I beg you to hear me out. Would you ever intentionally do anything to alienate 50% of your congregation? I hope your answer is no. I hope that you want to win every person. I hope that we would follow the example of Paul who became all things to all people so that he could win them.
Our nation is split down the middle. Look how close the last elections have been. Now you are entitled to your opinion on politics, but sharing it publically via the pulpit or on facebook is not why we entered the ministry. We are here to share the love and grace of Jesus. Every moment that we spend talking about something else is a moment lost forever to share God's love and grace. Anytime a person rants about this or that political thing, they run the risk of alienating 50% of the congregation. We pastors can end up hurting the very people that we are supposed to be reaching and then we wonder why the appointment is not going well.
Note that neither Paul nor Jesus talked about how good or bad the Roman emperor was. Note that neither Paul nor Jesus rant about Rome's treatment of people. They stuck to their message, teaching people to live lives of love. They focused on Kingdom work.
Sure there are times to take a stand on certain things, but please be careful. We can invite our hearers to be gracious and kind without tearing down others. I encourage you to read and stick to the words of Jesus. He welcomed and won all people: Roman centurions, prostitutes, Pharisees, tax collectors, zealots and Samaritans. May our work in the ministry of Jesus do the same, reaching all within the sound of our voice with the message of grace.
It’s a beautiful day in God’s world, be sure to see the good.
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1 comment:
Thank you for your words, Jeff. We recently left our church of 13 years because of words spoken from the pulpit by a new pastor. The reverberations continue to cause pain. As another former pastor told us often, "remember to keep the main thing the main thing." We still miss you and your wisdom.
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