Comments on Trey Morgan.net: CHURCH IS FOR WEIRDOS TOO

Trey, That sounds like a Patrick Mead quote. Were...

2010-01-26T09:23:22.023-06:00

Trey,

That sounds like a Patrick Mead quote. Were you journaling at Tulsa?

I LOVE that last quote: "And understand, our job is not to try and make people look like us. Our job is to share the Good News with them and let Jesus fix them on the inside." Let Him make them (and US) look more like Him? I like it! but it hurts sometimes.

Glenn - not cynical, but thought provoking ... tha...

2010-01-26T05:14:03.260-06:00

Glenn - not cynical, but thought provoking ... thanks. :)

You're welcome ;) I just re-read my post and real...

2010-01-25T22:24:35.127-06:00

You're welcome ;) I just re-read my post and realized it was more cynical than I intended when I first wrote it.

I really do appreciate your posts.

coffeedrinkingpreacher ... although I'm not bother...

2010-01-25T22:06:35.158-06:00

coffeedrinkingpreacher ... although I'm not bothered by them, a small rural church may still have issues with tattoos. I think I'd simply do some checking and asking. :)

Glenn ... thanks for sharing your thoughts.

You seem to imply that weird appearance conveys ot...

2010-01-25T21:56:33.066-06:00

You seem to imply that weird appearance conveys other problems by transitioning straight from the paragraph about "He loves the pierced, tattooed, the black, the white and the foreign." -- to problems not related at all to appearance -- "the man in prison, homeless, unemployed, and divorcee". That bothers me.

There are plenty of 'white middle class folk' that far worse problems than those that are uninhibited in the way they choose to appear externally. On the other hand, I'm _deeply_ saddened if people in this day and age who still have hang ups about green hair, tattoos, and piercings. 30 years ago, I could understand, but seriously, maybe we need to get out once in a while.

Another thing that bugs me is constantly referring to how 'the church' accepts these 'weirdos'. Isn't it about how _I_ love or choose not to love people? Sure, I represent the church. I do, but I'd really just rather think about it in terms of how I represent Jesus. And, you know what, there's a lot of people out there that show the love of Jesus that never associate themselves with a church, many times much better than those that are part of the church.

Maybe this bugs me because I've been apart of a group of believers in the past, who like myself, were primarily upper, middle-class suburbanites, who looked a lot alike. But, they supported and sponsored a Celebrate Recovery group. The people that came to the CR gatherings didn't look too much like us. And, we really didn't mix all that well with them, except for some light conversation before and after worship. We generally didn't do much with them outside of those official church gatherings. I kinda got the feeling we didn't want to deal with the baggage many of them brought with them. It seemed to give everyone a sense of pride though to know that we were reaching these people that didn't look like us. And, this apparent pride and yet, lack of regular engagement bothered me.

This post bugs me because it reeks of a viewing people as projects.

How about we learn to overlook outward appearances in everyone we encounter? ...simply because we love them the same way that my Savior loves us? ...no strings attached. How about we love them and witness to them whether or not they ever step in a building where a church meets? ...just for the sake of loving them like Jesus loved us?

Hey Trey, So having tattoos makes me a weirdo??? ...

2010-01-25T16:59:42.167-06:00

Hey Trey,
So having tattoos makes me a weirdo???

Great post.

On Sundays, I have taken measures to make sure my tattoos do not show through my dress shirts by making sure my undershirt sleeves are long enough.
I do not like doing it, but I figure I am not being considerate of others' sensititvities by having them covered.

Now that it is 2010, is it wise to go out of my way to make sure they are not seen through the sleeves of my dress shirts? Would it be better for people to get accustomed to them so newcomers may not be as shocking if they attend?

Our sermon yesterday gave the thought that if we r...

2010-01-25T14:03:05.972-06:00

Our sermon yesterday gave the thought that if we really wanted to be following Jesus we would be around a lot of "weirdos" as that is the type of people attracted to Jesus. If we don't have them around I wonder what is says about us?

i got a bit inspired by your thoughts coupled with...

2010-01-25T12:30:01.850-06:00

i got a bit inspired by your thoughts coupled with an experience of my own recently.

here's the link if you want to look.

http://shallowfrozenwater.blogspot.com/2010/01/year-of-lords-favour.html

We went to see the movie "To Save a Life" this wee...

