Tuesday, September 18, 2007

This Is The Kingdom!

David Johnson, pastor of Church of the Open Door tells a story that I must share; a story that I resonate with as a fellow pastor who longs to help people encounter the grace of our Jesus and yet all too often feel bogged down in the pettiness of the church. This story was shared in the most recent Leadership Journal.

David shares, "One night I was at church ministering to this guy who was telling me stuff he'd never told anybody, ever. He was so ashamed of his addiction and sin and was so broken by it that he was sobbing. That night he experienced all sorts of healing. Yes, he had a long road ahead, but there was grace for this man, and he believed it.

I walked out of the room thinking, This is the kingdom!

But as I left the room, I bumped into a lady from the church who was weeping, too. But she was weeping because of a decision the church had made to change the choir robes. She was so devastated and angry that she unloaded on me.

It was as if God said to me, "Pick one, Dave. Which kind of person are you going to focus on?"

He closed by saying, "I realized both needed grace, but I felt called to the broken and not the uptight."

You go David Johnson! I'm right behind you!

6 comments:

Lynn said...

Eye opening...guess we all need to see with "God Eyes", it might just change how we view the world....

Rebecca Jo said...

like you said Sunday - Brokiness is a place that is full of blessings!

Anonymous said...

AMEN!!!
Darrel

Anonymous said...

You've shared a modern day parable. My prayer is that I and all who read David's story will have "eyes to see and ears to hear." I'm glad the final Voice which David heard was God's rather than the voice of the angry person. Tony

Anonymous said...

What do you mean by:"This Is The Kingdom?"

Anonymous said...

In the desert, John the Baptist preached of baptism, repentance, and forgiveness of sin. In Matthew Chapter 3, John tells the people of his day that "the KINGDOM of heaven is near" and that One would soon come "who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." In my mind, the kingdom is alive and Spirit-filled whenever we embrace the lost, meet sinners (though flawed ourselves) without judgement, and help them see how much Christ loves each of us. It's a kingdom of healing, encouragement, and blessing. The ministry which Pastor David extended to the shamed man in the story, sharing the Good News to one desperately seeking it, is Thy Kingdom Come. Tony