A CRAZY DAY FOR AT THE CROSS

Dear Fellow Workers in Christ,

I say a crazy day--it was a wonderful day--but had its hectic moments. I started out with a van full of extra Allenhurst kids today--so many I could barely get them all in! I had to get my wife to grab a couple of extra in her car. We were having a lunch today after worship--so we normally have extra kids come. We get there and I find out that three of our families that have adults would be out today--so we are suddenly outnumbered 3 to 1 with kids. Worship went well for the most part--and we had a guest preacher, so I was able to move around when I needed to so I could separate kids or whisper in this one or that one's ear that I was about to pop them upside the head if they didn't chill. (These are obviously kids I have long term relationships with). :) And fortunately, before the sermon--we have a sister who takes the 4th grade and under kids back for a kids church time so that helped a lot!

We had a visitor who came two weeks ago with her family--and she was back today--they had come from a church out of town. This visitor brought her sister with her today. After service, when I went to tell the sister of the visitor we had already met--thanks for coming and to invite her to lunch. Before I could finish my sentence--she just tore me apart and began to tell me how terrible all our kids are and that we are doing a poor job of teaching our kids how to act in church! As I tried to apologize for perhaps the rough experience she had had--and explain that most of our kids don't have parents with them--and that we normally have more adults to help--she then proceeded to tell me that "Kids who have not been raised in church really should not even be there because they don't know how to act!" Suddenly, I had visions and memories of the past when I was bringing "those people" into established congregations and just getting ripped apart each week because a kid had acted bad or one of the adults who came smelled bad or was dressed poorly and righteous anger began to fill my soul!!! But by the grace of God--I was very loving and diplomatic and I turned her over to another brother who tried to love on her also and was rebuked as she left.

God bless that sister--and I love and forgive her--but sometimes such moments just make me so sad. Too often I come across Christians who simply lack grace and mercy for the lost and those who are not like us. So often the people we serve and minister to--are termed by the "proper Christians" as "Those People" or "That segment of the population you are working with" or "Those apartment people." And I know not everyone who coin such terms do not mean it disrespectfully--but sometimes I sense some to mean that as "Us" and "Them." But when I read Psalm 117, I read that God loves each of us deeply--and HE CREATED EACH OF US!!! Whether we live in a nice home and attend a nice church full of well acting people--or if we live in a rough place of sin and poverty--Jesus looks at us all the same. Look at this Psalm:

1 Praise the LORD, all you nations; extol him, all you peoples.
2 For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD.

Regardless of what some might say--I believe that Jesus is happy when we bring in messed up, broken down, very sinful people into our assemblies to learn who HE is. I THINK HE IS EVEN MORE HAPPY WHEN WE BRING IN LITTLE CHILDREN! We need to move away from this man made concept of "We need to clean people up and teach them our proper ways before we bring them into the Lord's Church." HOW PATIENT HAS GOD BEEN WITH EACH OF US????? Some of those kids really wear me out and get on my nerves--and sometimes I so wish they could act a little better in worship--but I thank God they are there! My Jesus said that "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick!

Lets go offer Jesus to hurting, suffering people around our community--lets invite them to come be with us--lets offer them unconditional love as HE has us--and lets embrace them! Thats Christianity!

Be blessed today in Jesus' name!

Bruce