2010-01-25T12:02:31.526-06:00

We went to see the movie "To Save a Life" this weekend. Very, very good movie. This post ties in well with some of my thoughts after the movie.

Have you read the book "Eats with Sinners" by Arron Chambers. It came out last fall. I'm not very far into it, but like it so far.

Jayce ... I'm honored you stopped by my blog. Ple...

2009-09-03T16:29:44.880-06:00

Jayce ... I'm honored you stopped by my blog. Please come back again.

Blessings,

Trey

Fantastic post, Trey. This is very true. I'm actu...

2009-09-03T16:23:29.343-06:00

Fantastic post, Trey. This is very true.

I'm actually one of the 'weirdoes' you speak of, and contrary to what some may conclude by my immediate impression, God is the central focus of my life.
He's helped me through some terribly hard times and He's blessed me with many amazing things. I'm not the only 'weirdo' who is like this, either!

The time-tested wisdom that "appearances can be deceiving" is still sadly overlooked. I will admit that stereotypes often do have a solid basis for forming, but no one fits the bill to a T. We have no right to judge others based on looks alone.
(On that note-- Di, I like your idea!)

Not much else I can say without repeating myself or others, so I will simply thank you again for posting this.

-J

I like this one Trey. It both challenges me and e...

2007-04-28T10:06:30.300-06:00

I like this one Trey. It both challenges me and encourages me. As a teacher, I like the weird kids. One day Stephen ate and ant in class. Now Stephen is just plain weird and I love it. He so grossed out the girl next to him when he ate the ant that she had to leave the room. LOL

Now I teach science and not much grosses me out. Since the ant eating episode, and with Stephen really celebrating his "weirdness" I take opportunities whenever they arrive to exclaim, "I like weird!".

But then sometimes weird scares me too. I don't exactly run up to someone with green hair and introduce myself. I think next time I will ask them what it means. I wear my hair the easiest way and the cheapest way I can. That is who I am, practical. If someone takes the time to dye their hair green then what does it mean about them? It must mean something. I doubt they are so into nature that they hope to begin photosynthesis any time soon. So, now I am curious.

I'll let you know when I try this out.

Di

Loved the title! I thought it was going to be abo...

2007-03-01T17:28:25.671-06:00

Loved the title! I thought it was going to be about preachers though ;)

-Paula

Gallagher - You are right, sometimes we look not a...

2007-02-28T07:15:10.244-06:00

Gallagher - You are right, sometimes we look not at their appearance, but at their sin and see them as an outcast. Good thought.

Bob - I'm so glad you've kicked in your 2 cents worth. Great thoughts on the potluck, but especially on the preaching and teaching. I wish all churches would figure out was to look "open" to sinners. I've heard it said many times, once you leave the church ... it's so hard to come back."

John Dobbs - put that hammer down and rest for a little while. I know you've been doing a lot of that heavy labor lately ;)

AW - Glad you kicked in. You always challenge us with your thinking. I guess to some I consider weird ... they probably look at me and think I'm weird looking.

Just A General Comment-I'm really not trying to be...

2007-02-28T07:12:36.951-06:00

Just A General Comment-
I'm really not trying to be weird or not fit in, but maybe if we just reached out and didn't worry about what people looked like that might be what our "Commission" is?

White folks who go after people of 'color'. Old who purposely try to fit in with the young. Rich that slum for the sake of evangelism.

I think real weirdos just see sheep and don't TRY to be different just to be different.

AW

trey-Sometimes you can be 'older' with really shor...

2007-02-28T06:55:55.663-06:00

trey-
Sometimes you can be 'older' with really short hair and wear boots with your suit and not put a great deal of time in worrying about your "career" and wear a jeans when you teach Bible class-- that can make you weird in some circles too.

'Wierdo' is in the eye of the beholder. Let's face it Jesus was also weird because He looked like just another Jewish zealot to the Romans and like just another Pharisee to the woman taken in adultery & the woman at the well.

I guess what I'm saying is becoming all things to all people is being your self AND being like Jesus. That's what Jesus did. Jesus always looked like Jesus but He also always acted like God.

AW

Some people judge themselves as not fitting the id...

