Tuesdays with Morris

A church is supposed to be a welcoming place for the broken and wounded in our world. Let’s face it…we’re all a bit broken and wounded. The church should be a refuge, a place of healing and hope. The church is full of sinners, whether we admit it or not.

So, what happens when someone’s sin hits the spotlight? How do you deal with a messy situation?

In light of recent events at a local church, questions have come up about the role of the church. The church in question basically kicked a guy out on the basis of some serious accusations. Many have questioned the church in doing this, asking “shouldn’t the church extend grace, love, and care to all involved?”

And that brings up a very sticky situation. Yes, the church should extend grace, love, and care. I don’t know the whole story or what the truth truly is…But, at the same time, the church has a responsibility to be a safe place for families. If you have a person hanging around that has brought much pain to members of the church community bigger problems could arise.

There is a time and a place for church discipline. There is a time when a church needs to say, “I think you might need to find another church home.” That time usually arrives when the safety and security of others is involved.

I do not believe the church was wrong in asking the young man involved to leave. However, I hope they did extend an offer to provide him with counseling and any other source of help and healing. I also hope they extended counseling to the young girl and her family.

There are blurry lines when it comes to grace and responsibility. We have a call to extend grace. We also have a call to be responsible. This is one of those both/and rather than either/or situations.

I do believe the church also has a responsibility to be honest and transparent in its interactions with its members and community. When accusations were made and the young man was asked to leave, was there communication between the church leadership (who obviously knew much of what was going on) and the congregation (especially the parents of students involved with the youth ministry)?

I have always appreciated the honesty and integrity of Mark Beeson and Granger Community Church. They have faced their fair share of controversial scandal over the years. But, they have been open, honest, and upfront about each situation. They have not left room for rumors. Mark has addressed the entire congregation in worship, put statements on the church website, and addressed those impacted by each situation. In the situations I’ve been aware of, Beeson has come forward and said, “This is what has happened. This is how we are dealing with it. And please keep all of this in your prayers.” That really helps build a sense of trust and integrity within the church and community.

When you hear, “Yeah, we knew about it and kicked the guy out of the church” does that make you feel a sense of trust?

Grace and responsibility…sometimes they go hand and hand. And, sometimes they cause us to seek the safest middle ground.

So, while driving home from a grocery run, I noticed a large SUV (a Ford Expedition to be exact) in front of me with Indiana Government plates. I found myself thinking, “Wow. That’s a pretty nice ride for our government officials to be driving around in.” And, I continued thinking, “Man, with gas prices the way they are…that vehicle is really costing tax-payers some dollars.”

As I pulled up to a stop light, I found myself side-by-side with the SUV. I noticed it said “IDEM” on the side. Many of you will know that the IDEM is the Indiana Department of Environmental Management.

I found it odd that the IDEM would be driving a large SUV that was not a hybrid or running on bio-diesel. And, Expeditions aren’t really your typical off-road vehicle. So, it’s not likely that this is what they use to get to those “hard to reach” spots in which they help manage the environment.

Of course, I’m sure there’s a very logical explanation for all of this (there always is, right?). But I just found it kind of funny that the agency responsible for environmental management is driving around large gas and oil consuming vehicles.

If you read through the Gospels, you see this beautiful trend of Jesus meeting people right where they were. He didn’t force them to come to the Temple or local synagogue. He simply meet people on his daily journeys and entered into their lives through simple conversations.

This is a wonderful example for all of us to follow. Rather than always asking people to “come to church” or “join this small group”, maybe we should actually get out in the world and enter the conversation.

For many in the church, we need to ask, “Where are the people at?” Where do you interact with people that don’t have a relationship with Jesus? Work? School? Bowling leagues? Coffee shops? The local pub? Then, maybe we could intentionally enter these places we already go to with an open and sensitive heart, allowing God to lead us into conversations and friendships that will help people experience Christ…right where they are.

Well, I’ve been in an extreme amount of pain ever since I had my wisdom teeth removed last Thursday. However, I just felt convinced that it was a natural part of the healing process…you know how sometimes things have to get worse before they get better.

It just so happens that there was a reason for the pain…dry sockets! And, had I listened to the advice of my wife, I would have had some relief earlier in the week. But, being the stubborn person I am, I had to just wait until my appointment.

So, the into the wounds, the dental technician placed these strips of cloth soaked in some kind of numbing agent and containing clove for healing. Well, within 10-15 minutes I felt like a new man. And, I was given some anti-nausea medication so I can take my pain killers at night and hopefully sleep…as sleep is important for the healing process.

So, today I’m happy and rejoicing for cloves. This coming from a guy that continually refers to all clove smokers as dirty hippies. I still stand by that statement. But, for once, I’m thrilled to have the smell of cloves around me.

So, this morning, my daughter has been all about reading Green Eggs and Ham. With that, she was greatly disappointed when our breakfast featured “yellow eggs” rather than “green eggs”. This created quite a problem and took a good deal of time to convince her that “yellow” eggs were just as good as “green” eggs. She did finally eat the eggs. Oh, if only I had some food coloring the world of breakfast would have been a much more pleasant place to visit this morning.