Closed Hearts=Empty Pews

    Who are we to say who is allowed to go to church? Plain and simple.  Our church, Our Jesus.  Oh we love worship! We love to hear our pastors preach it!  We love to see our friends, enjoy the company of fellow Christ followers.  Smile and be smiled at.  Hug and shake hands.  Its a weekend collective.  Are your hearts there, friends?  Do you get what Jesus did?  He is our example.  He is our center.  He hung out with some people in his world, that maybe weren't so excepted and acknowledged.  Yet they were Christ followers.  They would follow him and listen.  They craved his next 'preaching'.  They gave up their lifestyles, and sometimes their families.  Jesus welcomed everyone to listen.  So why don't we?
      
                                    Walk the Walk, Talk the Talk.  Love everyone.

 Gosh I could throw a lot of catch phrases out there.  But what happens church family, when someone enters the suburban church, who doesn't fit in?  Do we play the Electric Company game..."Which of these things Don't belong?" or was that Sesame Street...? Anyways....
    People say we accept everyone.  Everyone can enter through our doors and hear the world of God.  Is it shown?  Through your actions? Your thoughts? How about your sneers, your avoiding eye contact? Your gossip? "Did you see what she was wearing?"  "He smelled like he just walked out of the bar?" "I can't believe he is here with HER?"  You may be thinking or saying this..."This church isn't for those type of people?"  No I would say not.  I wouldn't want them coming to my church to get that reaction!   Oh I have heard it.  I have felt it.  My family has heard it.  And it hurts.  It pushes people away.  They feel they are not worthy of knowing Jesus and his love, and his forgiveness.  These people may have had to drum up all the courage they had left to walk into a church.  They could be at the rock bottom stage in their life.  They needed to hear Love, and instead they found empty hearts.  And even if you are pleasant.  You smiled at 'those' type of people.  What does your heart say?  He knows your heart.  He knows your false actions. 
  Have you heard the younger generations newest catch phrase?  Hate the Sin, Love the Sinner.  Or Love the Sinner, hate the sin.  ?  You don't have to love or even like what they choose to do.  You love them.  Its hard, I get it.  It is not condoning what/who they are.  Its more simple.  You Love.  Love.   Love.  You be the better person.  It doesn't mean you are on a platform saying...THIS IS OKAY!  It means you are being a Christian.  Showing that act of Love is more then enough.  It is saying your reflection in their eyes will be a smile not a glare of disgust.  Your actions speak so much louder...and maybe it will catch on.  Maybe a family member will see it.  Maybe a friend, a stranger.  They will know, this is a Christian Church.  EVERYONE can hear the word of God.  Instead of them fearing...worrying....wondering....
   So what to do when your church goes on a bus tour (granted this was a sign up and go thing...and not our church providing it- but a company who was hired to shuffle the group around..).....and the bus driver who or the MC, points out a church ...that is a Christian church...but has a rainbow flag to catch the eye.  Hmmmm... and pretty much says "Its a Bad Church..."
....So here we go again.  Only certain people are allowed to hear the Gospel.  Only certain people can enter the thru the front doors.  What the MC didn't say or maybe he didn't know...Was the flag was put there to show to the gay community, that they can come and feel safe at their church.  They can hear the Gospel of Jesus without discrimination.  Without the pointing and the funny looks.  They will not have Bible quotes tossed in their faces.  In many Christian's eyes, we have a ranking of what sins are the worst.  If you steal, not so bad.  If your spouse tends to look online at 'those' type of websites, not so bad.  If you lie...again...ranking- maybe low on the list.  How about Gossip or murder?  Homosexuality, well, in the ranking of sin, seems to be pretty high. I don't think God,- or how about Jesus, ranked sin for us.  I don't pretend to know everything in the Bible, but I remember a story about a plank in an eye. 
  I was not on that bus trip. I am going by what friends have told me.  But it stirred something in me.  This isn't because I have a child who is gay(super tender of course).  Its because I am tired of the non-Christians, the atheists, - I am TIRED of them pointing out the hypocrisy they see.  And it seems to be like an on/off switch.  If its fresh from the Pastors lips, church follows.  But soon its forgotten. 
  The church maybe be filled to the gills with people.  Some have such a HUGE love glowing from them.  I have heard some comments, some whispers and sometimes stares. 
Oh church we need prayer! We need to soften our hearts when it comes to human beings.  If we want to spread the word of our Lord, we have to believe it.  I have a hard time with it too.  I am guilty in other aspects....but that is another blog for another day. 
  If our hearts are closed off to certain people, our pews are too.  We are the ones not getting the message while sitting there.