Last
Wednesday night my husband and the Haiti missions team were meeting at the
church. A man came in, looking for help. He was sweaty from walking, thin and
ill looking, and obviously in need. He told them his story. A story about how
he was travelling from New York to Tulsa to go to the Cancer Center of America.
How he became sick on this journey and the bus dropped him at a local hospital.
He had nothing but ID and his hospital wristbands. He offered to do any kind of
work to earn some money, just enough to get a hotel for the night and some
food, until the driver from Angel Flight could pick him up the next day. The
team talked with him, anointed him with oil and prayed over him, pitched in
what they could to get a hotel room and loved him like a family member. My
husband drove him to get a meal and lodging and wished him the best.
Did I tell
you this to brag on these people? No. I’d like to, they’re all amazing
individuals with a true heart for God. But the part of the story I’m going to
focus on is what happened on the drive. The man had walked from the local
hospital to our church, approximately a 5 mile trip, after being released from
the hospital. Along this route he stopped at several businesses and churches,
looking for help, and offering to do work to earn some money. No one helped. He
told my husband that one church had guards at the doors and advised he couldn’t
come in because he wasn’t a member.
Let me
repeat that in case you didn’t catch it. A man, obviously physically ill and
still wearing hospital bracelets, stopped at a church to ask for help. He was
told he couldn’t come inside because he’s not a member.
Here are my
questions: When did the church become exclusive instead of inclusive? Is this
really what we’ve become as Christians? Is that what we’re called to be?
When did the
church become a country club?
Unfortunately,
there are plenty of them out there. There are churches that operate just like a
country club. Pay your fee (tithes), get your social time and dinner with
people just like you! We’re not going to ask you to do anything that would get
you out of your comfort zone, no way. Just come and relax and enjoy the
service.
That
comparison brings to mind some of the mega-churches that have health gyms and
mortgage offices and anything you might need. There’s nothing wrong mega-churches
or offering those things for churchgoers, but where is the church’s focus? And
it’s not just large churches. There are churches of all sizes that practice
exclusivity, small churches can have the same type of attitude and persona just
without the amenities. A building full of people who are there only to receive
something, instead of also giving something, is not a church at all.
The trend of
exclusive churches and comfortable Christianity has to come to an end. If it
doesn’t, we will become extinct. Yes, I’m going there. If we don’t come into
the roles and identities that the Father has for us then we will be a dying
breed. Being comfortable will get you nowhere.
So what are
we called to be? 1 Peter 2:9-10 says “But you are the ones
chosen by God, chosen for the high calling of priestly work, chosen to be a
holy people, God’s instruments to do his work and speak out for him, to tell
others of the night-and-day difference he made for you—from nothing to
something, from rejected to accepted.” From rejected to accepted. Does your
church make people feel accepted? No, I’m not asking if they get greeted at the
entrance. Are they truly accepted for who they are? Do they feel valued and
important? Do they feel like they’re part of a family? That’s what we should be
striving to communicate to anyone who walks through the doors of the church.
Colossians 3:14 says “And regardless of what else you put on, wear love.
It’s your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” Are you showing
love to the people you come in contact with? If a needy man came into your
foyer would he be shown love? Would he even be let in?
Back to the tale of the man in need. As I’ve mentioned before I’m a
logical thinker. I’m a planner, a preparer. So I ask a lot of “what ifs”. Let’s
try a “what if” with this story…
What if the needy man was the missing piece in your church? What if after
showing him loving kindness and giving him assistance he began to attend your
church? What if his gifting’s were exactly what you had been looking for?
Ephesians 2:21-22 “God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of
how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for
the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by
stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together.
We see it taking shape day after day—a holy temple built by God, all of us
built into it, a temple in which God is quite at home.” What if that man was an
important brick?
What if the needy man were you? What would you do in that situation? I
was taught as a child, if you need help in a situation like this, find a
church. Can you imagine being down and out and having a church turn you away?
What if that needy man were your father or your brother? Wouldn’t you be
desperate for someone to help him? Wouldn’t you be upset if a church, of all
places, refused to do so?
What if that man were Jesus? Numerous times in the Bible He approached
people from a point of need, from a place of lowliness. He and his followers
were considered riff-raff among many circles. How would you feel if your church
had told Jesus He couldn’t come in because He’s not a member?
I was hungry
and you fed me,
I was thirsty and you gave me a drink,
I was homeless and you gave me a room,
I was shivering and you gave me clothes,
I was sick and you stopped to visit,
I was in prison and you came to me.’
“Then those ‘sheep’ are going to
say, ‘Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry and
feed you, thirsty and give you a drink? And when did we ever see you sick or in
prison and come to you?’ Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling the solemn truth:
Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked or ignored, that was
me—you did it to me.”
