How many of you walk by, talk to, or interact with in some way, people everyday who do not have enough money to pay their bills, who do not have any food to feed their children or themselves, who are living on the street, or who have any of an assortment of other needs, physical, emotional, or spiritual? They are all around us, and often, as people, and even as Christians, we seem to put on blinders, we look directly in front of us and refuse to see the need surrounding us. Either we don't want to believe there are people who have needs, it is upsetting for us to see it so we look away, or we simply do not want to have to sacrifice our time, money, emotional investment to help someone out, especially someone we don't know.
So here is the challenge. As the recent earthquake has opened everyone's eyes to hurting and needy people around the world, keep your eyes opened. Be aware of people you see throughout the day who could use a little help. Be willing to make a sacrifice to show God's love to someone. I asked everyone in X-session this week, "What can you do to help someone else?" And, I ask you the same thing.
"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." - James 1:27
"Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." - Luke 12:23
God Bless!
I find it amusing that you preach these things to people yet dont practice them yourself. You tell us to reach out to the needy and those that are hurting yet your reach wont even extend to those right next to you that are hurt and in need. How many people have you seen come and go from X-Factor? Do you reach out to those that have gone to find out why? Do you minister to them? I think not. I think that you are all nice and cozy with your tight nit little "family" and the people who dont fit nicely into your little box are just extra baggage! Not essential. Now Im not saying that you arent a nice person as Im sure you are. Im just saying instead of preaching to people about what we can do to help others maybe you need to lead by example. And Im sorry but passing out cookies to the homeless doesnt count. Why dont you try reaching out to those who have left X-Factor and find out why. Im sure it would make for interesting conversation. Just food for thought!
ReplyDeleteYour post is a great reminder. Well said & Thank you
ReplyDelete@anonymous... really?... how can you rant like that and then choose to not sign it?... from the sound of it, you've been hurt by our Fellowship... I'd love to help you through it, but don't know who I'd be helping... what we do through our Fellowship as a whole, and what Scoot does as an individual is ALWAYS done in love, and for God to be glorified through it... if there's anything we, or I, can do for you, let us know... you will, of course, have to 'reveal' yourself... until then, I Pray you meditate on this... 'They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, but let the one who has never sinned thorw the first stone!" - John 8:7... God Bless you!... Brett Clay... just so you know... ;)
ReplyDeleteWell Brett Clay...that is the beauty of the internet...I dont have to tell you who I am. I have the right to my opinions and they have been formed by direct interaction with X-Factor. The things you do as a whole and individually may always be done out of love but in my experience that love doesnt extend past the immediate circle. That love should extend to all who enter. Instead people feel unwelcome and like outsiders. Is that showing people love? Others, outside of the immediate circle, arent invited to special events, etc. Not once since I have stopped coming to X-Factor has a single person called me and said, "Hey, we miss you. We would love for you to come again." Not once! Why is that? Because I dont matter. You all are comfortable with the little circle of people you have. Whats the point in everything you all are doing if you are just turning people away by not caring about others!
ReplyDeleteAnd for the record, I will be the first to admit that I am NOT perfect and a sinner. However Im not out there preaching to others and not following my own advice!
and, well, there it is... agreed, you have the right to form and voice your opinions... you even have the right to veil it in anonymity... my point was that we can't help those who don't let us know who they are... and I get it... your point was that specificity isn't important, that we've failed all in the spirit of Fellowship... let me first extend our love and concern for you... and also please allow me to apologize for not recognizing those who have felt 'left out' of any preceived 'circle'... it has been something of a shortcoming that we haven't reached out to those who have come to us and then gone elsewhere, or just left... IMO, what we've always been about in helping others obtain and maintain a relationship with Christ is that we don't 'force feed' things to anyone... and maybe now our laid back approach needs some examination... I thank you for bringing that to our attention... what I think needs to be addressed and laid to rest is your angst towards whatever 'circle(s)' you feel we have... as a total 'outsider' to this Fellowship not even two years ago, I can assure you that there are no 'favorites' or 'cliques' within it... I will admit that since we are a smaller, closer-knit family, that it may seem daunting at first to 'break in'... but I'll also guarantee that someone welcomed you at some point or another, and probably struck up conversation... all it takes is two-way interaction, and all the 'walls' disappear... it's my sincere hope that you find somewhere to grow closer to God, and my wish that you would come back and see us again sometime... I'll personally take an interest in the visitor(s) we bring in, and will do as much as possible to extend to them our love and care if they decide that the X isn't for them... thank you, and have a Blessed day... TT...
