The Get-Well Card

Years ago, when I was an assistant pastor, the senior pastor came up with an interesting assignment: I would take a Sunday off from our church in order visit a couple of other churches to see how they did things. We talked about the churches I should visit and what I should be looking for.

Tina and I visited a large church on Sunday morning that had a quite remarkable children’s ministry where we dropped off our two boys. The service was professional and solid, if a bit dull. Nonetheless, everything was well done.

The highlight (lowlight?) of our visit though was the Sunday school class into which we wandered. One of many adult classes, this one had about twenty people attending that Sunday morning. The regular teacher was missing, but the substitute seemed familiar to everyone in the class. Although it was obvious that we were not regulars and perhaps visitors to the church, at no time did anyone greet us or make any attempt to find out anything about us.

That happens at a lot of churches and might have been the end of it except for the card. One of the class regulars was sick and in the hospital. After a few moments of sharing this person’s condition, they passed a get-well card around for the class to sign. Rather than skipping us even though we were obviously visitors, when the card came around it was handed to me.

I assume that most of you would have just passed the card to the next person since you were a stranger to the hospital-bound member. But then, you are not like me. I signed it.

I wonder what the recipient of the card thought when he saw our names. Was he puzzled? Did he think that maybe this was a new couple whom he had seen but had not yet learned their names? Even worse, is it possible that the relationships in that class were so lacking that he didn’t realize that a stranger signed it?

My point is not to criticize that church or class. The same thing could have happened in other places in which I have ministered.

I just think of the words of the apostle Paul. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. (1 Cor 12:24b-26)

To do so we must really know those around us. Then we will know what their needs are and how we can minister to them.