Three Pennies....

Three Pennies.......
Have you ever wondered why people don't go to church?   What do you look for in a church?  Is it the coffee bar?  Is it the amazing worship music with drums and guitars? Is it the flashy sermons, children's programs, or having the chance to dress up on a Sunday?

What if some of theses things are what prohibits "the least of these" the people Jesus instructs us to reach out to, from going to church?  I met a man this weekend when I had the opportunity to attend a "house church" in Arlington, Texas.  This house church was located in an apartment within an apartment community.  This little congregation of 30 was so very welcoming and surprisingly excited to see this group of strangers from Kansas.  When I had the opportunity to chat with this man, Paul, he told me he loved his church.  He said he never felt like he could go to the big churches in Arlington.  He didn't own a suit and a tie, and just didn't feel like he belonged there.  He told me that people in his apartment complex had been inviting him for years to come, but he had this pre-conceived notion about what church was.  When he showed up wearing jeans, he was welcomed in to this congregation and has been coming every Sunday since.

How many people don't come to church because when faced with passing the offering plate, they cringe because they don't have anything to put in the plate?  They pass it ever so slyly to the left, and hope the person behind or beside them don't judge them for not being able to contribute that day.

At this "House Church" everyone is given three pennies when they arrive.  EVERYONE.....you may choose to keep the pennies, or at the time when you are invited to the front to place offering in the basket, you may add one, two, three, or none to the basket.  When we brought up the rear of the line to add our three pennies, my heart melted at the sight.  There were many $1 bills in the basket, spare change, not just pennies.   Everyone brought their 5 loaves and 2 Fishes...No one was embarrassed, no one watched who was putting what in.  It was truly honoring to God.  Because, you see, no one here was writing a check, and what they were tithing probably hurt them more financially, than our tithe hurts us.  But they were giving what they decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, as God instructs us to do in 2 Corinthians 9:7.  

I go to an amazing church.  Our church family "goes" to a local apartment complex every week for Homework Huddle, we are starting bible studies in homes, we are serving many families with what God has bestowed upon us as our Time, Treasure and Talents.  And if you visit our church, it is rare that you don't get a giant hug from a greeter or one of the ushers, stranger or member alike.

The gentleman who sits in front of us many Sundays, wears a tank top and shorts, another guy always wears t-shirts and has a visible tattoo of our Lord and Savior on his arm.  Everyone is welcome here.

This weekend really brought it to my attention that what happens at my church is probably not what the perception of the poor and the needy are thinking about my church.

So how do we let them know?  We let them know by our LOVE.  We GO, to them, we ask them if they would like to discover God's plan for their life.  We meet them where they are.  It is not a project, it is not a "one and done" serving opportunity.  It is about doing life with them.  

  “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with action and in truth” (1 John 3:17–18).

When I set out on this adventure at a local apartment complex I had no idea what to expect.  but it is my family and I who have truly been blessed by the families, and people....our friends, we have met. 

I want to invite you to come along....What is God urging you to do with your time, treasure and talent?  
Do you have three pennies you can bring??