The TV Show “Cheers” was set in the friendliest bar anyone could imagine. Maybe you remember the theme song – Where Everybody Knows Your Name by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo.
Making your way in the world today
takes everything you’ve got.
Taking a break from all your worries,
sure would help a lot.
Wouldn’t you like to get away?
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
and they’re always glad you came.
You wanna be where you can see,
our troubles are all the same
You wanna be where everybody knows your name.
You wanna go where people know,
people are all the same,
You wanna go where everybody knows your name.
Doesn’t that sound like a place you want to frequent? Why?
Because you like to go some place “Where Everybody Knows Your Name.”
The church should be a place where people care enough to get to know you and accept you. God says his people should “live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8). I can’t “be sympathetic” without knowing you and your needs. God also expects his family to “love each other deeply” (1 Peter 4:8). Once more, how can I “love you deeply” without knowing you?
You’d like to frequent a place where “they’re always glad you came.”
The church should be a place where you can find smiling faces and encouraging words. The church should be place of joy and hope. God asks his children to “rejoice in the Lord” and all he does to bring us into his family (Phil 3:1). You want a place of joy, so let your face shine with Jesus’ love.
And like every one of us, “You wanna go where people know, people are all the same.”
The church should be a place where we know we are all the same. God loves each person in the same way. We all need his grace and forgiveness.
So, why do the bars in our towns have a better Saturday evening crowd than our Sunday morning crowds? People flood the bars because like you and me they want to go “Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came.”
How can we share Jesus’ love with people?
We simply need to let them know they’re welcome here and invite them. When they come, take the time to get to know them. Be glad to see them. Recognize everyone as an equal. Let’s make our congregational meetings the friendliest places in our towns.
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Enjoyed it. I’m also reminded that we have to earn the right to be heard. Too often, we don’t pay attention to what people are saying. Sad really! We must establish relationships before we can affect change. That’s what Jesus did.
Someone wrote that Roman Christians focused on teaching doctrine before welcoming new members into fellowship while Celtic Christians welcomed newcomers into fellowship before teaching doctrine. The Celtic way seems most effective for our postmodern times.
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