The following came in an email we subscribe to.  Do we do any better than the church in this anecdote?  I pray we do but fear we do not.

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Caring Churches

A church newsletter mentioned a man who visited eighteen different churches on successive Sundays. He was trying to find out what the churches were really like. He said, "I sat near the front. After the service, I walked slowly to the rear, then returned to the front and went back to the foyer using another aisle. I smiled and was neatly dressed. I asked one person to direct me to a specific place: a fellowship hall, pastor's study, etc. I remained for coffee if served. I used a scale to rate the reception I received. I awarded points on the following basis:

10 for a smile from a worshiper

10 for a greeting from someone sitting nearby

100 for an exchange of names

200 for an invitation to have coffee

200 for an invitation to return

1000 for an introduction to another worshiper

2000 for an invitation to meet the pastor

On this scale, eleven of the eighteen churches earned fewer than 100 points. Five actually received less than 20.

The conclusion: The doctrine may be biblical, the singing inspirational, the sermon uplifting, but when a visitor finds nobody who cares whether he's here, he is not likely to come back."


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