Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

I ran into one of our Scout Leaders early last Sunday morning as he was preparing to take the Troop to their summer camp in Oklahoma.  After he left I found myself reminiscing about the Scouting experiences I had had as a girl.  This song came to me that I learned beginning in my first Brownie Troop.  The first verse goes like this:

Make new friends

But keep the old

One is silver

And the other, gold.

I bet some of you are singing it right now!  This fun song is the one the Acts 16:5 Initiative uses to help us remember the value of long-time friendships and the importance of making new friends.

In Jesus Christ, becoming faithful people is what we all are striving to do.  Our own transformation and the church’s transformation will take place in energetic ways when we put this powerful idea to work.  Here’s a reminder of the way it works:  Next time you invite “gold” friends over for a meal or for dessert, invite someone that may be relatively new or “silver” to your gathering.  It could be an office co-worker or a neighbor or someone who’s been visiting the church.  The big challenge is NOT to talk about the church during your time together, because, of course, that would leave out the people who do not know the church well.  Bringing others into our circle of friends is how our own lives of faith are enlivened and stretched.  One of the fun things about meeting “silver” friends is learning about who they are and finding out about their lives, their interests and their faith.

Today in our busy and full lives, it may be too much to ask to have people over to our home, so another option is to change the venue.  Meet at a restaurant and have a meal together.  Meet at an ice cream parlor on one of these hot summer evenings and have conversation while enjoying cold, creamy cones.  Another alternative is to invite gold and silver friends to a game of some sort.  The possibilities are endless.

On the 4^th of July, my husband and I were invited to a parishioner’s home for dinner and homemade peach ice cream.  Yum!  There were people there, some of which we knew and some of which we did not.  What an enjoyable evening we had in lively conversation with both “gold” and “silver” friends.  It was an important reminder to me of making the effort to expand our circle to include those to whom God will surely lead us.

Our Lives

Building One Another - Vol. 11, No. 3
Dear Friend, One of the loveliest comments in the writings of the Apostle Paul is his word to the Christians in the town of Thessalonica:                                          “So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.”  I Thessalonians 2:8 You immediately see these people were people to Paul and not merely objects, students, customers, patients, or parishioners to whom he had something to offer but with whom he had no relationship. Indeed he had a very deep and personal friendship with them and makes it clear they were so dear that he and his team not only shared the good news about Jesus but entered into the complexities that come of shared personal lives. It’s a joy and a calling for each of us to teach and share the truth and wonders of God’s Word to people. Never forget, however, that they are people who long to be known personally.  Enter into their complex lives as you come alongside and share your own personal life with them. One joyful way to read what the apostle wrote is to re-read it and ask yourself if Jesus would say the same words, “So deeply do I care for you that I am determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also my own self, because you have become very dear to me.” You see immediately that is exactly what Jesus would say, exactly what he did do, and precisely what you and I are invited to do as well.
With joy- E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2012 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
To view archived issues and to subscribe:  www.buildingoneanother.org

Open Heart Open Door

Building One Another - Vol. 10, No. 28
Dear Friend, December is often a time of more social gatherings in the life of the church and in our worlds of work, local neighborhoods, friends, and families. Our normal tendency is to gravitate to those we know and to include those with whom we are familiar. Indeed much of the joy of the season is gathering with those we know and love. At the same time, this is an ideal time to open our circles a little. Thus we enjoy the dear one and include the new one.  The open heart leads to the open door. As a matter of fact, this is often the practical key to including people who are newer to us because that very newness may make us a little uncomfortable in reaching out to them. Invite those we don’t know so well to join us with those we do know well. Remember the two friends on the road to Emmaus? “But they urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us, because it is almost evening and the day is now nearly over.’ So he went in to stay with them.” Luke 24:29* They had no idea it was Jesus, the sovereign Lord of the universe.  Secure in their relationship, the two friends who knew each other well invited the one they didn’t know so well. It only changed their lives.
With joy - E. Stanley Ott Copyright 2011 E. Stanley Ott *Scripture from the NRSV
To view archived issues and to subscribe:  www.buildingoneanother.org