Pagans and Tax Collectors

In Matthew 18 Jesus lays out for us the way we should deal with sin in the church among believers.

Step 1: Take out a Facebook page detailing why you hate that person.  Oh wait, that would be my human way of taking care of the problem. Oh come on, don't act like you haven't thought about doing that very thing so everyone can share the pain inflicted on you by haters and abusers.

Step 1 (for real): "...go and point out their fault, just between the two of you." JUST BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU. Tell me, what part of "just between the two of you" do most Christians seem to not understand?

Step 2: If they do not listen, take a couple of trusted believers along with you so that there will be witnesses. Don't take the gossiping church ladies with you to do this. Take along someone who shows discernment, compassion, and who knows how to keep his or her mouth shut.

Step 3: If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church. I think this is a very misused scripture. I've known many Christians who've made some very human mistakes and were made to stand up in front of the entire congregation to confess and ask forgiveness.  People who had no idea that a sin had been committed were given information they didn't need to have.

If you really take time to study the original writings, I think you'd find that "tell it to the church" actually means a bigger group than just two or three, but NOT the whole congregation. In today's context it would be more likely that Jesus would say, Tell your small group so that more of you can pray for, love on, and encourage the one who's gone astray.

Step 4: If they don't listen to the church, treat them like a pagan or tax collector.

Hmmm....  Treat them like a pagan or tax collector. So, shun them, tell everyone you know they wronged you, and ensure their rightful place outside the church doors. Right?

But wait, what kind of relationship did Jesus have with pagans and tax collectors? Guess what - he pursued them! He had dinner with them! In Mark we read how Jesus called out Levi from the tax collector's booth and said, "Follow me". Jesus then attended a dinner party with all of Levi's friends and there he dined with, laughed with, and shared conversation with "sinners and tax collectors". 

Zacchaeus was not only a tax collector, but was the CHIEF tax collector - a really bad guy. Jesus went to his house for dinner. Read the story yourself in Luke 19.

Jesus pursued the sinners and tax collectors. He hung out with them. I promise you that if Jesus were here today, we'd see him at Starbucks having a cup of coffee with sex offenders, thieves, addicts, embezzlers, and every sinner imaginable. He'd be having coffee with me - with you!

We might be able to help reconcile one of God's prodigal kids back to the Lord over a burger, or a cup of coffee. What greater joy could there be? Why do we shun and isolate?

Get off the shunning pew and back into relationship. Get off the pew!

Hurricane Church

Miss "V" was a worship leader in a vibrant, growing, exciting church. She is a gifted musician, has a beautiful heart and an unwavering love for the lost and hurting. Several months ago Miss "V" found herself in unfamiliar territory. She had an unexplained hole in her heart. She was unfulfilled in her personal relationships and she was in pain. Like so many of us, Miss "V" began looking for ways to fill that hole - a drink now and then with her church friends (yes, her church friends), shopping, selfish pursuits, etc... Nothing was filling the growing abyss in her heart. Finally, she turned to the church leadership and confessed that she was struggling. She asked for help and support. Instead, she was told that there was no room at that church for someone who was "weak" and "confused" - at least not in leadership. And just like that...she was no longer a part of the church family she loved and leaned on.

Okay, I totally get the fact that if you are in church leadership, you (we) should live a life above reproach. But, Miss "V" wasn't living in sin. She hadn't fallen. She hadn't killed anyone. She simply admitted that she was (gasp) human! She wasn't asked to simply leave her leadership role, but she was asked to leave the church all together. Why? We Christians have a tendency to shoot our wounded. When a racehorse breaks his leg, he is no longer able to pull his own weight (both literally and figuratively) and he is put down. I've seen more than a few spiritual racehorses lose their footing and suffer a break. More often then not, we shoot them.

On August 28, 2005, Hurricane Katrina hit the southern coast of the United States with devastating force. While the initial damage to New Orleans and other cities along the gulf shore were not crushing, the break in the levees and the ensuing floods proved to be catastrophic. The survivors of that deadly storm not only lost their homes, but they lost their neighborhoods. A house can be replaced, but a neighborhood? Counselors will tell you that the emotional recovery from a hurricane can take years and years, because replacing a neighborhood is much more difficult than simply rebuilding a structure. Hurricane survivors lose their grocery store, their pharmacy, and their local sandwich shop. They also lose the neighbors who shared their street for 10 years, or 30 years, or 50 years. When we lose our church, we don't just lose a building! We lose our place of worship, our social group, our volunteer outlet, the neighbors we pray for and wave at each and every week, and sometimes - our job. We lose our whole life! Hurricane Katrina swooped in, did her damage, and swooped out without stopping to help one single victim along her destructive path. Churches do the same thing. Like a hurricane, they cut a big chunk out of someone's life, then never look back to see the death and mayhem left behind. We're talking about lives here, people! Living, breathing, fragile lives!

Miss "V" is still suffering. She's looking for a neighborhood to replace the one she was forced to leave behind. She's still cleaning up the mess left by "Hurricane Church" and she misses her friends and neighbors. Be gentle with her.

