DO YOU EVEN KNOW MY NAME?

In the 1980’s there was a television show named Cheers. I must pause here and say I did not watch this sitcom nor am I advocating that anyone else watch it, but it has a message that today’s churches should study and apply. The show was about a bar, the people who congregated their every day and the ups and downs of their lives. The characters were from all socio-economic levels, they were different ages and different careers, yet they were together sharing life. The theme song portrays why the story worked and thousands would tune in each week to participate in this fantasy life; at least for half an hour.

♪♪ Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got;
     Taking a break from all your worries sure would help a lot.
     Wouldn't you like to get away?
     Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name,
     And they're always glad you came;
     You want to be where you can see, our troubles are all the same;
     You want to be where everybody knows your name. ♪♪

We live in a world full of hurting, exhausted people. Just making it day to day takes everything we’ve got then on top of that pile emergencies, tragedies, lost jobs, illness, homes torn apart, broken children, addictions and any other issue you can imagine. It is no wonder that we just want to get away from it all, if only for a short time. Why the bar? Why NOT the Church? We all agree that the bar only offers a temporary band aid to cover the problem while the church offers solutions to fix the problem. So why would someone choose a temporary cover to an eternal solution? Perhaps this line of the song holds the clue; ”Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, And they're always glad you came.”

When hurting, desperate people come to our services do they find a welcoming atmosphere or are they quickly sized up and labeled as we usher them to a seat. Do we surround them with the warmth of God’s love in our friendly smiles or do they feel the chill of our disapproving stares as we take note of their piercings, body art and unacceptable dress. Have we taken the time to talk to them, get a sense of their hunger, and find out their name? Are we even glad they came?

Several years ago, Steve and I moved to Michigan from Minnesota. We had just resigned the pastorate of a church and were exhausted, bruised, hurting and burned out. We wanted to find a church where we could worship, rest, and heal until God opened the next door. I remember visiting one small church. We walked in, an usher showed us a seat and handed us a card to fill out. The typical service concluded with a time of prayer at the front and we left. The next Sunday we decided to attend the morning service, we walked in, sat down and this time the pastor came up, shook Steve’s hand and asked if we were first time guests. We never returned. This was a church of about 50 people, we had filled out a card the previous Sunday, yet the pastor had not noticed that we were in the pew and had not bothered to read the visitor card and learn our name. This occurred enough times at other locations that we decided it didn’t even matter what the church believed, we would become faithful attendees to the first church who acted like they were glad we had come.

I have determined in my heart that when that wounded soul enters the sanctuary, I will embrace them with God’s love and a warm smile. At the end of our service, I want to know their name and I want them to know that they are in a place where we all have troubles and issues but it is also a place where an eternal answer can be found. When they leave the church we pastor, I want them to be singing, “I’m so very glad I came.”