, but to no avail. (The only thing I know about NASCAR is there are brightly painted cars lapping around a track endlessly to get a checked flag waived their way). So I ended up leaning against a wall listening in on the conversations and basically checking out of what was going on around me. In a rather short time, I had concluded that I didn't belong there nor was I exactly wanted either.

That's not an indictment of the office group I am a part of, as much as it is an observation of what we can all be like in groups. Think about it, in groups our default mode is to search out people we know or fit well with and then exclude other people even unintentionally. We do not do it maliciously or out of spite. We just huddle with people know or people who talk about ideas we are familiar with. In all honesty, I know I all too easily slip into that same pattern where I huddle up with those I know really well or gather around people speaking lingo on topics I know well. That's my default mode. And I'm guessing that's your default mode too.

But as I reflect on that experience, my mind began to wander to the experience of the Sunday morning visitor at GracePoint. What happens if we were to do that on Sunday morning at GracePoint? What happens if we're not deliberate and intentional about finding and meeting those strangers walking among us on Sunday morning and we simply live out our default mode? What is their experience like? I imagine it is much like my own experience at that office party, which is especially tragic for those who are trying to seek out God and figure out who Jesus Christ is. But I know it doesn't have to be that way because I've seen that default mode broken on Sunday mornings at GracePoint, even in the café. I've seen new people welcomed and included without made to feel leeched onto.

We have to keep breaking that default mode by being intentional and deliberate about welcoming and including the stranger among us on Sunday morning so that they can experience Jesus among us, even to the point of returning again. Why? Because we're entering summer where we have 5 or 6 new families seemingly appearing out of nowhere each Sunday who are searching for a place to belong and a people who want them. And breaking that default mode of huddling means we're welcoming them and including them so that maybe, just maybe, they'll correctly conclude that there is a place for them to belong at GracePoint and they are wanted at GracePoint. Who knows? They may even more correctly conclude that there is a place for them to belong with God and they are wanted by God as they experience the way of Jesus among us.

So use your Sunday morning to worship, to serve and to listen to God among our community, but also use Sunday morning to host the stranger among us.

Hosting alongside you,