This morning something happened at Argyle that may have changed some lives. We had a visitor. Not just any visitor, but a scruffy, ill dressed, sort of blurry guy, sporting a classic ZZ Top beard. He shuffled in about 15 minutes before the first Worship Gathering. He spoke to no one, and some were reluctant to speak to him. I understand that some who saw him headed across the parking lot from the front sidewalk debated if it was a good idea to let him in.
But some folks greeted him, welcomed him, took him to the Cafe and made sure he had breakfast. When he sat down in the Worship Center, alone, several people spoke to him and shook his hand. But, a lot of people were looking at him and wondering. As Pastor Ken spoke, he moved about the Worship Center a couple times; a few people worried at his intentions. After all, we didn't know him or anything about him. Was he dangerous? Crazy? Violent?
It's funny how we see things that fool our eyes. The scruffy stranger was one of ours, wearing costume. We know him well, see him frequently and like him a lot. But, by wearing clothes that looked dirty, a beard and long hair, we stopped seeing him and started seeing a scary stranger.
Pastor Ken has spoken to us a lot the last few months about trying to see others as God sees them. Now, he has offered us some dress rehearsal. Thinking missionally and being the church in the world sounds easy enough- until you actually look the scary stranger in the eye. Loving your neighbor is simple- until your neighbor actually comes in and tracks mud into your nice neat life.
A little secret- I didn't know this was going to happen. I saw him as he stood on the sidewalk looking toward the front door. I remember thinking to myself, "If he comes in, he's going to smell pretty bad." (By the way, since he didn't, some people were a little suspicious about him. No one recognized him.) I was distracted by a request from someone, and the next time I saw him he was in the Welcome Center, alone, looking around. It crossed my mind I was going to have to go over and speak to him. It was a thought of duty, not pleasure. But. someone beat me to it, and I was off the hook (I really felt that way). They took him to the Cafe, and I was able to skate.
It's not easy admitting I didn't handle the challenge as well as I ought to have. Shoot, I handled it pretty badly. There were lots of people, people who aren't paid to be under-shepherds, who did a lot better job of dealing with this challenge. I hope I learned that it is easy to be distracted from seeing people the way God does; how superficial the basis of our prejudice often is; how hard it can be to overcome our own reluctance to step out of our comfort zones and take a risk for God and His kingdom.
Pastor Ken brought a powerful message today- but it wasn't really in the words he spoke. You can hear the words he spoke on the website, but trust me- the real message wasn't spoken today. It was lived.
Hal Hunter
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3 comments:
I was only at the second service and the first time I saw the "stranger" I was a little taken back but began to pray for him. That God would work in his heart.
I was on stage so I never had the opportunity to get close to him or even welcome him. As I left the stage and grabbed a seat, he was a section over from me and I prayed for him again. I told Kim that there was a man sitting over there that looked out of place. I didn't know she knew who it was.
As the service progressed and he moved I was still praying for him but I was also making plains on what to do if something went down... the protective part of me. Then he moved again... I looked around to see who was sitting by me and thought to myself "we could take him if he went for the stage".
On his last move to the stairs on the stage I was waiting to see how the pastor reacted to him being there. He did a great job, even Oscar worthy, so I was not sure at that point what to do.
Now as I look back I am wondering what could I have done differently.
I heard that someone in the first service moved with the "stranger" every time he moved and even went and set next to him when he went to the stage... asked him if he needed to pray. WOW... I want that kind of insight and faith!
I think we all need to ask our selves how would Jesus responded to this " strange" man. Well we know how He responded. Over and over again in scripture He went to those kind of people and they flocked to Him. Oh that I would have such a spirit that people would be attracted to me because of Jesus in my life.
I know my "chains" have been rattled...
I am into the first service late after the first UpStreet/God's Garage session. I noticed him sitting across from me and that he was listening to Ken's message. My first thought was he one of the homeless fellows from the corner of Blanding and Argyle Forrest Blvd and that it was neat that he was attending the service. My second what how would people react to him, inclusion or exclusion? He played the part so well that I was surprised at the end of the service to find he was acting as part of the service. Praise God that people did go up to him and include him! Would I have done the same? Good question and one to think about when this situation arises again.
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