We've gotta stop shooting our wounded. I'm not advocating letting sin run amok and without accountability, but we are dealing with real flesh and blood people. Are you, in your fervor to grow a church leadership who is above reproach, roaring like a hurricane? Slow down. Get off the pew and look behind you. Have you swept over someone who needs help getting up? Miss "V" will be a "been there, done that" advocate for God's grace, but only if we love her and welcome her back to the neighborhood!

It's Not Gossip...It's Discernment

It's crazy easy to make big sweeping assumptions about the people closest to us. It's certainly easier to jump to conclusions then to actually communicate. This is a problem, and it's a particularly big problem in the church. Of course we don't call it "assumptions", we are Christians and we speak fluent "Christianese". When we are gossiping with believers about other believers we use spiritual sounding words like "gift of discernment" or (like one friend used to say) "spiritual antenna". My friend used to say, "Whenever I'm around so-and-so, my spiritual antenna goes up", and then she would go on to tell me how she suspected so-and-so of adultery or some other bad behavior. But it's okay because the gossip session always ends with "we need to keep the family in our prayers".

One afternoon, after months of conflict, I was finally able to get a woman who I had considered a dear friend to tell me what I'd done to upset her. She made many accusations, including this one: "One day you were walking towards me in the hallway at church. When you saw me, you turned and walked the other way. I have no choice but to assume you are jealous of me." What? What!!!?? No choice? Assume? Really?

Eliot Spitzer was the governor of New York and he had to step down in disgrace when it was revealed that he was a frequent costumer of a prostitute. The irony was that Governor Spitzer had been a vocal opponent to prostitution and had been trying to shut down illegal sex rings for years. Psychologists came out in droves to explain to John Q. Public that it is human nature to condemn the same flaws in others that we are trying to hide in ourselves. We think that by deflecting attention off of us, we will successfully hide our sins from the world.

Several years ago a much loved local pastor had to leave the pulpit when knowledge of an extra-marital affair came to light. Just a few weeks ago an acquaintance of mine told me that the pastor hadn't changed and was not repentant. I asked her how she knew that. "I just do!" That pastor, however, has become a public speaker who encourages others and helps people find healing and restoration. I am not inside the pastor's head and I can't begin to assume to know his heart. I do see, however, that what Satan meant for evil, God is using for His good and glory.

We don't know what motivates people to say and do the things they say and do. Heck, we don't always know what motivates US! It would serve us, both personally and corporately, if we were quick to communicate and slow to assume. Do you sit in your pew and point out the weaknesses, sins, and foibles all God's kids? We're just like you - sinners saved by grace. Let's stop pointing fingers at each other. Instead, let's give one another a hand of compassion and support. Let's get of the pew of gossip and onto the road of peace and restoration.

I'm a sinner. There, I said it!

Okay, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we KNOW we are not perfect. Christians are not perfect. There, I said it out loud. If you ask the question, "what is a hypocrite", most non-believers will say, "Christians!" Why do you suppose that is? No doubt we could debate that questions for blog-eons, but the simple truth is we don't practice what we preach - plain and simple. We are human. We are imperfect. We know we're not without sin, the unbeliever knows we're not without sin, so why is it that we can't say, "I know that you know that I know, so I'm gonna stop pretending that you don't know!" Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". All! Okay, let's say it together..."ALL have sinned". That means you and me!

I have found that one of the greatest stumbling blocks in our evangelism is that the unchurched see the sometimes awful way we treat one another. Oh sure, it's easy to love the drug addict, the homeless wino, or the Africa orphan. After all, they need Jesus and we want them to know Jesus. But when it comes to loving and caring for the other members of the body of Christ...well, that can be a real challenge. What was the last thing Jesus did with His disciples before He went to the cross? He washed their feet! John, chapter 13 lays out the story beautifully. Jesus wasn't afraid to deal with the real dirt. So often, when the lives of the people in the pew next to us get messy and dirty, we move to another pew. We cut off the body parts, just when they need us to pump life saving blood into them. Jesus didn't do that! Jesus walked right up to the dirt and the mess, and washed the feet of the disciples. Then Jesus, in verse 14 says, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another's feet".

In this blog I want to bring into light that which has been hidden in darkness - the fact that churches, temples, and synagogues are filled with dirty, messy people, who just like me, have been saved by grace. Ephesians 2:8 tells us it is "by grace you are saved, through faith...it is a gift of God". 1st Corinthians 4:5 says, "He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive His praise from God." Let's shine a light on the fact that we are ALL sinners and that we do not think ourselves to be higher than anyone else. We just want as many people as possible to know about the awesome gift of salvation. We want the world to know that we are just like them - sinners!!!

Come on, who's with me? Get off the pew and tell your story. Were hurt by another believer? Were you cut off just when you needed the body to love on you? Did someone push you off the pew or out the doors when they discovered your life was messy or dirty? Let's shine a light on something that's been kept a secret in most churches...we are SINNERS! The good news is we are SAVED sinners. That's worth shoutin' about. Get off the pew!