December 20, 2007
Unwelcome
The lead paragraph in a Colorado Springs AP article says, “A church member who suffered minor injuries in the fatal shootings at New Life Church was escorted off church grounds by police a week later because New Life officials thought he was ‘volatile’ and might be disruptive.” The article goes on to quote Senior Pastor Brady Boyd, “We felt he was a bit volatile this morning, and we didn’t want any disruption to our service.” Adding insult to injury, the police told the man he wasn’t welcome back on the property and the church is also going to seek a restraining order. I realize the report doesn’t give all the details, but you’ve got to wonder, ‘What would Jesus do?’
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Gail;
-----Your blog about the man escorted off the church property brings to my mind two scriptures immediately, and then a cascade of other scriptures. I know this does not exactly apply, but Paul upbraided the Corinthians for taking one another to court, rather than invoking their own spiritually wise and godly resources given within those truly humble before the Lord. “Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life…Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers?” (I Cor 6:3&5). The principle is not only the same - there ought to have been enough wisdom in that church of thousands to have known how to deal with the man - but the application goes even deeper. Generally disruptive behavior comes from an unmet need. Granted, the need might be unmet because of some impropriety about the circumstances, but there is still compassion. Isn’t there? Disruptive behavior is often melted away by the simple warmth of compassion. Then comes the possibility of agreement with one another. Not agreement of the injured man with the minister, be careful to know, that is not what Paul meant by telling us to agree with one another. The injured man could not have been so devoid of true concerns that there was nothing in him for the minister to agree with. No one’s concerns are completely fallacious. There can always be found something to agree with. After compassion has melted down the disruption, mutual agreement will reunite.
-----Which leads my mind to the second scripture. “You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (Rev 3:17.) Remember, this happened at one of the Lord’s mega-churches. These places are rich in their service to the Lord! They are reaching, oh, so many souls for Jesus! At least in their way of thinking they are. They do have a lot of people moving through their expensive facilities. They entertain…oh, pardon me…serve all those people with their lavish sound systems…oops again…with exuberant celebration. Their ministers are usually very well paid, at least all of them on the more reputable end of the list are. The rest of them are usually just well paid. And you can always find counseling and other services there offered on a sliding fee scale. You asked what would Jesus do? I wonder if He might compassionately bid the disruptive man to be calm and wait a moment till He could clear the place of the money changers.
-----The man was disruptive to whose service? I am sure the senior pastor’s comment, on the surface, meant the man was disruptive to the Sunday morning program. That is generally what is meant when we refer to the service. But breaking through the surface of the statement, what is the service supposed to be? Why is it called a service? The quick answer is that it is the whole congregation’s service to the Lord. Won’erful! Won’erful! Might the Lord want Matthew 25:40 style service? "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'“ The serving of the Lord at the gathering is also the serving of the brethren at the gathering. How else can we serve the Lord but to serve each other? I think when they had the police escort that man off their property they were escorting Jesus off with him. Paul says, “On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable…But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it…that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.” (I Cor 12:22&24-26.) This part of the body was hurting, and they had it escorted off their property! My guess is that Jesus would tell you they were certainly serving themselves with their service! Does the term “whitewashed sepulcher” come to mind?
-----“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” (Philippians 2:1-7.) Was there no encouragement there? Any fellowship? Tenderness? Compassion? Where was the similarity of mind, the ability to sympathize, to understand, to acknowledge by thinking for even a moment from that man’s perspective. He had been wounded at a shooting where others had been killed! And their service was too close to God for just one of the well paid ministers to show the same mind of Christ by leaving his imperative to God Almighty church service and escorting the man to a private and personal location where he could intimately and compassionately give attention to the man’s troubles and needs? Is that not what Christ did for us? Is that not the mind of Christ?
-----Yes. We all so want to be like the mega-churches! Not me, Gail, and I know not you either! We would settle for being more like Christ. These mega-churches are nothing more than giant marsh-mellows. Indeed they do have some of the sweet substance of the Lord, but it is so little and so puffed up that it does no good other than to serve the pleasures of its beholders.
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