The Hand Off (Guest post from Joshua Orebaugh)

Hey there Party People,This week you get a real treat! A guest post by an amazing fellow named Josh, not me, but probably cooler. This guy is an amazing musician, a great conversationalist, friend, leader, visionary, creative thinker, artist, and all around great fellow. The following are his thoughts. You should read them.                                                                                                                                                                                     --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      For all who do not know me, my name is Josh Orebaugh. For all of you who already do know me, please disregard the previous sentence in hopes that I have not lost your reading interests due to saying something you might have already known. Keep with me here.

     I am an easy going twenty-four year old man whose life seems to be non-stop, hopping from one event, person, or priority to the next. I am not saying that I do not have “free” time, I just often fill it with other opportunities, or obligations. Even in this small, but ever growing city called Wichita, I have been able to have a consistently busy life similar to those in the bustling streets of New York City or Los Angeles. Who would’ve ever thought?

     Here’s the deal, I have been blessed with a great opportunity to be an investor with a terrific organization of people. A group of people that have been investing in me, allowing me to turn around and invest in others. Because of these people, I have grown as a leader and want to encourage others to do the same. That is why I am writing this. I know what you are thinking, “Okay, here comes the sales pitch.”--- No! That’s not my goal at all, please keep reading. I promise that I am not selling anything, but rather sharing my thoughts.

     See, I care about other people and enjoy hearing life stories! Even more than that, I enjoy being a part of someone’s life and taking the time to share, laugh, and live life with them. But as of lately, I cannot help notice something wrong in my approach to new friendships. Something that has been bothering me, and I hope it will bother you as well.

     I call it “The Hand Off.” 


     Something that I have been guilty of for years, but am just now realizing is a problem. Here’s an example.

     I feel that I naturally want to be associated in a conversation, but only if the topics are within the boundaries of my knowledge, or expertise. I find myself having an insincere desire to learn unless it will benefit me, and really only me. I’ll still learn about another person, but I will not concentrate so much on the details of who they are. I just gather enough facts to be able to tell myself that “I now know them.” I’ll even go as far as introducing another person who understands the topic of discussion relating to the “newbie“, in hopes that I can eventually step away.

     Now I know what you are thinking. “Did he just do what I think he just did?” Yep! The Hand Off.
*(I am not a jerk, and that this does not happen all the time)

     We all can probably look back in our lives, or even in our past week and see that we do this quite often without thinking about it. We are not intentional with meeting people for where they are at, or who they are. Instead, we just want to meet others like ourselves. We have a tendency to push away sincerity when we only stay within the boundaries of what we know. And if you are like me, that is not very much.

     Let’s dare to step out and start approaching others who might not share our likes, dislikes, educational background, work ethic, skills, up-bringing, addictions (healthy or non healthy), tastes, and
interests.

     I dare you to learn about others with sincerity. Allow relationships to build, and lives to be changed.


In Christ, Josh Orebaugh

When the NFL Sounds Like Love

I was sitting in Bartelli's Pizzeria the other day trying to have a conversation. I say "Trying" because I seemed to be the only one talking. The dude I was attempted to converse with was not all that interested in picking up much of a dialogue.

“So how is your day going?”

“Ok”

“What do you do for a living?”

“Work at Sprint”

“Where do you live?”

“Southside”

This may not be exact, but is pretty darn close. I tried and tried to get this fellow to follow me into a conversation so I could talk to him about this Church we are planting here. He just was not interested. I found this odd, because he had met us at Bartelli’s specifically to TALK ABOUT THE CHURCH!

I was baffled for a bit until I spotted something. I mentioned the Kansas City Chiefs and he looked excited. I began asking him about the upcoming football season and if he was a fan. About 30 mins later, I had learned he goes to KC every year and watches them play at Arrowhead stadium. We had talked about their draft picks, their new Offensive Line, the recent acquisition of Steve Breaston, and lots more. We had an awesome conversation but not one mention of the Church came up. At the end of the conversation, he stated, “Whenever you start having weekly services, I’ll come check it out.”

I learned a lesson just then. God’s love sounds like the Kansas City Chiefs to some people. It sounds like baking to others. To some people it may even sound like bicycling, car restoring, house painting, music making, or flying. Caring about what people care about, is the key. People are attracted to people, not organizations. My father always told me, “People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

People don’t want to know your 5 year plan, how your small groups work, or if you have an awesome kids program. They want to know that you care about them. So talk to people about what matters to them. Talk about football. Because the NFL can sound like love to some people.

