Tony Morgan doesn’t like to be hugged. Tim Stevens didn’t know what to do when he was reunited with Tony Morgan at the Buzz Conference. In the midst of all this craziness, I have a confession to make. I’m a hugger.
To be clear, I don’t like hugging folks that don’t want to be hugged. I don’t want to force myself on anybody but at the same time I feel that we live in a culture that is increasingly afraid to show any sort of concern for other people.
At Mill Creek, I’ve often told my ushers and greeters that we don’t hug everybody that comes in the door because that’s creepy and some people don’t want it. I do, however, personally hug anybody that wants to hug me on the way out of church.
Rick Warren says that when he hugs people after the service (he’s a definite hugger, BTW) he often wonders how long that hug has got to last some people. For some, the only hug their going to get all week happens at church.
As our church has grown, I’ve had to stop hugging so many folks as they leave on Sundays just because it’s slow and I would be holding up the “exit line” so I shake a lot of hands not but I still love walking down the hallway a church and giving a random hug here and there.
My hope is that these hugs express my love for the people of my church in a tangible way. I also hope that it is somehow encouraging for the hugg-ee. I know it is for the hugg-er.
