Where is the church for the disenfranchised, a church for the least of these?

Then the King will say to those on his right, “Enter, you who are blessed by my Father! Take what's coming to you in this kingdom. It's been ready for you since the world's foundation. And here's why: I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.” Matthew 25:34-36 (The Message)

Yesterday, on my Facebook, I shared the daily blog from Rachel Held Evans entitled, “Blessed are the un-cool”. It got me thinking about whom does the church exist for? Why are we here? Why are we doing what we are doing? Her words hit me squarely between the eyes and at the deepest level of my soul. I grew up in an affluent church. I have been a pastor to many affluent churches. Raising money for a new building and/or program was never an issue, but creating an outreach to the disenfranchised of the world was a continuous challenge.

Furthering my questioning mind was a response from a young friend who shared the scripture from Matthew 18:20 “And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure that I'll be there." (The Message) Which drew me back to the Matthew scripture stated above. It is the one scripture that I simply cannot escape.

In my last church there were five young elementary people who just started to show up one Sunday. Oh, I had been stopping by during the week to talk with them. The church grounds were an inviting place for them to gather during the afternoon and play. We had experienced some vandalism. I was pretty sure they were not responsible, but I wanted to enlist them in protecting the property. They were thrilled that I would trust them that much. So, maybe it was this new responsibility that got them to attend … or maybe it was that they discovered that we had a lot of free cookies and cake during fellowship time.

We had several members that were not too pleased to see these young people show up on Sunday morning. They smelled. They smelled bad. Once they entered the building you knew they were there before you saw them. They also would run down the aisles and sit up in the “preacher’s chair” … horrors of horrors. And they would line up to be hugged … often. “Can’t they take a bath before they come?” was heard more than once. “Can’t you get them to behave?” soon followed the bath statement. And, the real clincher was, “Do you have to hug them and then hug us?” I simply ignored those comments, smiled at their innocents and gave away as many hugs as possible every Sunday morning.

There were a few small problems … like when money started disappearing from the Upper Room donation baskets, as well as when they would play with the multiple wheelchairs we kept available. All minor issues. Easily solved. I was just glad that they were coming. Kind of put a little life into that old congregation. A little spark. A little unpredictability. A little of the good news … you see, they were getting themselves up on Sunday morning while their parents continued to sleep.

I have often thought about those boys. I’ve wondered what impact we had on their lives. And, I wonder who else might be out there just looking for a free cookie, a hug or two and a place where they would be accepted just as they are … and a chance to here a story about Jesus.

These boys would not be accepted at most of the church that I had served. They and their kind – the disenfranchised, the dirty, the smelly, the disrespectful of tradition – would probably not feel welcomed at most of my former churches. If they did come people would move away, sit somewhere else, not extend a welcoming hand, wouldn’t speak … Rachel Held Evans’ blog spoke to my heart. Placed a conviction deep with the root of my soul. Made me a little more than uncomfortable. I would also guess that these boys wouldn’t really be accepted at your place of worship either.

They other scripture that convicts me is Luke 6:46 “Why are you so polite with me, always saying 'Yes, sir,' and 'That's right, sir,' but never doing a thing I tell you?” (The Message). Is the church today simply going through the motions of trying to get it right, attract more people, raise more money … all the while failing to truly serve the cause of Christ? Failing to be Kingdom People? Failing to do it unto the least of these …

I’m just wondering …

NOTE: Tomorrow I will share a story from my seminary days about a preaching professor who opened up a boarded up, abandoned old Methodist church and how he grew it into one of the outstanding churches in the greater Atlanta area and what happened to that church when it lost its focus. See you tomorrow!