- On my knees with a razor blade scraping wax and paint off the floor tiles.
- On a ladder fixing damaged ceiling tiles or running sound cables.
- With a hammer drill putting up closet doors.
- Staring blankly at the kitchen … I’m mentally rearranging.
- Straightening, hiding ecclesia-clutter (all the stuff that accumulates at a church).
- Washing windows … washing anything that needs washing.
- Buying carpets at PriceSmart to capture some of the dust that blows under the doors.
Don’t let me fail to mention that Sue is right beside me, doing the same things. I’m so thankful that we’re wired the same way. I’m admitting that part of this is due to our personality bents. But I’m also glad she shares my vision for a clean and inviting worship space. I like to come into that kind of environment and I think others do too. Actually research by the Rainer Foundation bears this out. People form instant opinions about a church if it is cluttered or dilapidated.
Now … do I think a committed Christ-follower will be put off by such things? I hope not. I do want a nice worship space for all of you, but I also want to remove barriers for the seeker and the disenfranchised. I will not dumb down the Gospel to reach out … but I don’t mind cleaning up the church.
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.
Colossians 4:5
