Re: {THEOLOGY} Ghettos (was Re: Hotel California)
Posted by: mbutts <mbutts@...>
> The same idea in the UK - it's not too hard to get so busy
> with church activities that you really don't do anything
> outside of that small circle.
This is pretty much what our white, suburban, middle-class, Nazarene church
has been attempting to break free of in the past two years. While there have
been more success than failures, the outreach ministry started to reach an
area of apartments 3 miles from the church that is largely made up of people
best described as without hope has really been a challenge for us to get
outside of our comfort zone. If you would have told me 2 years ago that our
church would have an HIV positive cross dresser in church for the past 2
weeks I would have thought it impossible that our church could be bigger
than our prejudices in welcoming this person into worship. They haven't been
saved yet, but at least they are in the right place.
This is not to brag, because we still have a lot of problems that stem from
fundamentalism rather than Jesus' accepting love, but I have been deeply
moved by seeing people including myself move beyond our comfort zone to
reach out to people who don't look like us, smell like us, or behave like
us, because Jesus died on the cross for them just as much as He did me.
In particular I have been moved to tears by our youth group. These kids were
raised in privilege without wanting anything, but I have witnessed things
like them INSIDE a dumpster digging for things a landlord threw out without
warning when a family was displaced. That family of 7 is in our church today
because these teens weren't afraid to get their Tommy Hilfigers dirty.
I would encourage each person on this list to do SOMETHING outside of your
comfort zone, because it will bless you far more than anyone you manage to
help. Don't go up to the starving person and say you will pray for them,
because they can't eat prayers. Meet the needs and be Jesus to someone in
this dark and uncaring world.
Monte