Curb Appeal

The ELCA has unveiled a new look to their website today.

This newly designed space is welcoming, inviting, engaging. Kudos to all the motivating force and talent behind the revamp.

Kelly Fryer in her Reclaiming the F Word post today "A Great New Front Porch" wonders if our houses of worship will be as inviting and engaging as the front porch now is? Fryer charges us with the admonition to "get busy making sure the rest of the house is ready for company".

According to the National Association of Realtors - "Curb Appeal" - how your house looks as somebody drives by at 5 or 10 mph - sells 49 percent of all houses. In an article in the Realty Times online magazine about curb appeal in different markets, realty guru Al Heavens (no, I am NOT making him up) reminds us, "Remember, at first contact, it is not how good the house feels but how good it looks. But, once you get them through the door, you better be real sure that what's inside looks as good as what's outside."Amen to that, brother Al. We could all spend a little time on this one. Does my congregation look as "good inside" as it looks from the outside? As important as how our building appears- I am wondering - how do I "look" in church on Sunday?

Do I consistently wear a nametag? Do I consistently wear a smile - making it more inviting for somebody who doesn't already know me to engage me in conversation? Do I go out of my way to greet other people - especially people I am not already familiar with? Do I keep an eye out for somebody who looks "lost" or "new"?

When I go to church am I there for what I can get out of it or what I can put into it? Do I rush around "doing" rather than relating to the folks around me? Do I go with a mind and heart to reach out to others or am I there only for myself?

Certainly some food for thought there. It isn't only the curb appeal but perhaps the member appeal we might want to spruce up. Rather than pointing a finger in any other direction, that will have to begin with me.