Post by Moses on Sept 29, 2004 2:12:39 GMT -5
Day in and day out, three teenage boys use to hang out on the street corner. There was a church, a block away from that same street corner. The boys would often amuse themselves on Sundays by watching the various vehicles pull in and out of the church parking lot. One Sunday, one of the boys suggested they go to church.
One of the other boys said, "Man you must be crazzy!" Aother boy just shook his head, as if to say the exact same thing without the use of words.
The boy begain to persude his friends, "Hey man, you know those "church" people are a bunch of hypocrites. I just want to walk inside the church just to see their reaction"
Immediately, both of the boys agreed after realizing the plot.
The congregation was gathered inside the church and the Pastor was just about to start his sermon.
Suddenly, the church doors burst open and three thuggish-looking teenage boys came waltzing in.
Immediately, many members of the congregation looked at the boys with disapproval.
The three boys all looked at eachother with big smiles on their faces. For a while their theories of "hypocritical Christians" seemed valid.
However, the pastor motion with his hands, inviting the three boys to come in and have a seat.
The two followers who had been persuaded, declined by turning around and walking out the door. One of them yelled at the ring leader before leaving, "Come on man, I told you these people were hyporcrites."
However, the boy stayed. He even came back to church the following Sunday, and again the next Sunday. Infact the youngman came to church every Sunday for the following three years.
After a while he felt that God was calling him to be a pastor, so he approached the minister one day and expressed his passion.
Immediately, the minister was over joyed and begain to express himself, "I knew there was something special about you the day you and your friends burst in the door and you stayed to hear me preach! That was the best sermon I ever preached! I am glad God allowed me to preach in such a way that brought you to Christ! Now look at you, want to be a preacher now." The pastor laughs.
However, the youngman does't laugh, but replied, "Pastor at the time you preached that "good" sermon I didn't know anything about God nor Jesus. All I knew was rejection. Everywhere my friends and I went, we were rejected. We got kicked out of school, out of our houses, and everywhere we went people turned us away. You were the first person to welcome us in a long time."
He continues, "I didn't know about God or Jesus, but I was willing to learn about a God that allowed you to invite a bunch of thugs into your church even when members of your congregation looked down on us."
Sometimes we get so caught up in being so religious or spiritual, we forget to do the little things that have the potential to impact people's lives the most. Sometimes shaking someones hand, listening to someone, or being dilligent in your work can be just as effective as preaching, teaching, or ministering.
Moses
One of the other boys said, "Man you must be crazzy!" Aother boy just shook his head, as if to say the exact same thing without the use of words.
The boy begain to persude his friends, "Hey man, you know those "church" people are a bunch of hypocrites. I just want to walk inside the church just to see their reaction"
Immediately, both of the boys agreed after realizing the plot.
The congregation was gathered inside the church and the Pastor was just about to start his sermon.
Suddenly, the church doors burst open and three thuggish-looking teenage boys came waltzing in.
Immediately, many members of the congregation looked at the boys with disapproval.
The three boys all looked at eachother with big smiles on their faces. For a while their theories of "hypocritical Christians" seemed valid.
However, the pastor motion with his hands, inviting the three boys to come in and have a seat.
The two followers who had been persuaded, declined by turning around and walking out the door. One of them yelled at the ring leader before leaving, "Come on man, I told you these people were hyporcrites."
However, the boy stayed. He even came back to church the following Sunday, and again the next Sunday. Infact the youngman came to church every Sunday for the following three years.
After a while he felt that God was calling him to be a pastor, so he approached the minister one day and expressed his passion.
Immediately, the minister was over joyed and begain to express himself, "I knew there was something special about you the day you and your friends burst in the door and you stayed to hear me preach! That was the best sermon I ever preached! I am glad God allowed me to preach in such a way that brought you to Christ! Now look at you, want to be a preacher now." The pastor laughs.
However, the youngman does't laugh, but replied, "Pastor at the time you preached that "good" sermon I didn't know anything about God nor Jesus. All I knew was rejection. Everywhere my friends and I went, we were rejected. We got kicked out of school, out of our houses, and everywhere we went people turned us away. You were the first person to welcome us in a long time."
He continues, "I didn't know about God or Jesus, but I was willing to learn about a God that allowed you to invite a bunch of thugs into your church even when members of your congregation looked down on us."
Sometimes we get so caught up in being so religious or spiritual, we forget to do the little things that have the potential to impact people's lives the most. Sometimes shaking someones hand, listening to someone, or being dilligent in your work can be just as effective as preaching, teaching, or ministering.
Moses
Thank you for sharing......Adah