This weekend another pastor and I were riding BART (public transportation) from the San Francisco airport to Walnut Creek, where we were speaking at a counseling conference. The train was quite full, and about 10 feet from where we were standing it appeared that two people had not seen each other in a very long time. We noticed the greeting between them (it was hard not to notice) and then we went about our conversation. Things changed however when a woman sitting across the aisle from the two lovebirds started screaming at them to read the Bible.<\/p>\n
Shortly thereafter we realized that the two people were both girls.<\/p>\n
This post is not about homosexuality \u2013 it is actually about why personal, compassionate, community ministry is so important. There were many lessons on that train ride; let me highlight just 3 of them:<\/p>\n
Those girls were sinning \u2013 no doubts there \u2013 but so were a bunch of other people on the train in lots of different ways. Why were these girls singled out? Why didn\u2019t the lady scream at everyone on the train to read the Bible? I think that each of us tends to be particularly offended at certain things and not so offended at others. Yet, anyone who is still in their sins is under the power and penalty of sin.<\/p>\n
We, as believers, need to remember that all sin separates people from Christ, and thus everyone needs a saving relationship with Jesus. That is why community ministry is so important. There are a lot of very nice, kind, and responsible people who are yet bound for eternity apart from Christ. Let\u2019s not simply talk to (and about) those who sin in one particular way – let’s talk to all<\/em> who sin.<\/p>\n The gospel message is offensive to those who do not believe…we should be careful not to be\u00a0needlessly\u00a0offensive in seeking to share it.<\/p>\n<\/div>Those girls laughed at the woman and most of the others on the train were annoyed by her. There was no way that her \u201capologetic\u201d had any hearing at that moment. The woman would have been much better off sitting quietly asking the Lord to awaken the hearts of those girls. She would have been much better off having a pleasant conversation with the person she was sitting by \u2013 hoping to turn the conversation to Christ \u2013 than screaming at the two girls.<\/p>\n It might have been a bit different if those girls asked a few questions, or if they went to a church. The gospel message is offensive to those who do not believe…we should be careful not to be needlessly offensive in seeking to share it (of course, the woman did not share Christ \u2026 she merely told them to read the Bible).<\/p>\n Homosexuals have problems too. When the consequences of those problems have them searching for answers, a ministry of compassion like biblical counseling, a heath clinic, or a food pantry\/clothing closet just might be the mechanism God uses to allow us to speak about the truth of Scripture and the need for Christ.<\/p>\nLesson #2: There is a place for confrontation and a place for gentle, compassionate ministry.<\/h2>\n
Lesson #3: Our entryway to a God-honoring conversation is often through a ministry of compassion.<\/h2>\n