A Methodist minister tells this story…
A family of inactive members in his parish lived right next door to the church. The yard was a disgrace. Wrecked cars and discarded appliances littered the place. The grass was seldom mowed. The husband was a disgrace. He drank too much and rumors were that he beat his wife and kids. It looked like he never changed or washed the same dirty T-shirt that he wore every day.
The church tried to reach out to this troubled family. They invited the mother to the ladies group, they invited the father to play on the church softball team, and they paid for the children to go to a week of Bible Camp every year. Nothing worked. Finally, the family moved away, to no one’s regret.
Two years later, a well-dressed, well-groomed man came into the pastor’s office. “Is that you, Tom?,” the pastor asked, hardly recognizing the old neighbor. “What happened?”
“I’ve been saved,” Tom said. “I have been saved from hell. I have been born again, slain by the Spirit, and baptized by the fire. There is no more alcohol for me, I have a good job, and I have apologized to my wife and children and they aren’t afraid of me anymore.”
“Well, great Tom!,” the pastor replied. “What changed you?”
“Church,” said Tom. “I started going to church.”
“I am happy to hear that,” the pastor said. “I wish we could have helped you when you were here.”
“Yes, pastor, I know you tried,” Tom said. “That’s why I am here. I want to thank you for trying. You were all very nice here. But I did not need nice. I needed somebody to grab me, shake me up, and scare the hell out of me. They did that for me there at that other church. When I was in the hospital after driving my car into a tree, Pastor Lenny came to my room the very next day. He was shouting at me, thumping his Bible on my forehead, and telling me I was going straight to hell if I did not change. I got scared. I could have died in that accident, and if I did, I would be in hell right now, instead of in your air-conditioned office. Forever. That is what he kept saying. Forever. I did not want to go there, so I changed.”
The pastor said, “Do you mean Pastor Lenny at the Full Gospel Church that meets in the old coffee shop in the strip mall on the north end of town?”
“Yes, that is the one,” Tom said.
The pastor frowned and said, “Isn’t that the church where people are jumping up and down in the aisles during worship, and where everyone is speaking in tongues all at once? Is it true that they kick you out if they catch you smoking a cigarette or playing cards? Do they really force you to give 10% of your money and tell you not to allow your children to be friends with the heathen United Methodist kids? Well, that Pastor Lenny has not been ordained. He hasn’t even gone to a Bible College.”
“Yes, yes, and yes,” replied Tom cheerfully. “That is the church. I am fine with all the rules, and I wouldn’t care if Pastor Lenny was unable to read and write. All I know is I was blind, but now I see. Praise the Lord, Hallelujah! Ain’t it great to be saved, brother?”
I read that story in a magazine. I do not know Tom or that minister. But I do know a guy like Tom with a similar story. Someday, if I get his permission, I will tell his story.
Let me be clear. I am an educated, graduated, certified, ordained, and experienced minister. I am a Lutheran, and I am on board with that way of understanding the Christian faith. I believe in the strength and stability of doing things in a dignified, orderly, and traditional way. I would have been uncomfortable with any jumping around, speaking in tongues, or rolling in the aisles in any of my churches. On hospital visits, I was always too polite to shout at anyone or thump them on the head with my Bible.
And, I believe that off-the-wall preachers like Pastor Lenny can sometimes do as much harm as good. That harsh and judgmental style can not only save people like Tom; it can also drive them away.
But I also believe in the diversity of Christ’s church. I believe that the Holy Spirit has all kinds of ways to reach people, and uses a wide variety of churches, pastors, and methods. I believe in the truth and the benefits of the of ministry I chose to work within. I also know my type of church and ministry is not going to reach everyone. So, I also believe in the truth and the benefits of other churches and other styles very different from my own.
I am not like Pastor Lenny. But I am glad he is a brother in Christ, because he is reaching people that are not being reached by the more traditional approach—like the United Methodist church wasn’t reaching the troubled family right next door, even though they tried. I would hope that Pastor Lenny would also appreciate the diversity, because there are all kinds of people that would never set foot in his church. We don’t have to agree with or even like another church’s methods or doctrine; but we can still see them as brothers and sisters in Christ, through whom the Holy Spirit is also working.
*****************************
Mark 9:38-40 — “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.”
“Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us.
—–
Philippians 1:18 — What does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.
—–
I Corinthians 1:11-13 — My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?
I Corinthians 3:3-7 — You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
*****************************
Come, Holy Spirit. Revive your church. Begin with me.
–The prayer of the Kogudus Renewal Ministry
Related Posts
