Devotions this week based on Sunday’s Message: Compass: Direction begins with Connection! (LISTEN HERE)
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. – Maya Angelou
We have all experienced a setting that has great content, but poor “vibe.” Every space from theater to restaurant from gas station to hotel elicits an “emotion.” Whether that emotion is valid or not, it is how you feel.
A hotel that had a stick in the window to keep the window from being opened from the outside…didn’t feel safe.
A restaurant that had good food, but a waitstaff that was not friendly…not coming back.
A hotel that has a staff at breakfast welcome you, say “Good morning,” and offer to dish you up a plate of breakfast…amazing start to the day!
A downtown decorated in Christmas lights with festive music and people walking by wishing you a “Merry Christmas”…tremendous feeling.
How about church?
Your church…our church has a “vibe” to it. Visitors will “feel” your church before they “hear” your content. Even if your content is solid, if the “vibe” is off or not friendly, they may never come back again.
A recent survey indicated why people wouldn’t come back to your church. Notice how many of these seven have to do with relationships:
- Refuse to see me
- Don’t offer me a smile
- Neglect to offer help
- Abstain from introducing yourself to me
- Forget that I’m a person who wants to be known, just like you
- Ignore my boundaries
- Forget my name
All seven.
People matter. Relationships matter.
The leadership guru, John Maxwell, quipped, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
Theology and solid biblical content are very important (we will get to that next week), but we have chosen as a first “pillar” of our church “Connect,” realizing that we must connect relationally and emotionally with people first. While faith can be developed and explored alone, God designed people to be in connection with others, especially in the church.
God created us for connection. It was not good that Adam was alone, so God made Eve for him. Not only was this the first marriage, it was the first human relationship. God made us to be social beings. Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
He also desires us to enjoy others and express kindness to others. In describing the top two commands, the second Jesus said was this: Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
The vers we chose for this pillar is Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens another.”
We were made to connect with others and through that connection be blessed by others and be a blessing to others…we’ll explore more as the week goes on!
Apply: What relationships have you enjoyed that made you “feel” very good and positive? How about your church? What could you do to make sure every guest/person feels welcome and cared for in your congregation?
Prayer: Lord thank you for people and the relationships we enjoy. Enable us to be part of meaningful relationships to be blessed and be a blessing to others. AMEN.