I'm all for helping people to know that they always have a place within a church community, whether or not they have cleaned up every little smudge in their life. This is a fine line to walk, though, for we shouldn't water down what the Gospel says about repentance and transformation for any reason.Take a look at this video: http://rejectionhurts.com/ejectorpewfull/
Is it right on or is it in watering down the Bible's teaching in any way?
On hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mark 2:17)
6 comments:
Where do you find this stuff? hehe
On the surface, that video seems kinda funny. But the humor is quickly overrun by sadness. because that is how many people feel they are being treated at churches - or have been treated in the past. I, myself, have been runover by an cranky old lady at my hometown congregation who told me I was wasting my time at church because I was going to hell anyway; this followed on the heels of a crisis pregnancy just a couple of weeks or so after I placed my newborn son up for adoption. Another cranky old woman at a church I was visiting just a few weeks later in the town where I went to college - whom I did not even know - came up and pretty much told me the same thing. (She was a friend of the family of the son who fathered the baby - but I had never met her or knew of her - it was a really big congregation.) Guess what? It worked. I swored I'd never darken the doors of another church building again. And it took a lot of prayer and an incredible outpouring of love on three different occassions several years down the road before I ever even considered darkening the doors.
I don't want to go into details about it here - but the hardest thing to stomach is the group behind it. I am very familiar with this group because it's been confused with the mainstream churches of Christ - and they are NOT the same. But to see that they are specifically targeting those who feel "rejected" is really frightening and quite scary. But rather than hang the focus on them, I just want to be sure I'm not someone who makes someone else feel "rejected" for whatever reason.
I think the commercial is "right on" because I've personally witnessed (sans ejector seat) people "recjected" because of their sin. We all sin. Isn't Jesus asking us every day, "Let him without sin cast the first stone?" So, who are we to determine who can worship with us and who can't? It's not our place. As one of our elders so eloquently put it not too long ago, "It is GOD who adds to His numbers; not us!" This was when he addressed a man who actually approached him remarked, "So, we'll let anyone in here now?" And it was regarding someone very close to me and my brother - and my brother overheard it which made it worse. Because it is attitudes like that have kept my brother away from church all together.
I love this commercial....
though I am not sure where embracing it wholeheartedly will lead me completely
I really like this video. It sums up perfectly, without words, the attidude of many churches. Our church just "cleaned up" the youth group. Every kid that needed to be there is gone. It is so sad.
It isn't our job to judge or decide if someone is clean enough or together enough to "join" us. It is our job to love them unconditionally. Through love, you build relationship, which builds trust. And in trust, we can speak honestly with one another about the teachings of Christ. Right?
Imagine... a church like that.
I'm pretty sure that's what Jesus did. Maybe we can do the same.
It's really interesting. God doesn't judge, but he looks for change. We are all sinners but we all need to work towards not being. We all fail but we all need to repent. This where the watering down of the gospel comes in I believe. Yes, we welcome everybody into our church, house, life. We must, however, teach them the truth of the Bible, sin and all (with grace, mercy, love etc. of course) And we must look for change too, if Christians stil deliberately sin and refuse to change, then we have a problem!
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