Christian in Disguise

Today I was a Christian in disguise.

Today was our annual church picnic (click here to read about last year's picnic). I am no longer chairman of the committee that plans the event (which was kind of cool), but I am a member of that committee, and Steve is a member of the men's group that did the cooking, so we went out early -- not as early as last year, but earlier than most people.

Anyway, before we left for the picnic, I took the van, as the kids got ready, and drove down the street to pick us up some breakfast. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt -- not the "normal" going to church kind of clothes. I realized that to most of the "church" people in the town, I looked like a non-church person. A Christian in disguise.

It got me to thinking -- do we treat the people we perceive as unchurched any differently than those who we think are headed to church on a Sunday morning. I only "interacted" with two people on my way to pick up breakfast:

1. There is a "start-up" church down the road from us that seems to be doing well. It's a small re-purposed grocery store (very small). As an aside, they have a nice church van, and a bus. One gentleman, dressed in a suit, was crossing the road as I drove by. He just looked at me until I waved. Once I waved, he waved and smiled right back.
2. The clerk at the restaurant where I picked up breakfast treated me just the same as I think he would have otherwise.

Not a very large sample size, but I didn't notice any difference.

I still wonder, though. Are we nicer to unchurched people? Less nice? Do we ignore them? Are we hospitable? Are we friendly? What do they think of us?

I hope that we, in our Sunday clothes, are not true Christians in disguise. I hope people who don't know us will see God shining through our actions, no matter what we are wearing.

Picnic was great, by the way. The men did an outstanding job with the food, the new Nurture chairman did a wonderful job with everything else. Great day.

Image: Cattails from the parking lot at the high school.