Ministers Blogs
“Bring Them Near, Not Far”
(The following article is written by Doug Wells, who has recently been hired to work with the congregation here. To help get to know him a little better his articles will be featured in the bulletin. Please keep Doug and his family in your prayers as they make this transition.)
As a Christian person I don’t fear many things. The One who is in me is greater than the one in the world. However, being a preacher of the Word is a responsibility I try to approach with a healthy level of respect. I fear saying something that isn’t biblically true because I didn’t study enough. I also fear saying something that turns someone away from the faith. Perhaps this is something that is true but is said in an unloving way, convincing some seeker of truth this isn’t the place to be. What a terrible thought! My Lord has made it abundantly clear to me that being the cause of someone turning away from the faith is a bad thing. "Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!" (Matthew 18:7).
It is not lost on me that the people Jesus had the strongest words for were religious leaders. God has never been fond of shepherds who drive the sheep away instead of bringing them near. "Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the Lord (Jeremiah 23:1). Instead, a shepherd is called to show the flock good pasture and to bring lost sheep back into the fold. The shepherds of Jeremiah’s day were doing the opposite of that. I don’t want to join them. I don’t want my actions or my words to drive anyone away. I do believe than an unloving conversation with someone can be one "of the things that cause people to sin." If someone is driven from the Lord sin is what fills the vacuum.
Let this be my prayer: "O Lord, help me be someone who brings people near you, not someone who drives them away." Will you join me in this goal? We are all leaders (or will be leaders) to somebody. So I encourage you to "make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way" (Romans 14:13). God’s way is already narrow. What do you think happens when you put a block in the way? A hard way becomes harder. So let us put it into our hearts that every sheep is precious. And let us pray to God that all our words and actions reflect His love.
Written by Doug Wells
