How do we, in today's church, treat outsiders? In some cases, we do a great job of inviting them in and encouraging them to join the fellowship, but I think in many cases, the church appears to be a clique where acceptance is difficult. We tend to look down on anyone that is not already attending our churches as if they are somehow inferior just because they haven't been to our church before. We treat them almost as children that are nice to have around for a while and then send home rather than as human beings that are in need of love, comfort, and relationships.
I'm just as guilty as anyone else. I tend to shy away from talking to complete strangers, but what if I am the only person that can reach them? What then? Paul exhorts us to extend grace to those that are new to church and to season our speech with salt. I think he's meaning that we leave out all of our churchy, preachy vocabulary and just talk in a manner that anyone can understand and at a level where anyone can participate. If we do that, then we don't leave any bad taste in anyone's mouth and we are likely to be able to start building relationships.
It's a rare situation where someone finds Christ through a complete stranger. Generally, it's the result of a relationship, so make sure that you are open to making new friends.
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