Soap Box

I've decided that I like pastors who aren't afraid to step on some toes.  It strikes me that there are a lot of pastors out there who walk on eggshells when preaching to the congregation.

When the Gospel is preached, it's going to crush a couple pinky toes.  Jesus offended people wherever he went.  He spoke truth into their lives brimming with lies.  He called them out.  He called them broods of vipers, and white-washed tombs.  He addressed the fact that each and every one of them had sin in their lives, past present and future.  Jesus was not popular.  When he died and was resurrected, the Bible numbers the believers at about 120 (Acts 1:15).  Christianity spread because the Gospel of Jesus Christ was preached, and the Holy Spirit did some conviction work.  Then those people went out and preached the Gospel that saved them.  They didn't accept the Gospel, then go home and say "I'm glad we made that decision."  They went out.  They lived the Gospel every single day.  They were persecuted because they were so active in their faith.  I want just an ounce of the boldness they had proclaiming the Gospel!

We as a church have become comfortable.  We've become complacent.  We're good with going to church once or twice a week, and even spending time in prayer and study during the week.  We cover ourselves with this false pretension that we're doing it all.  We like to hang on to the lie that sin is just something we can't avoid, we're human. We sin.  And somehow we talk ourselves into being okay with that fact.  We justify our sins, and excuse them as being less than they are.  "curse words are just words" "listening to songs about sex and drugs doesn't affect my life" "I know what I watch in movies is wrong, I'd never do that in my life".  Satan is a schemer.  He knows what to do and what to use to give us this illusion...and he doesn't have to work very hard.  (Read the Screwtape Letters sometime, while fiction, it presents a lot of truth).

I went to a church in Denver that was refreshing.  It was a small congregation in a newer church plant.  At the end of his sermon, the pastor went over their values, and their ministry plan to get people involved.  All of this was good, then he did something that pleasantly shocked me.  He told the visitors that they could take as much time as they needed to figure out what capacity and what level they wanted to get involved in.  And then he spoke to the people who came to church weekly mostly because they like the pastor and his preaching, but really didn't have any intention of being involved.  He said that he appreciated that they were there, but that they would probably be better off finding a new church.  This church's expectations of involvement were such that the pastor concluded that eventually they would get on each others nerves-He would keep preaching involvement, they would keep being uninvolved.

He told people to get involved or get out.

At first I was somewhat offended that he would do that, that he, a pastor obviously interested in growing his flock, telling people to find a new church.  But the fact that he so desperately wanted to be a church fully invested in living the Gospel in their communities, that he wouldn't want to be slowed by people uninterested in that mission.

So, church, we can do better.

*Note* I do not mean pastors who preach judgement-that's for God.
*Note* We are a fallen human race, sin does happen, but it's time we stop explaining it away.
*Note* I know this is a lot of rambling randomness that doesn't really follow along any track...but it's my blog. I'll do what I want.