Love, acceptance and forgiveness

One of my greatest responsibilities as a pastor is to first love and accept and forgive people around me, and second, to bring them to ministry readiness by teaching them to do the same.

Everyone, and I do mean everyone, stands in need of love, acceptance and forgiveness.

We all want to be loved.

We all desired to feel accepted.

We all crave forgiveness.

Here's what I know:  At Stone Church, when we "go after" the people nobody wants, God will send up people everybody wants.

Our desire is to reach the "no so togethers", the "non-perfect" people of this world.

Jerry Cook (a former Foursquare pastor) writes this:

"When love, acceptance and forgiveness characterize our lives and our churches, the Lord will send u people who need to be made whole."

He goes on to say:

"A pastor friend called me one day every upset at our church.  This was a brother I liked and respected then, and still do.  He was irritated because some of his people had started coming to our church.  I knew what he was talking about and I felt he needed to get it off his chest, so I let him talk.  At one point he said, "You know what you are out there?  You're nothing but a bunch of garbage collectors."

Jerry Cook writes, "As I thought about it, I realized he was telling the truth.  That's exactly what we are, garbage collector.  What were we before Jesus found us?  Weren't we all just garbage?  Jesus finds us and recycles us.  I mentioned this in church one Sunday and afterward a man who owns a garbage collection agency came floating up the aisle, all excited.  "That's supper," he said.  "Let me tell you something about garbage.  There's a landfill near here.  For 10 years we used it as a place to dump trash and garbage.  Know what's there now?  A beautiful park."

Finally Pastor Cook concludes:  "I've seen human garbage become beautiful too.  I've seen the stench of sin turned into the fragrance of heaven.  That's our business.  WE can't worry about what critics think nor say.  Where is God going to send the "garbage" for recycling if He can't put it on our doorstep?  He'll find a place.  If we're not open for business, someone else will be.  But we want to be used by God.  When love, acceptance and forgiveness prevail, the church of Jesus Christ becomes what Jesus was in the world:  a center of love designed for the healing of broken people, and a force for God."

Good stuff for a Thursday.