The Hazard of Hand Off - Galatians 6:1-16

7/8/2007

It does make me pause and think every time someone shares with me the pain that they carry from an experience at church. They were shunned or embarrassed because of a personal failure. I always wonder how the other side of the story might sound, but none the less, the pain is present. It is hard for me to generally criticize “The Church” for the public scandals of some or the less public missteps churches occasionally have with attendees. The reason is that the most precious people I have ever known are people who were actively involved in local churches. However, we do need to be reminded of our responsibility to love and care for those in our midst while maintaining our Kingdom values. Henri Nouwen has said, “If while trying to destroy the beast, we become the beast, the beast has won.” The idea is not to amputate members of the body of Christ, but to re-attach or re-locate them within the body knowing that pain will be a part of the process. Join me this week as we explore the attitude of Kingdom life.

Barry

The Hazard of Hand off

Scripture: Galatians 6:1-16