“There’s not a lot of Jesus in that comment…”

That’s what I was told when I made a joke about the life expectancy of a Hollywood marriage. The criticism came from a staff member at a church with a banner that reads, “You Are Welcome Here.”

Look, I understand what you’re trying to accomplish. You want to be neighborly. You want gay, or straight, or black, or white, or rich, or poor, or atheist, or (probably even) comedians who joke about Hollywood marriage to feel included. You’re welcoming everyone to hear the gospel.

I appreciate your commitment and enthusiasm. I have a lot of passion for board games so I started a weekly Game Service at a local church. I didn’t want anyone to feel excluded so I made a huge banner that said, “You Are Welcome Here!” Then I listed some specific people: board gamers, LARP players, BINGO players, video gamers, basketball players, football players, boxers, fishermen, hunters, animal lovers, auto mechanics, horse breeders, gun enthusiasts, anti-gun activists, lumberjacks, tree lovers, nudists, politicians, anarchists, and chess players…

Each week we gathered together and pondered how to spend the time. We had one thing in common with each other — being welcome to attend the meeting. Beyond that, we shared no ideals, philosophies, passions, or convictions. The basketball players hated board games. The gun enthusiasts resented the anti-gun activists. Tree lovers hated lumberjacks. The nudists made everyone uncomfortable.

After a few weeks somebody (I think it was a chess player) blurted out, “This is stupid! There’s no purpose for these meetings!”

I was (understandably) outraged. “It’s a Game Service,” I shouted. “We celebrate board games!” I was shocked (SHOCKED!) when every other person in the room disagreed.

The problem with your church is not that you welcome everybody. The problem is you don’t preach the Bible’s version of Christianity. Most of the people who encounter Jesus don’t want to be his disciples. And nobody is welcomed into God’s kingdom without Him.

So, when you say, “Everyone is welcome here,” there’s not a lot of Jesus in that comment.

(2 Corinthians 4:5) “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”