Last week, at the end of a long day in New York City doing all of the things tourists do, I plopped down on a bench at the last of our touristy destinations – The Top of the Rock. The view, I hear, is just as good as that from the Empire State Building, without the two hour wait.
While perusing a map of the NYC skyline a woman sitting next to me at the other end of the bench asked, “Do you speak English?” My response? “Being from Texas, not very well, but I’ll do my best to help you.” This came after three days of receiving amusing looks from waiters and hotel clerks after opening my mouth. The common refrain was “You’re not from New York are you?” In the City I looked like everyone else but sounded totally different.
My pronounced Southwestern drawl was not the only difference I noticed between New York and North Texas, where I live. You have to look very closely because they are hidden by the immense skyscrapers and the multitudes rushing past them, but churches are numerous in NYC. Having acquired an interest in touring churches this past summer in Europe, I cannot resist venturing into older churches. My wife and I did this several times in New York and I was struck by something about these churches that was far different from home. Every church we visited, without exception, was open to the public. Inside, among the beauty of these sacred places, individuals sat silently praying.
In contrast, many of the churches where I live are locked tight, accessible only after pushing an intercom button and obtaining clearance that you have “business” there. And even after gaining admittance, the visitor is given access solely to the business office. The place of sanctuary, a place to pray, a place of refuge has been closed off.
Oh, I know the reasons and they do make sense from a risk management perspective. And I do believe that proper risk management is an important element of good stewardship. But, perhaps we forget down here in the Bible Belt that the Church is (or should be) in the risk taking business.
My question: Is there not a way we can do both, manage risk while at the same time providing refuge to a world that is hurting?
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