Just read this article which I got from a retweet from Twitter. What do you guys think?
The Best and Worst of the Church
I just spent the last couple of days at Rob Bell’s conference for pastors and church staff called Poets, Prophets, and Preachers. The whole thing was awesome, and gave me a lot to think about. However, the most moving experience came at the very end.
We were about to take communion, and Rob announced that one of the people in attendence had just gotten a call that he’d been fired from his church for attending. There are some churches and denominations that take issue with Rob and others who take issue with Rob and other leaders of the “emergent church” movement. Which is fine. But they called him while he was there and told him he was fired for going. Ouch.
Obviously, there must have been pre-existing tensions between the two parties. Perhaps even an ideological feud that had been going on for who knows how long. But to fire someone over the phone, no questions asked, is pretty cold. I understand the fact that differences can sometimes be too big to overcome in a work, and especially church-work environment. But there had to be a better way to handle that.
With tears in his eyes, Rob announced that they were going to take an impromptu collection during communion, in order to help the guy and his family get through the next couple of months. A beautiful gesture of support and solidarity.
By the time I reached it, the basket was brimming full of money, and on the top of it I saw a check for $350. I instantly choked up, thinking of how God was already providing for this person because His people responded to a need.
In 20 minutes, I saw the best, and the worst of the church Earth.
What about you? What’s the best you’ve seen? What’s the worst?
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3 comments:
Love the title of that conference... enjoyed this story of love and care.... still concerned about Rob Bell's apparent lack of understanding of the implications of basic and clear Bible doctrines such as the deity of Christ (as found in Velvet Elvis).
Thanks for posting Kyle...
Love the story, too...and would certainly agree that the conference folks responded wonderfully.
At the same time, I doubt that we've heard the whole story. Had the conference attendee/church staff member been told by a senior pastor/supervisor, "We don't have money for that conference. You're not going." or "Rob Bell is a little too controversial for our congregation, and for that reason I'm telling you not to go."
The church is also a place for accountability, and we aren't given the full picture of how this conference attendee handled this responsibility. It might be premature to say that this article portrays the church at its worst.
p.s. I've been reading Bell's "Jesus Wants to Save Christians." Very good and very convicting in my opinion...
Any other thoughts?
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