Dine With Sinners Like Us!

Jesus says to the indignant Pharisees when he dined with the “tax collectors and sinners”, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy, and not sacrifice. For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:12-13)

Many of you know that I have this verse at the bottom of my emails. Why? One reason is that it helps me keep perspective of who I am before God. I am sick; I am weak; and I am a sinner. Yet the good news is that Jesus came, lived and died for me (and for you). He came to make me well, strong and righteous. He came to change me and to give me a new identity and a new view on life. This reality helps me understand that I am no better than the next person and the next person is no worse than me. All have the same equal standing before God. However, there is a problem facing Christians today. Most folks who claim not to be a Christian especially those between the ages of 16-29 see us as judgmental and hypocritical. They see Christians say one thing but live something entirely different. They don’t see us as transparent about our flaws; they don’t see us as people who realize that we are not better than others. In the book Unchristian, the author found the following: “among young outsiders, 84% say they personally know at least one committed Christian. Yet just 15% thought the lifestyles of those Christ followers were significantly different from the norm.” That is a huge and humbly gap! Friends, young people see that we talk a good game but our lives speak differently and moreover and I think at the heart of the matter, we as Christians don’t admit this reality. The young people want us to admit that we have flaws and we sin. They want to see that we may be different because we are Christians but we are not better than them.

Leroy Barber, President of Mission Year, states in Unchristian, “Young adults are turning away from a modern church that they see as nothing more than hypocritical. Standards and rules without sacrifice and solidarity is hypocrisy. Christian rhetoric without tangible acts of love is hypocrisy. Churches on every corner with hurting people outside is hypocrisy. A large building with little connection to the streets is essentially empty.”

Second reason for the verse on my email is that it reminds me to take Jesus and his message to others. Jesus came into to the world to save people from their sin and to make them new (as well as making his entire creation new but another Blog on another day). He has called us to take this message humble but boldly. We go as sinners; we go as new creations in Christ; we go as fellow sojourners; and we go broken and yet made whole. Jesus came to change the world and the amazing thing is that he has gladly chosen us to help him do it.

City of Hope, we need this perspective. God calls us to cultivate relationships and environments where others are deeply transformed by Jesus. We need to learn what people are thinking, learn how to love them, and encourage them to consider Jesus. Here are some ways we encourage you to take advantage of in the next few months:
(1) Every 3rd Sunday in our Adult Sunday School Class we will focus on relational and friendship evangelism training.
(2) Beginning in July, we begin our new series on “What non-Christians Are Asking About Christianity?” A great opportunity to invite friends.
(3) Beginning Thursday June 26, I will be hanging out at the Starbucks every Thursday at 7:00 PM at the Columbia Mall hoping to cultivate new friendships. Come and join me.
(4) Friday Open Forums – We hope to begin a regular monthly or bimonthly (every other month) open forum at Java Grande in Ellicott City. Much like our forum on race, we will attempt to discuss how the Christian faith affects how we view life issues and concerns (e.g., environment, the arts, music, etc.)
(5) Corporate Prayer – We need Jesus to help us love others well. We have a few opportunities: (a) Tom and Alison Miller have opened their homes every Sunday at 10:00 AM for prayer; and (b) Every Wednesday at 6:00 AM at the Laurel racetrack (see website for more info.) and (c) Concert of Prayer, Saturday June 21.

Are there other ways? Certainly! Let me hear them and let’s see what God does!

What is our motivation to do this? The love of Jesus! He is passionate for you, and he has shown it in his perfect obedient life, his rejection and humiliation, and sacrificial death on the cross for our deep embedded sins! Simple truth: Jesus loves you!

Warmly,
Pastor Jeff