A few weeks after that meeting I was lamenting that there was a family there that night that I had not had a chance to tell about what our church plant was all about. Someone close to that family stopped me and stated that the family had told them that they were impressed that we really wanted to know about THEM more than we wanted to tell them about what we were doing and that they really liked that. That family is now part of our team.

Here is the lesson I learned. Our world is hurting and needs something. What they need is for people that claim the name of Christ to love them like Christ loved them, to care about them, and take interest in THEIR lives. Churches are built one relationship at a time. Who can you talk to this week and let them know that you care about them?

Hospitality Throat Punches Skepticism

Hospitality is a forgotten art. I think all of us would do well to learn about what Hospitality is and how it can be lived out. I studied up on this idea and here is what I found. Here are 5 things you should know about what hospitality is and what its place is in your personal life.

1: Hospitality is not only for people just like you.
We often practice hospitality to people that look like we do. People in the same socio/economic class, or the same race, the same age, the same background, or the same belief system that we are, tend to be the ones we are very hospitable to. I think this is because if we make them feel comfortable and welcome, we ourselves feel comfortable. However, we need to understand that hospitality should extend ESPECIALLY to people that are NOT like us. We should be hospitable to those that are not of the same class, race, age, background, or belief system. If we are to spread the love of Christ, we must take active steps to welcoming everyone just like Jesus did. He went out of his way to speak with the woman at the well. She was totally different than he was, but he spent time relating to her life. Jesus was a master of being hospitable.
2: Hospitality is not doing whatever makes YOU feel comfortable.
Many people have this idea that Hospitality is having your friends over to watch a movie and provided them chips and salsa. We have a tendency to think that if we like something, others will as well, or at least we think that they SHOULD like it. Hospitality does not look inward. Hospitality looks outward. It looks at the people  that need to be welcomed and finds ways to embrace them. It seeks to make the guest feel comfortable. As a church, this may look like having popular music playing at an event instead of the "Christian Music", or maybe having a meeting at a local restaurant instead of at your building. Why is this important? Because when we take steps to make the people we don't know feel welcome and comfortable, we remove barriers between us that allow us an opportunity to get to know them.
3: Hospitality is a sacrifice.
Hospitality is not convenient. It takes time, effort, and dedication. If you are only doing what is easy for you, then you probably are not being very hospitable. Generosity and Hospitality go hand in hand. To grasp this, I think we first have to understand that we don't own anything. The stuff that sits in our house is on loan to us from God. How can we claim ownership of something that God owns!? To get to the root of being sacrificial in our hospitality, I believe we must adopt the attitude that says, "What I own is yours, if you need to use it or take it, do so." When I have people in my home, I attempt to make it clear that everything I own is already theirs. If they want my food, take it. If they need my money, take it. If they need my bed, it is theirs." Obviously, this is MUCH harder to live out than it is to say, but it is true. Am I saying that if a stranger came to me and asked me for my car keys I would hand them over? Probably not. But I AM saying that God blesses us, so we can bless others and that if we have a mindset that we own all this "Stuff", we probably are not being sacrificially hospitable to people.
4: Hospitality breaks down barriers.
Hospitality should be breaking down barriers for you. If we are truly making an effort to welcome people and make them feel comfortable, whether it be in our home, church, business, or party, we will begin to see that people are more receptive to our friendship. In many cases, we pull down walls to enable us to share the message of Jesus Christ. I heard once that the message of Christ is not inherently offensive, but people that proclaim that message and look nothing like the Christ they say they represent, are offensive. If we seek to welcome and embrace people of all colors, beliefs, and backgrounds with a sacrificial hospitality, I think we will see emotional barriers crashing to the ground. It is almost impossible to remain guarded, when you feel comfortable and at ease.
5: Hospitality does not make sense.
If people can understand why you are so hospitable, you might not be doing it right. Why is this true? Because real hospitality doesn't actually make much sense. Giving away what you "own" to another person for free, or making someone else feel comfortable because you love them even if you have never met them, are not ideas that are common in our society. Sacrificing for the sake of a stranger is ...well, strange. People don't understand that concept. However, if we love like Christ loved, we will do just that. We will go out of our way to welcome people into our homes and churches.


If we get back to the art of Hospitality, we will amaze ourselves with how receptive people are to the message of Christs love. If we reflect Jesus' welcoming, gracious, and comforting attitude, we may begin to understand why so many people were drawn to Him.