Keeping the Porch Light on in a Dark World
Chris Broussard said this:
“… if you are openly living in sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, adultery, fornication, premarital sex between heterosexuals, whatever it may be, I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ, so I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I don’t think the Bible would characterize them as a Christian.”
and lit up the internet. The whole story here.
This was, and still is, our mission and vision statement. I wrote this in 1993, and think that it is probably still helpful. It does need some application to current situations, and some might be confused about some terminology:
It is our vision to reach the lost in the city of Hamilton. By “lost” we mean those who most painfully know what life without Christ means. This includes all people, but especially those outside of mainstream church: the divorced, those unmarried but living together, the poor, the disabled, the unemployed, the alcoholic and their children, the abused, the immigrant, the criminal offender and their families; those without family, those hurt by churches in the past, those with no attachment to organized religion, those who have given up on church but not on God.
It is our vision to intentionally reach those who are not church members, and those who would not be welcome, or feel welcome, in other churches.
We must reject all forms of discrimination: sexual, racial, economic, ethnic, educational, and social.
We will also reject anything that will hinder this vision. Many of the expectations normally found in traditional church settings can keep the “lost” from ever being “found”. Churches are often too concerned with “proper” dress, or have an obsession with order, embarrassing the poor, keep an ‘arms-length’ relationship between members, and place a stigma upon a select range of previous sins, etc.
We must be careful to place only the demands upon people that God does.
We will Love one another
We will celebrate the cross-cultural family that is the church
We will Embrace those without money, property, prestige or power
We will have modest but well-used facilities
We will be honest about our need for God’s salvation, holiness, and righteousness
We will be Shepherding.
Many churches expect people to get their lives together before they come to Jesus
Jesus says, “come to me all you who are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest”
We will reach the whole person: bring the salvation of Jesus to a soul, teach honesty, diligence and responsibility, right and wholesome relationships, financial responsibility, commitment, and hard work. We will seek to restore individuals to be the kind of people God meant for them to be.
1 Corinthians 1:26–31 (ESV)
26 For consider your calling, brothers:
not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
1 Corinthians 1:26–31 (NA28)
26 Βλέπετε γὰρ τὴν κλῆσιν ὑμῶν, ἀδελφοί,
ὅτι
οὐ πολλοὶ σοφοὶ κατὰ σάρκα,
οὐ πολλοὶ δυνατοί,
οὐ πολλοὶ εὐγενεῖς·
27 ἀλλὰ
τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός,
ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τοὺς σοφούς,
καὶ
τὰ ἀσθενῆ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός,
ἵνα καταισχύνῃ τὰ ἰσχυρά,
28 καὶ
τὰ ἀγενῆ τοῦ κόσμου καὶ τὰ ἐξουθενημένα ἐξελέξατο ὁ θεός,
τὰ μὴ ὄντα,
ἵνα τὰ ὄντα καταργήσῃ,
29 ὅπως μὴ καυχήσηται πᾶσα σὰρξ ἐνώπιον τοῦ θεοῦ.
30 ἐξ αὐτοῦ δὲ ὑμεῖς ἐστε ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ,
ὃς ἐγενήθη σοφία ἡμῖν ἀπὸ θεοῦ,
δικαιοσύνη
τε καὶ
ἁγιασμὸς
καὶ
ἀπολύτρωσις,
31 ἵνα καθὼς γέγραπται· ὁ καυχώμενος ἐν κυρίῳ καυχάσθω.