St. Francis was on to something

St. Francis* is my homeboy

I said something on twitter the other day that got some attention, and I wanted to expand a bit on it. I am officially past the honeymoon of moving. :) I do like Norman, but it is certainly an adjustment.

One of the hardest parts-ok, THE hardest part- is being so far away from friends and things familiar. And I have not been bashful about talking about how much I hate visiting churches.

The other day on twitter, I noted that I can go to any dog park and I'm greeted and welcomed, but I can go to church and no one speaks to me. Some good conversation sparked from that, some wondering why and what we can do to address it in churches. I honestly don't know why this is. Maybe having a dog is such a common denominator that people feel more free to open a conversation with it.

But surely at church, where the common point is loving God and each other, we can find SOMETHING to talk to visitors about.

I will admit that I'm not the most approachable person. I'm a loner at times. I've had enough negative experiences visiting churches that I really don't radiate sunshine when I go. But generally what happens is I go in, no one speaks to me, unless there is that forced, awkward "greet visitors" time, when the people behind me will find out my name, and then I sit through the service and leave.

One person- hello @billyadams- has invited me to visit the church he goes to here in Norman, so I can't pass up the only offer I've got. :) 

All in all, maybe churches who are so focused on being the slickest marketers and using the latest jargon should take a visit to the dog park to figure out how to make people feel welcome. Just a thought.

*Patron saint of animals