ReplyDeleteWow there are a ton of comments here, and I will try to address them in a succinct manner.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I want to say thank you Anonymous for your comment. I do not necessarily agree with every point you made, but for many reason I thank you for it, if for nothing else, it has helped me to take a good hard look at things and myself.
Secondly I want to point out that I do not and never have claimed to be perfect in any area by any means. I am fully aware that I have a long way to go to be the person God wants me to be. What I write in this blog is sometimes personal stories and sometimes "preachy" sermons or Bible Studies. When I write about lessons from the Bible and God and how we should live our lives it is not because I have fully mastered them and are now directing others to live as I do. I am just as much learning as I am teaching, which is why I use the words "we" and "us" a lot. Often, the things I teach are things that I have seen to be proven true in my life or things that God has revealed to me, and He has called me to teach others as well. So please, never assume that I have everything perfectly under my belt before I post it, but also do not assume that because I do not, what I am teaching holds no merit.
Thirdly, I have seen many people come to X Factor and stay, visit X Factor once, come to X Factor and stay for awhile and then leave, and pretty much any scenario you can think of. Many of those that have come and either stayed or left I have reached out to, spoke with, and tried to invest in their lives in some way. Some of these people are now friends, some are acquaintances, and some I have only spoke with once. There have also been several people, I am sure, who I have not reached out to. It is not my, nor our goal, for anyone to slip through the cracks, and I can assure you that, while some obviously do, it is never a matter of them being unimportant or that they don't matter. This close-knit family that you talk about is composed of many different people from different backgrounds, beliefs, cultures, socioeconomic classes, personalities, families, etc... The only defining characteristic that I can think of is a love for God and a desire to grow in Him more and more. Oh and that we are all imperfect and far from that goal, but striving for it.
In regards to not being invited to special events, I must admit, I am confused. Every event that the church holds is open to everyone, and everyone is invited, whether by announcements, our website, our Facebook page, our MySpace page, our Twitter account, through email, etc… No one is left out. If you are referring to special events held by members of the church, that are non-church related events, I do not know what to tell you. There are many people in the church who hold events that I am not invited to, and I do not invite everyone to every event I and my family have. This is not an indication that anyone does not love or care about anyone else, simply that people are closer to some people than to others, as I am sure is the case with you as well, and typically we do not invite people we are not close to to our individual special events. This is why there are church wide events that everyone is invited to, in order to increase our fellowship and grow relationships. I can think of a few of those events offhand, such as our Super Bowl Party, our 4th of July picnic, our Fall Fest, and our outreach opportunities such as the Thanksgiving and Christmas Cookie Giveaways and the Graffiti Clean-up, I also know that the youth group had a Thanksgiving party, and we went to a movie yesterday, both of which were events, to which everyone was invited. ...
... There is a lot more that I could say, but I won’t at the moment. I will leave with this: I am sorry that you were hurt and made to feel unimportant. That was never anyone’s intention, and I will take what you have said to apply toward myself and try to change the way I interact with others. Also, again, I never have or will claim to be perfect and have everything together. I am simply trying to live my life as close to God as possible, and anything I teach is only what God has taught me. Do not close yourself to hear God because of human imperfections, and I encourage you to get involved in a church body somewhere where you can grow in God and with others.
ReplyDeleteGod Bless!
