Here we go, a great adventure into learning what it really means to be sold out and surrendered to Jesus. It has been quite a long time since I cracked open the cover of my copy of In His Steps. This morning I read the first chapter and was blown away but a book that is so old and yet so up to date. This book was first printed in 1897. Considering the fact that it was written by a pastor (Charles Sheldon) I can fully understand the insights he has into church life, especially the things he shares in this first chapter about preparing sermons and worries over what the Sunday attendance will be like. I can completely relate to something he said on pg 7 (of my book anyway). His wife had asked about the sermon he had prepared then she commented, "I hope it won't rain Sunday. We have had so many stormy Sunday lately." Then he responded, "Yes, the audiences have been quite small for some time. People will not come out to church in a storm." As a pastor I find that I worry when the weather is bad because people might not come to church in the rain and then I worry if it is sunny thinking they will prefer to go to the park or beach instead of church.
I wonder, what would we do? What would our response be if a person like the man described in this book entered our church (or your church if you do not attend Cornerstone)? Would we steer clear of him, not wanting to smell his odor or be afraid of catching some disease or something by allowing him to get to close? Would my ushers usher him out or watch over him to make sure he didn't get up in the service like this guy did?
Oh I know what the correct answer but what is the real answer? I would love to hear your thought!
Enjoy the next chapter!
Pastor Sheldon
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2 comments:
Hi Pastor Sheldon! My 1st blog!! I didn't care much for Rev. Maxwell at the beginning when he didn't ever offer the stranger something to eat or even let him clean out the stalls for a little money. He appeared to be more worried about getting the sermon written.
I don't believe your ushers would show the man out. I bet they would take him to the kitchen for something to eat. I believe I would be shocked, then embarrassed, then after hearing what he had to say, I would think he had a good point.
I wonder what the stranger meant about 'this sort of crowd'. Do you think Jesus sent that man to that church to give them a wake up call?
Well since the book is fiction (though it seems more real than I care to admit) I am sure Charles Sheldon meant the man to be God's messenger. I think the comment about this sort of crowd was aimed at the fact they seemed "respectable" so he anticipated things from them he not expect else where. Of course this might indicate some bias on this mans part don't you think?
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