Insight of Secret Visitors

Written by Bishop D. Max Whitfield Friday, 20 August 2010 09:38

Imagine a secret visitor enters a worship service on a Sunday morning and begins recording his/her impressions, feelings and experience.

Dr. Bob Farr, Director of Transformational Ministries for the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church, pays individuals who are not Christians and do not attend a congregation to become such a secret visitor. He worked with a company that utilized such a program in assisting secular businesses to improve their performance.

Together they thought of numerous aspects one might experience on entering a church sanctuary for the first time. Did the church have sufficient signs to tell a visitor how to find the worship center, the rest rooms, the nursery and the fellowship gathering before or after worship? Could the visitor fully participate by following the bulletin, or did the congregation assume certain parts were known by all participants? 

Dr. Farr indicates most congregations were extremely surprised at the results of the visitors. The response of most church leaders was to deny the validity of the visit and the observations from the secret visitors. They had difficulty seeing themselves as failing to exhibit radical hospitality. It was only  when they re-examined themselves with more objective eyes that they began to see the multiple areas crying for improvement if they wanted, really wanted, to welcome persons who did not know Jesus Christ and did not have a church background.

This week I read a brief summary of St. Francis’ encounter with the leper. The details of his passing a leper colony several times previously and avoiding the leper escaped my memory. It was only after he had a vision from Jesus saying to him, “Francis, all that is sweet and lovely to you will become bitter. All that you have avoided will turn to great sweetness and joy.” Francis was riding the trail when he was awakened from his dream and saw a leper standing in his pathway. His first reaction was to avoid the leper. Upon remembering his vision, he dismounted and embraced the leper with a kiss.

Many people in our society are modern day lepers. They may be the drug addicts, the homeless, the unemployed, the alcoholics, the poor, the immigrant, the beggar or the stranger. They are the ones we avoid. They also are the very ones that become Christ coming to visit us. They often irritate us, produce fear and anxiety in us, and appear less worthy of our love and care. They can be Christ’s secret visitors opening the doors to deliver God’s blessing to us.

Christ’s secret visitor may enter a worship service this week. He may enter an office, a classroom or a meeting this week. Will we extend the radical hospitality that Jesus has extended to us? Will we extend the radical hospitality we would extend to Jesus?

Jesus comes to us in ways we least expect and anticipate.

Grace & Peace, Max


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