I challenged our church yesterday to be the kind of people (and church) that tax collectors and sinners feel comfortable around. Not that we condone sin (the natural objection) but that we are not insulated and hidden in our church buildings so much that sinners would never know they are loved by Christians. My conclusion was that ministry is always messy, and if we don’t have very much messiness in our lives, then we probably aren’t doing very much ministry.
Here is the prayer I prayed for our church yesterday and will continue to pray:
“Father,
Please give us great courage.
Courage to go into the places that others are unwilling to go.
Courage to not just read the Bible but to actually do what it says.
Courage to love people as Jesus did.
Courage to not fit into any preconceived notion of what a church should be but to commit only to being with people as Jesus was.
Give us the courage to take the gospels seriously and to make our assembly a place where sick and sinful people feel welcome.
Amen.”
