Do not panic, this is not my quote. But please do continue to read.
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to help one of our sister churches Memorial United Methodist Church in Taunton Massachusetts, with their involvement with “church in the park”, the church in the parK is a multi-church gathering bringing resources and fellowship to the needy people of the community. Some 14 churches from the Taunton area and beyond gathered thousands of pounds of food, clothing, school supplies, and other items to be given away to whoever needed it. This was the fourth annual “church in the park” event. This was my second year helping out at this event.
This event reaches the marginal, the needy young and old and those that would normally not be welcomed in our churches. Or at least that is what they think. I arrived at the park about 7:30 in the morning with my son Matt to help move some tables, set up some tents and then we left and came back after lunch when the festivities begin. It was during this time that as I wandered around meeting new people and connecting with my brothers and sisters in Christ from the many other churches that were represented I ran into a young man.
I like to start by first describing this young man. He was in his mid-20s with a piercing over his left eye and large piercings in his ears,(which he called plugs) several tattoos on his arms and legs. He was wearing baggy loose fitting Black shorts and a black T-shirt. Our conversations started over how many people were in need and were able to get some of the things that they needed. I noticed he had a bag of clothes and bag of food I asked if this was enough for him, he replied I guess so.
And then the real conversation took place, he started to tell me that as young man he got in trouble with the law and did drugs and drank. He spent a short time in jail about 60 days he said and realized that his life had to change. So at about 22 he moved out of his parent’s home because his father drank heavily and he was trying to stay away from that lifestyle. So he moved out and moved in with a friend and started to look for work. This is where the conversation got very familiar to me because as a pastor I have heard this too many times. When he started looking for work and they found out he’d spent time in jail they wouldn’t call him back for interviews or offer him a job, it did not matter that he is has not drank or used drugs in over four years. It was at this point I made the statement that working with a local church might be a way for him to get over this hurdle. With a firm voice and almost a hint of anger his reply was and I quote “Jesus is just Bullshit”. Well to say that this surprised me, would be an understatement. But I needed to probe why he felt this way about Jesus. So I asked him why do you feel this way about Jesus. And he replied with an answer that as a pastor and a man that truly believes in Jesus did not want to hear, however it was the answer as a pastor and as someone that feels he is called to help churches reach out to the world in the name of Jesus I needed to hear.
My new friend openly and honestly shared with me how he had been invited into many churches but yet no one would speak to him when he walked in the door, one church that he went into one day to get out of the cold, told him there was no service at that time and he needed to leave the building. I thought I heard enough that how our churches the so-called houses of God could treat someone like this. But my new friend wasn’t finished, he told me of another church that he went to, the people were open to him when he first walked in, and he went back a second time. But this time was different, He said that a few of the men and a lady took him aside after church and suggested to him that if he was going to continue to be part of “their community” he would have to change how he dresses. They also noted that in the two Sundays he had worshiped with them in “their church” he did not put any money in the plate. And then he dropped the big bomb on me, he said David “that was the moment I realized “Jesus was Bullshit”, because the pastor told the story of the guy that got beaten up left for dead on the side of the road and some guy came by to help him and put him up in a hotel. Now if the Jesus that pastor was talking about did that good thing for the guy on the side of the road then why weren’t the people that believe in Jesus doing the same thing”. I had to stand in silence and shame because this young man from his perspective was right. So an hour long conversation began.
I started with an apology, not for Jesus but for His misguided followers, and then I shared with my new friend what Jesus followers are supposed to look like. I asked him to look over the park and to look at all of the different churches that are represented there and how they accepted him for who he was at that moment. And they did not ask for money in the collection plate nor did they ask him to change his clothes or to hide his piercings and tattoos. These churches and the followers of Jesus Christ opened up their hearts to him and that if he opened his heart to Jesus and forgave those misguided followers Jesus would show him that there are followers and doers of His word that are willing, ready and able to help change the world in Jesus’ name.
I asked my new friend if he would allow me to pray for him and for his hurt and for those misguided followers that had hurt him in his time of need. He asked me why I would take the time to pray with him and for him. I replied because that’s what Jesus would do. Before he would agree to allow me to pray with him, he asked me some very personal questions, like “do you really believe in this Jesus guy”,” how long have you believed in Jesus “and “how does Jesus work in your life”. I answered his questions in the best of my ability and without taking too much of his time, he hung on every word that I said and then I asked one more time if I could pray for him and with him. He replied with his head hung low yes, “but don’t you think it would be a good idea if we had a pastor here to pray with us.” I started to laugh and told him I was a pastor. He replied “NO SHIT”
We prayed and he cried and I cried and we prayed more and then I said Amen and open my eyes. He wasn’t standing in front of me, he was kneeling and crying. He looked up at me and said “I thought Jesus was bullshit, but today Jesus showed me I was wrong”
