So incredibly ordinary ... and yet ...
We're all so incredibly ordinary. Every one of us is similar in more ways to every other human being than we would like to admit. Even a slight differential, such as skin color, can throw a geographic region into a tizzy for decades.
Yet it is the differences that make us human. It is the uniqueness of our lives that seperates us from potential robot races.
What's your special characteristic that makes you a phenomenal pastor, Bill? You get it. ... not in some weird "bible professor" sort of way, not that you know all the answers, not that your theology textbooks will sell millions .... but in an entirely different and un-definable way.
You preached a message of hope and forgiveness and grace at a funeral for a biker with a joint in his hand. The majority of pastors, those who would remain at all after seeing the joint, would have preached a message of hellfire and damnation. There's a reason the family asked for less of the God stuff - they've heard it before. You get it. It's what makes you unique.
As much as you hate it when my posts make you laugh when you're at the office ... I hate it even more when your posts make me cry when I'm at the coffee shop. I recently witnessed two Christians refuse to communicate with work associates because the latter were not Christians. They refused to make contact with people because they are outside of the family of God. My grandmother proudly proclaimed last weekend that Ellen "Degenerate" would never be welcomed in her church because she's a "pervert." (Not that this is an issue or that Ellen is dying to get into my Grandmother's church) I see a lot of Christians who just don't "get it." I couldn't begin to number the pastor's who would have left that funeral or asked the family to remove the joint.
You're real with people. You're real with me. You get the illusive "it" factor in Christianity.
There are billions of ordinary people ... you're one of them ... but ordinary has rarely appeared this good.
Yet it is the differences that make us human. It is the uniqueness of our lives that seperates us from potential robot races.
What's your special characteristic that makes you a phenomenal pastor, Bill? You get it. ... not in some weird "bible professor" sort of way, not that you know all the answers, not that your theology textbooks will sell millions .... but in an entirely different and un-definable way.
You preached a message of hope and forgiveness and grace at a funeral for a biker with a joint in his hand. The majority of pastors, those who would remain at all after seeing the joint, would have preached a message of hellfire and damnation. There's a reason the family asked for less of the God stuff - they've heard it before. You get it. It's what makes you unique.
As much as you hate it when my posts make you laugh when you're at the office ... I hate it even more when your posts make me cry when I'm at the coffee shop. I recently witnessed two Christians refuse to communicate with work associates because the latter were not Christians. They refused to make contact with people because they are outside of the family of God. My grandmother proudly proclaimed last weekend that Ellen "Degenerate" would never be welcomed in her church because she's a "pervert." (Not that this is an issue or that Ellen is dying to get into my Grandmother's church) I see a lot of Christians who just don't "get it." I couldn't begin to number the pastor's who would have left that funeral or asked the family to remove the joint.
You're real with people. You're real with me. You get the illusive "it" factor in Christianity.
There are billions of ordinary people ... you're one of them ... but ordinary has rarely appeared this good.
posted by Michael Airgood at 5:09 PM
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