2007-02-27T22:13:49.694-06:00

Some people judge themselves as not fitting the ideal Christian mold. These people don't need to be judged or have their differences pointed out if they are courageous enough to take the chance to step inside the church building and believe they might have a place there. Embrace them always.

Good good good, Trey. We do not do a very good job...

2007-02-27T21:27:48.507-06:00

Good good good, Trey. We do not do a very good job of inviting people into our lives ... it's one thing to sit on the pew ... another thing to open up the heart. Until our churches open up their hearts, there will always be this great divide. I'm kind of tired...hope that makes sense.

Trey, I had some further thoughts. I used to encou...

2007-02-27T20:55:43.052-06:00

Trey, I had some further thoughts. I used to encourage activism in some of our members especially in regard to abortion. However, after my lesson last week I wonder if certain people in our society (those who have had abortions, those in favor of abortions, and homosexuals) think that we Christians don't want them in our churches because of efforts to stop their behavior and political gains. I'm not at all suggesting that the church accept the behavior of these two situations but perhaps the political activism of those who claim Jesus has built a wall that keeps certain sinners out of the church or at least makes them think they are not welcome in our churches.

This year our theme is "Keep Your Eye on Heaven fo...

2007-02-27T20:19:41.324-06:00

This year our theme is "Keep Your Eye on Heaven for 2007." During the first quarter I'm preaching about the one who possesses heaven. January was about the Father and February has been about The Son. Last Sunday my text was Matt.9:9-13 (Title - Heaven Mixing with Sinners). I did the usual in helping them to understand the text and the situation. My application was that Jesus was eating this meal not only with the sinners and tax collectors but his disciples as well. So I challenged the congregation to make sure that their evangelism was not with the comfortable but with those who make us uncomfortable. I also suggested that when we have our pot lucks our meals should reflect Jesus' meal. I suggested that we invite all those who come to our building to use our food pantry to our pot lucks. I also challenged them to sit with these folks and get to know them when they come. So far only one person has offered a useful suggestion in this regard. I hope our evangelism this year will reflect Jesus' vision of reaching out.

Trey,Excellent thoughts. When I contemplate your t...

2007-02-27T19:43:37.528-06:00

Trey,

Excellent thoughts. When I contemplate your thoughts, I believe you hit the nail on the head. Sometimes we look at people as if they have leprosy, spiritual leprosy to be exact.

If we remember the accounts of Jesus, he was the one approaching the lepers and healing their disease. When is the last time we (churches in general) reached out to heal those of spiritual leprosy. We need to contact the lepers not avoid them.

Great thoughts!

Trey, A wise man once told me, the only question o...

2007-02-27T14:44:52.435-06:00

Trey,
A wise man once told me, the only question or concern we, as "members" of the church should have when interacting with people whether it's on the street or someone has come into our assembly is "Lost" or "Saved" Anything else is none of our business. It's Shepherd business. Our job is to love them. The only time we stop doing that is if for some scriptural reason the Shepherds call us off. Until they do that, we better be loving them.

I enjoyed the opening quote. This is actually a se...

2007-02-27T13:32:04.464-06:00

I enjoyed the opening quote. This is actually a sensitive area to James because he has spent a lot of time trying to convince our churches that the ones we need to reach out to are not the pretty, middle class but the ones that they only want to deal with for minial labor. If you question whether you want to hug someone, then they are probably the least of these that God sent you.

Thank you for your kind comment on my Marriage on Mondays post. I must say my post today is not as gracious. As for ideas for your blog, I love reading yours because the way you present anything resembles you. I really like your family posts and your trivial questions.
Kathy

I think it is interesting that the majority are tr...

2007-02-27T13:12:27.258-06:00

I think it is interesting that the majority are trying to fit in and look "normal." Some Christians think they have the skinny on what normal is. But normal is really just a setting on a dryer.

I think today I'll be air fluff, maybe tomorrow, permanent press.

Thanks Monica ... you can say amen in Childress an...

2007-02-27T11:24:51.320-06:00

Thanks Monica ... you can say amen in Childress anytime you want.

James ... you are exactly right about how we dress and how we relate.

I would love to look out on a Sunday morning when I'm preaching and see blacks, whites, hispanics and the such.