What’s the Temperature Where You Worship?
Do you have “thermostat wars” where you worship? Regardless of the season of the year, it is not unusual for there to be complaints about the temperature in places of worship.
Some of us may have even seen a number of people walk by the appropriate thermostat and set it to their individual preferences. I even heard of one place where the active thermostat was hidden away and some “dummy” ones were placed where people could think that they were accomplishing something by adjusting them. It is remarkable what we will do to benefit our physical comfort.
Did you know that there are people who are more concerned than you are about the temperature where you worship? Did you know that the temperature may have an impact on something more important than physical comfort or discomfort?
These people may be visiting your worship service for the very first time. In fact, they may not have worshiped anywhere for a long, long time (if ever). They may just be traveling through your community and have decided that the congregation where you worship would be a good place for them to visit while they are in your community.
These people may or may not notice the temperature of the building. Even if they do notice it, that will be much less important than something they will most certainly notice. Visitors notice – and they notice very quickly – the “temperature” of the congregations of which we are members.
Like most people, I’ve “been there.” Unlike some people, my wife and I have had the experience of being almost “full-time visitors.” For four-and-a-half years, our work for a Christian university had us on the road almost constantly. We visited a lot of congregations during those years.
At times, we could tell almost immediately after walking into the building what the “environment” was in that location. At times we felt like we were walking into a refrigerator. The atmosphere was very cool (maybe even cold). The people there made no attempt to welcome us – or anybody else.
However, our experience at other times and places more than made up for those times and places. The people were warm and welcoming. They spent time with us and actually expressed genuine interest in us and seemed very sincere when they asked us to return whenever we could.
After our time of being on the road, we felt that it was time for me to get back to doing what I had done for quite a number of years. We decided that I needed to get back into “full-time preaching.” Fortunately, one of those warm places we had visited was looking for a full-time preacher after having had a part-time preacher for a number of years.
The congregation was small and it was struggling financially. As we made our decision about our future, those things were not what we thought about very much. We remembered the warmth and acceptance we felt during the times we were only visitors and decided to “cast our lots” with them.
That was over eighteen-and-a-half years ago. It was my privilege to preach for these people for sixteen of these years and I still serve as one of the elders. From the first day we began as a part of the family until today, we feel like they are just that – family.
In case you missed it, what first attracted us to these people was not their facilities (which were pretty rundown), their programs (which were almost nonexistent), or a lot of other things that seem to be so important to “church growth experts.”
What attracted us – and what will attract a lot of people – is the warmth they feel when they visit. Conversely, what repels people will be a cold atmosphere.
In case you think that I am the only one who might notice something like this, let me share with you a part of a text I received from one of our deacons while he and his family were on vacation:
“Said in announcements they were glad for visitors, but did not show it. Makes one think.”
I guess that’s all I’m trying to do. I just want us all to think.
As we are thinking, I believe that I need to add one more thought. Some of us wrongly believe that we have a friendly congregation because we are friendly with each other. That might make us feel good, but it does nothing for visitors.
The manner in which we treat visitors to our worship assemblies and Bible classes could very well have eternal consequences. That should, in the words of our deacon, “make one think.”
So – let me end where I began:
What is the temperature where you worship?
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AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
