»Bull!

A pastor of a well known church in a huge organizaton once told me, "It is OK that you hang out and speak with people that are not from our organization... just remember that our organization is the one that will help you with your ministry, not them."

I rose an eyebrow and wanted to yell, "You are wrong!"

I mean, why do people believe that?

Let me tell you something, whenever you think that you are the last Coca-Cola in the desert... when you think that you have the last solution to every problem... when you think that there is no one better than you... you are in a very serious dilenma.

I am all for sound doctrine. I am all for good bible teaching. I am all for preaching Jesus. But when, you disassociate yourself from others just because you disagree on gray issues, that's not very Christ-like.

I was listening to a favorite preacher of mine, and he said... that christians tend to expect more out of non-christians than christians.
When a non-christian is in sin, we tell them, "You need to repent, or you will end up in hell."
But when a christian sins, we tell them, "Dont worry about it, brother. No one is perfect. Praise God!"
What the? Are you serious?!
Non christians deserve patient love. Unrepentant christians need tough love.

The statement that the pastor of this well known hurch in this huge organization told me is just so... ugh, never mind.
That kind of thinking tends to seep into churches and now people form clicks and groups of people that think alike and cannot even relate to the woman at the well, to Zacheus the sinner, to the prostitute that Jesus forgave.
These people begin to act like the pharisees in Jesus' day. They are full of rules.
"You cant do this. you cant do that. Let me check on that."

And Jesus? He is sitting at the smoking section. Jesus is feeding the people. Jesus is loving the kids. If we could be more like him.

There are thousands of people that are full of rituals and traditions and I stand against that.
Can you be honest and tell someone that you got drunk last Saturday, so that they can help you?
Can you be sincere and tell someone that you messed up last weekend, so that they can help you?

Unfortunately, there are people that say that they will only take care of their people. They say, "We cannot help others. They do not believe what we believe. They do not act like we act. They do not dress like we dress. Sorry."

To that, I say, "Bull!"
I meant to say, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."