Hugging in Church

A hug is an intimate thing, isn’t it? Here… let me smash my body against yours and then we’ll wrap our arms around each other… oh, and what was your name again?

This is a phenomenon that you’ll only find in church. No grocery bagger is going to give you a big hug as they ask, “Paper or plastic?” No bank teller is going to hold you in a soft embrace because you bounced a check. But something weird happens when people walk into a church. The whole world goes nuts and wants to get their hug on. Well, almost the whole world…

I’m not a hugger. Let’s just get that out of the way. A firm handshake or a simple wave will suffice for me. But let’s be honest… a lot of people who show up at church are in desperate need of some deep connection. Maybe that hug they get from Vicki at the front door is the only human contact they'll have all week.  Maybe a moment in the care of Carl and Jane, with their heads bowed and arms around each others’ shoulders is the best way for someone to get a tangible sense of the love and grace of God. Maybe there’s something inherently spiritual about human touch, and that’s why people get all touchy at church.

But while I'm learning the value of physical touch, I also know that all this touchy-feely stuff really freaks some people out... especially new poeple.  I’ve got a friend that absolutely hates the moments we ask people to introduce themselves to somebody around them. I think he might be planning on bringing mace next time he comes to church.

So how am I supposed to know if you're the "Brothers gotta hug," Tommy Boy type, or a cold fish like me?  I think we should all wear t-shirts or something, 'cause sometimes it's hard to tell right away.

So, here are a couple of thoughts on the whole hugging in church thing. First, if you're a hugger, don't judge those of us who aren't. It's not because we've got some deep darkness inside. And if you're not a hugger, don't freak out when somebody puts their hand on your shoulder. In the immortal style of Taylor Swift, huggers gonna hug, hug, hug, hug, hug...

It's one of my favorite things about the body of Christ (a.k.a. the Church.)  It takes all kinds. Huggers, listeners, prayers, jokers, lovers, preachers, servers, healers, laughers, planners, and leaders. Wouldn't it be great if we could take 1 Corinthians 12 at face value?

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. Now if the [hugger] should say, “Because I am not a [laugher], I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the [server] should say, “Because I am not a [joker], I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were a [leader], where would the sense of [prayer] be? If the whole body were a [preacher], where would the sense of [listening] be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 1 Corinthians 12:14-18

Okay, save the emails about how I destroyed that passage. I know that Paul is specifically talking about spiritual gifts, but I just think it's time that we celebrate the diversity we have in the church and not expect everybody to fit some cookie-cutter version of what a Christian looks like. We should all just be a little more comfortable in our own skin, and trust that God has us right where he wants us and made us that way for a purpose.

What do you think? What roles do you play in the life of the church?