Come As You Are

It has been a dream of mine to be a part of a church that says that people are welcome to come as they are – and mean it.

Too often churches erect barriers of dress or color or economic status that keep new people who are seeking to know God from truly being welcome. Often these barriers are unseen and are not acknowledged. But they are real and they are there.

I am so pleased to tell you that I am now attending my dream church. The people of Legacy Christian Church are awesome. There is not a Sunday that I am not blessed as I see the people of this church embrace others, pray for others, encourage others and seek to meet each other’s needs. Over the past several months I have observed some of the most moving acts of love and ministry I have ever seen.

I am often surprised at some of the folks who have the courage to come to worship at the Legacy Christian Church of Harrison. If I were a seeker and not a coat and tie wearing middle class white guy, when I went about the process of choosing a church to attend, my presumptions about a mainline denominational church is a small town would cause me to not even consider our church.

When people choose to attend Legacy Christian Church I am always pleased at the reception they receive. To say this church is warm and welcoming would be an understatement on the order of saying it has been a bit warm around here during the summer. The great people of this church are amazing when it comes to welcoming folks I fear would be ignored or rejected at some other churches.

One of my favorite speakers and authors is John Ortberg. One of his newer books is aptly titled, Everyone Seems Normal Until You Get To Know Them. While that is a great truth, it is not true in all cases. Some people look, at first meeting, to be anything but normal. It is a basic truth that to really get to know someone you have to get past who they seem to be before you can discover who they really are. This process is more or less difficult depending on several things. One of those is our willingness to try to get past the way they choose to present themselves that may put us off. The other is their willingness to be truly known.

Some people are more transparent than others. Some people have amazingly complex walls built around themselves for protection from being hurt. Sometimes the walls present as attitudes and things they say. Some seek to protect themselves by how they dress and present themselves. Some come from “subcultures” that look and act differently and make transitioning into a church culture difficult.

Then there are the people who are just there. These are the people who are almost a case of “what you see is what you get.” They are consistent, obvious, and real. These people are usually very comfortable in their own skin, happy with who they are, and have a good self image. It doesn’t mean they are perfect, or even all right, but they are okay with themselves. Most of us tend to mask who we really are to some extent because we are convinced that if you knew the real me you wouldn’t like me.

I say all of that to share with you an experience and friendship this church made available for me. I am writing of this experience because every time I tell it I cry. And crying gives me a headache. On July 7th of 2007 (7/7/7 It was a lucky day) I had the honor of marrying Howie and Lisa. These are two young people I have come to love and treasure. Their wedding, in spite of their lighting the unity candle with a cutting torch, was one of the sweetest and most meaningful weddings I have ever been a part of. All three of us shed tears as they exchanged their vows. When Howie kissed his bride it was the sweetest kiss I had ever witnessed.

The day after the wedding they showed up just after worship to pick up the things that needed to be returned to the florist. After helping Howie load up the last of the stuff, he turned around, grabbed me and gave me a huge hug. While hugging me he said, “Thanks for accepting us. We are not normal, you know.” I replied, “Define normal for me.” Here is the rest of the story.

Last year, through the witness of one of the young ladies in our church, Lisa gave her life to Jesus. (I had the pleasure of baptizing her last August.) When she came home the evening she accepted Christ she informed Howie of what she had done and told him she was going to church and they were going to get married. The next Sunday they both showed up in church. Lisa came because she wanted to worship her Savior and Howie came because Lisa came and he loves Lisa. Howie was not a happy camper and it showed.

Howie showed up in a black T-shirt, wraparound sunglasses, several obvious piercing and some amazing tattoos. Even through the sunglasses, I could feel Howie glaring at me those first few weeks they attended worship. He and Lisa sat right in front of me and about three rows back. I guess Lisa didn't want to miss a thing. Howie's were more noticable, but Lisa has some of the most beautiful tattoos I have ever seen, too. We didn’t see hers that first week or two because she wore slacks and a long sleeve shirt.

When he and Lisa entered the worship center I thought, “Oh, oh, this could get interesting.” I was wondering how they would be greeted. Really I was wondering if they would be greeted at all. How silly of me to worry. As I stood back and watched, they were immediately surrounded by smiling people who welcomed them, insisted they have a cup of coffee and joined them for the worship service. They were loved on from day one.

And I was privileged to watch Howie’s countenance change as week after week he was welcomed and loved. Within a month his glare became a grin. Every once in a while, on his way out of worship, he would shake my hand and say something like, "Thanks, that one helped." It wasn't long before he was hanging around after worship and talking with a group of new friends.

Because of this wonderful congregation we gained two great new friends. Because, when you get to know them Howie and Lisa are extremely normal. Are they perfect? No. Like I said, they are normal. And they are wonderful people. Because of this church I was able to know and love these two fine young people and their precious daughter, Aspen. My life is richer because of the love and openness this congregation has learned to share. Thanks church. And thanks Howie and Lisa for being open enough to let this odd old guy (without a single piercing or tattoo) be a part of your lives. And thanks for inviting me to be a part of the wedding.

Copyright © 2008, William T. McConnell, All Rights Reserved