Jeff stepped into the gloriously sunny courtyard after a three-hour review of the State of the Church reports from the subcommittees. He reflected on his arrival five years ago, when membership and collections were slowly declining and there was considerable turmoil from the squabbling between various factions. The search committee had emphasized that he was expected to improve the membership and collection numbers while calming the congregation.
The latest results were quite impressive. Membership was up an average of 9% annually with this year’s increase an even stronger 14%. The revenue growth was even more spectacular. It had increased 89% during his tenure due largely to several important community leaders joining the congregation. He had met with key dissidents and advised them that the divisive issues were going to be set aside and no longer discussed. Most of them had left the church and the level of controversy subsided. Jeff mused that his church was demonstrating tremendous success.
Jeff’s wife Ellen hurried across the parking lot, jumped into her SUV and punched the cell phone buttons as the motor turned over. The just concluded meeting for the new women’s ministry had gone well. She had to call the church secretary Doris to prepare additional materials for a special session tomorrow night. She was so proud of what she and Jeff had been able to accomplish and waved a kiss towards him as she released the brake and started moving. "Doris, I need…just a minute, I have it right here…." As she reached down for her notes, her hand slipped from the steering wheel and her foot instinctively pressed down on the accelerator. Her eyes locked on Jeff’s a split second before she plowed into him pinning him against the corner of the building.
It was the most comfortable room Jeff had ever been in. Everything looked different yet he couldn’t remember ever feeling more at home. The person facing him was both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. His voice was the calmest, warmest, most inviting, he had ever heard and was just concluding a statement, "Do you understand Jeff, it really is simple."
Jeff felt embarrassed because he was afraid that he had fallen asleep during the conversation. "I, I’m sorry." He stammered. "What did you say?"
There was no reprimand in the voice, just gentle instruction. "Oh Jeff, it isn’t your church; it’s mine! And my bottom line isn’t concerned with growth numbers and lack of controversy; it’s about loving relationships."
The soothing voice continued. "If you only knew how much I love you and all my children. I have a plan to fill every life to overflowing. But if I tell all the details of the plan, then they wouldn’t need to trust me. They would just try to do it on their own rather than following me. So I only reveal what you need to know today, and you have to trust me for tomorrow."
The voice seemed very sad as the lesson continued. "I desire those loving relationships so much! It pains me to hear the leaders of my church preach adherence to the law instead of my message of love and grace. They judge the sins of others while acting as though their own sins aren’t so bad. They don’t understand that no one can stand before the law. Their self-righteousness condemns them. Focusing on the law and condemning others as sinners is not my approach. You read Rachel’s article about cross-dressing. The facts and logic are sound but arguing about sin is irrelevant because it negates my grace."
The voice filled with love and encouragement. "My message is about love and acceptance. About everyone not just those who think they are holy. About showing mercy and forgiveness. About avoiding judgment and condemnation. About relying on me for strength and guidance. About being salt and light to the world. About being a good neighbor like the Samaritan. About shunning the self-righteous hypocrisy of the Pharisees. About welcoming back strays like the Prodigal Son. About using my gifts to you faithfully. About being a servant to all. About exercising the humility of the Publican. About having a childlike faith in me. And about my grace that frees you from the bondage of legalism."
The voice was softly concluding. "Over the years you have asked me for many things. I wish you would ask me for one more thing. Ask me for the help you need to love me and to love others as much as I love you. Then you would have the right idea. When you read the Gospels with your heart and really internalize my message, you’ll open the church doors to everyone. Everyone exactly as they are. Once you let everyone in, you’ll be amazed at what I can do…."
Jeff slowly returned to consciousness. He reached across the bed but Ellen wasn’t there. He followed the dim glow of light to the family room and found her sitting on the couch with tears streaming down her face. The Bible on her lap was opened to the end of the 22nd Chapter of Matthew and the beginning of the 23rd.
"Oh Jeff, I had such a vivid dream. I ran over you with my car but instead of dying you ended up having a conversation with Jesus. He explained how we were missing the point of what he was teaching us. He said we needed to really understand the good news of the Gospel."
"That’s unbelievable! I had the same dream!" exclaimed Jeff! "I was so pleased with the success of my ministry and keeping the peace, and then I saw your car hit me. When I awoke he told me that I needed to open the church, his church, to everyone. I’m scared to death of what controversy we’d have if I openly accepted people like Rachel with the cross-dressing issue and Bill with the gay issue and Sarah with the homeless issue, and…. " Jeff’s voice stopped for a few seconds. Then he continued, "We’d lose members and money and things certainly wouldn’t be calm and peaceful."
"Honey," said Ellen, "I know it will be difficult. Jesus’ views seem so impractical in today’s world, but I want to follow him more than anything else. No matter what happens, I’ll walk every step with you. We must follow him!"
She reached out and squeezed Jeff’s hand. He sat down on the couch next to her. "Honey, I’ve read this so many times but never quite got it before. Look at this.…"
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