MINISTER TO NOT AT

Have you thanked Him?

Have you praised Him?

Have you made it your priority to agree and cooperate with Him today?

Have you taken that deep breath and listened for what He has for you today?

1 Timothy 2:1 (The Message)

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for everyone you know.

Back about a month ago I wrote a little OFH under the title “Neither Confines or Defines You.” 

For my faithful readers, it was after my good friend Joyce shared her heart at one of our men’s recovery centers.

Yet yesterday when I was in Athens with some folks from the West Virginia Attorney General’s office, a new friend and colleague and I were outside wrapping things up and we started talking a little about his perspective of FAITH. 

I am so encouraged by this new alliance between the West Virginia team and our Champions/Faith-Network efforts and now to know the heart of one of our primary partners encourages me even more.

My new friend grew up in Minnesota, with Pastoral roots linking back to his grandparents.  He is an insightful young man who worked his way to a law degree and a excellent position within the West Virginia team.  And yet as we chatted, he shared that he always “struggled” with the perceived expectations of ministry for him.  He said he never really felt “called” to the craft and even vulnerably shared that the thought of “shepherding folks” alarmed and disarmed him.

But as we were talking I could quickly sense a “deep-water” faith and conviction in him and it was evident that GOD was preparing to use that assurance and that upbringing to help stir the “CHURCH” in West Virginia to action against the opiate crisis and against human trafficking.

For he like me is a little frustrated at times with the church’s somewhat apathetic approach to these challenges, but he was not going to be deterred.

You are probably saying, well that is nice, but what does all that have to do with confine and define?

OK, it was as we were loading up and heading out, that he said something profound. 

He said that he wishes that church leaders and teachers would remember that those they often quote, refer, and press others to emulate WERE’NT always saints; that the Paul’s, the Peter’s, the Matthew’s and the David’s had their warts and their baggage, not unlike this population that we are trying to reach before the LORD REACHED OUT TO THEM; emphasis "THE LORD REACHED OUT TO THEM”.

He is right.

Currently often, our CHURCHES struggle with judgement for the addicted.  

The church often instead of accepting, reaching, and ministering to the hurting and addicted, choose to “minister at” them from a position of superiority rather than commonality; spitting condemnation rather than love from the pulpit. 

Creating barriers rather than breaking them down. 

Leaders forgetting that once they too were sinners who needed Jesus’ saving.

Forgetting that the past of folks neither serves to confine or define them.

Forgetting that Peter was pretentious and unrefined before becoming the ROCK.  That Paul as Saul was a scourge to the faith, that David despite his well-documented heart had his challenges with conspiracy, lust and sin.  

And yet the LORD saw their potential.

The LORD saw the message in their messes.

And the LORD never feared to engage them or define them by their mistakes and chose to trust them to carry the message, and carry the truth. 

Friends, my new friend is right.

We must be willing to look past the past of others and see them for what they could be; to serve others, to seek and point them to redemption.

Remembering: the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost." - Luke 19:10 (NIV)

We must remember that the LORD used the broken to achieve his purpose.

Psalm 34:18 (ERV)

The Lord is close to those who have suffered disappointment.  He saves those who are discouraged.

And our job is to minister to them not at them.

To share the Lord with them not use the LORD to LORD over them.

We can do that can't we?

Have a blessed day.

I love you all!

OPPORTUNITIES for HOPE