You're Welcome Here...

I recently had two very different experiences with two people regarding Crossroads. In fact, it was two instances that were really polar opposites. Looking back on the two, I see God working in both situations and in me.

Experience 1: I was getting a haircut recently and the young woman had a tattoo on her hand. One thing I have learned about people with tattoos is that they love to talk about their tattoos, so I began a conversation about them. She said the one on hand was one of many. I told her how I never could get one, but she explained how much she loved them. She told me how she also wanted to one day go to Hollywood and cut hair of famous people. I told her that I was a youth pastor and that is what one of my youth wanted to do as well. (I always look for an opportunity to steer the conversation toward God. Thanks Franklin Graham.) She said she always wanted to go back to church, but she never felt welcome with all her tattoos, piercings, and dyed hair. I smiled and said, "You're welcome at Crossroads. We don't care about that stuff."

Experience 2: Someone visited our church one Sunday because theirs was closed. About a week later this person saw me and for some reason felt the need to criticize Crossroads and the way we held services. He said it wasn't "church," that our women dressed like men, and the preaching was bad because we didn't mention Hell once. He was doing this loudly in a public place. Now, I would like to say that I handled this situation with all grace and understanding. Being patient with him and calmly disagreeing with him. That is what I would like to say. Truth is, I got mad. Really mad. I asked him to go outside and in a rather stern voice told him, "I love you, but don't bad mouth my church." We argued a bit and I ended the conversation with, "If you don't agree with how we serve Jesus, that's fine, but you don't need to bad mouth us to me."

As I sat and thought about the second experience, I realized that people like him are the reason the girl with tattoos won't go back to church. Because too many people see what they don't like as sin instead of seeing sin as something they don't like. Be wary of comments like "That's just always the way we have done it." and "That's the way I was raised." We can not allow our feelings or what we think is right to over ride what the Word of God says.

Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. - Colossians 2:8

"God, may I turn to you for wisdom. Jesus, may I turn to you for forgiveness. Holy Spirit, my I turn to you for direction. And may others called by Your Name do the same. Amen."

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