The song “Drunk People” by country singer Ryan Hurd contains the line, “Come as you are, this place ain’t got no steeple.” He is referencing a bar where everyone is welcome, no matter what their past, how they struggle, or who they happen to be. In this particular bar you can come as you are… you won’t be judged and you will be received with welcoming arms. What troubles me about the lyric is not that all are welcome, but the implication that there is a place where that might not be the case: a place that has a steeple.
For many people, churches are seen as places where they are not welcome unless they wear certain clothing, believe certain things, and act in a certain way. Your life needs to fit a certain profile. Conform to certain standards. Declare certain things to be true. Is your life a mess? Are you someone who is different? Walk into the bar, you’ll be fine. But slap a steeple on top and call it a church? You’d better look out. Now, some Christians may argue that this is not true. That the picture painted is overly harsh. And that may be true… for them. But the key here is not how Christians feel about their church. It is how the people outside it feel. And for them this country song lyric rings true.
And this is especially true if you are from the LGBTQ community.
In his book “Us vs. Us” Andrew Marin shares research that illustrates the problem. Of LGBTQ people that grew up in a faith community, 76% are open to returning to that faith community. (Only 9% of the general population would say the same.) But they are afraid of how they would be received. One lesbian is quoted as saying, “I would come back if I had the strength to do so.” Marin asked these same people what it would take for them to come back. In order of frequency, their responses were that the church should be loving, patient, realistic, authentic, and supportive. All things churches already claim to be, but unfortunately often aren’t.
The number one complaint that the religious leaders of Jesus’ day had about him was that he “received sinners and ate with them.” (Luke 15:2) The word translated as “receives” in our English bibles means, “eagerly wait for, welcome, accept.” No wonder people excluded from the religious society of Jesus’ day were “all drawing near to hear him.” With Jesus they felt welcome. They felt accepted. They were not afraid. They could come as they were!
Here is the challenge: How can our faith communities reflect Jesus in such a way that all feel welcome? That all can come as they are and experience the acceptance and love of our amazing God?
How can we turn steeples into welcome signs?