Toolbox For Faith

When we have attended different churches and were welcomed—although we have discovered that is not a given—we have been called visitors. I’m lobbying for a change in wording from visitor to guest. I first heard the suggestion from Ken Callahan but I did not realize the impact to the individual until I started attending different churches.

I checked with Webster’s dictionary for the difference between the two words before I started my lobbying campaign to make sure I was defining the words correctly. The first two definitions of guest were “a: a person entertained in one’s house b: a person to whom hospitality is extended..” The first definition of visitor is “one that visits; especially: one that makes formal visits of inspection.”

Being a guest who has been invited and warmly welcomed is exciting. We are not people who have just dropped in off the street to make a formal inspection of the church. I do not expect to be entertained but I want to feel like I am a part of the community of believers, not someone who is outside looking critically in. Maybe, if we concentrate of thinking of people as guests, we will welcome them in a much warmer way. That could be wishful thinking but I’m hopeful.

How about joining my campaign? Let’s eliminate visitors and welcome guests.