In the Gospel of Luke 14:15-24, Jesus tells the parable of the Great Banquet. A man of great wealth prepares a great banquet, and when it’s ready, he tells his servant to alert those invited. When the servant finds the invited guests, they give several excuses as to why they cannot come to this great banquet. One says he’s just purchased a piece of land and must go see it. Another says he bought some oxen and must try them out, and the third invited guest says he’s just gotten married so he can’t come. These excuses make the owner of the house very angry, so he tells his servant to go out into the highways and alleys and find the poor, lame, crippled and blind to invite them to the great banquet. The servant does just that and fills the table, but realizes there is still room. The owner then tells his servant to go out again and find others so that his house might be full.
Many churches are struggling to convince members to return to the sanctuary since Covid shut down many in-person services, events, and activities. Some members are high-risk meaning the elderly, disabled, families with infants, or are immunocompromised. As a result, they need to take extra precautions when gathering or prefer to participate in church life virtually at this time. Others have varying reasons why they are not compelled to come back to church. Even returning worship services to what they were pre-Covid hasn’t been compelling enough to get people in return. Whatever the reason, I believe we can glean from this parable on how we can pivot and get others to come.
First, we should come to a place of acceptance that many members will not return to our churches. I believe many of us are stuck on trying to convince them to return while missing opportunities to invite others into the fold. Some leaders have even resorted to trying to shame them. There are many clips circulating online of pastors shaming those who’ve chosen to remain virtual or not return at all.
Secondly, we should expand our guest lists. In the parable of the Great Banquet, when the first invited guests did not accept the invitation, the owner opened up his house to any and all who would come. Are we missing opportunities for evangelism because we have a specific group of people in mind that we want to come to our services? We can follow the example of the man in this parable and invite whosoever is willing to come. Let us take the limits off of who we think should attend and participate in the services and invite them in.
Lastly, we should ask ourselves what about our offerings and services will compel people to come in? When the servant goes out a second time to find guests for the banquet, the owner of the house tells the servant to “compel” them to come and dine. In my sanctified imagination, I believe the servant compelled people by showing and telling. He could have brought a sample of the food from the banquet for potential guests to try, and he probably told them of the great meal and festivities awaiting them. We, too, have to show and tell to compel others to come into the church. Show them the love of Jesus when you’re in the streets. Extend to them radical hospitality before they become members. Meet their physical needs – clothe the naked, feed the hungry, visit the sick and imprisoned. Make a compelling argument.
What are your thoughts? How have you pivoted to compel others to come into the church?