When did we hand out cookies to the homeless?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure who this is that is so upset about things with the X. Truth is, if they have such concerns as the ones voiced in this blog, then they should come directly to the people/person with which they have the problem(s). This needs to be discussed, mended, resolved, or whatever else needs to be done. Like Scott said we are a church with open arms to everyone that walks through the door. Sometimes though, we are not received with open arms in return. This is not anyone's fault, maybe it just means that the people who come and go are not finding what they need through what we offer or it is not the place God would have them to be. If someone chooses to search for another church because they feel like The X is not the place for them, then that is what we want them to do (be where God wants you, doing what He has called you to do), but never do we push people out intentionally. Not once have we said that "you" are not welcome with our fellowship or any of the church wide events we plan. Fact is, we would love more people to be involved in the events and activities we plan, but that doesn't always happen. My advice to anonymous is to read this and consider your approach to this matter scripturally...
ReplyDeleteMatthew 18:15-17:
15 “If another believer* sins against you,* go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.[1]
My hope is that we can resolve this matter in love and forgiveness. I hope we all can learn from this and grow in our spiritual walks with the One true God. The last thing we need is division among believers, because that is the best thing satan can do to make us ineffective to the cause of Christ. My hope is that anonymous is not spreading these rumors/ gossip around to other people... for our God is very clear on that issue and warns us about the effects of this type of behavior. Look in Proverbs:
A perverse man stirs up dissension, and a gossip separates close friends. Proverbs 16:28
The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to a man's inmost parts. Proverbs 18:8
A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much. Proverbs 29:19
Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. Proverbs 26:20-22
I am not saying that you are spreading rumors or gossip, but have concerns that if you are willing to post these issues on the internet, where the whole world could see it (oh the beauty of modern technology), then what stops you from saying these things at your next church or with your co-workers, friends and family. This has potential to blow up into something very harmful to both parties, I hope and pray it doesn't! Please prayerfully consider all these things and I hope that this can be resolved in the very near future. May we have the victory unified in Christ and not let the enemy win this battle!
@ anonymous... just a quick clarification... the cookie handout thingie was in the community area we now serve in, and comprised mainly of families-in-residence... this was a great way to reach out and show others that we're there, and that we care about them... two instances we did this, for Thanksgiving and Christmas... during the Thanksgiving outreach we also handed out turkeys to those that maybe couldn't afford to put a 'traditional' dinner together for their families... the Christmas outreach was cookies only, but there were a few times when we DID give packages to 'homeless' types that were in the area... you may or may not remember that at our previous location we held cookouts prior to every Sat. night service, during which a great number of the indigent poplation was served and ministered to...
ReplyDeletein relation to the above post by David, I second the motion that this whole thing be approached and handled in a more Scriptural manner... this kind of stuff is the devil's work, and we need to put on the armor and weaponry God had afforded us is His word, stand firm in our faith, and claim victory that is promised to us through Christ... I'll leave just this little reminder, and be on my merry way...
'Therefore, submit to God. But resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.' - James 4:7...
have a Blessedun!... TT...
Well..you all have made some interesting points. But I have to say...after reading the blog your pastor does I believe even more that there are some serious issues that need to be addressed within your tight-knit fellowship cirlce. Your pastor stated that you are being "attacked" by several different people and groups. If others, besides myself, are saying these things to you then maybe it would benefit you all to look at what Im saying. I dont think that any of you are bad people and my intention was never to attack you. Now maybe I went about it all in the wrong way and for that Im sorry but as each of you have said I am only human. I have just been greatly hurt by the fellowship you all share and was trying to voice that. Thats all.
ReplyDeleteAs the pastor I know that there are things to work on. Unfortunately I have a feeling that most of the "attacks" are coming from people and groups that tend to associate with each other.
ReplyDeleteWill we keep trying? Yep.
Are we looking to make sure that any problems are being dealt with? Absolutely.
i would just encourage everyone to remember that anyone can find something wrong with any church. What we need to do is remember that the primary reason that Christians need to be in a church is to grow closer to God and to serve others. Sure we all need help and need to be served but I think that many people have lost the fact that we are to serve.
I am praying for everyone involved in this discussion and I hope that relationships can be restored and that God will be glorified through it all.
In x,
Luke