Suspended for Jesus
Right after college I had the opportunity to serve in a great church downtown in Houston. Like most young youth pastors I was fired up. One of the first request I received was from a parent who asked if I would mentor their son. He had gotten into some trouble early in high school, had been sent off to military school, and then landed back in Houston for his senior year. He told me that while he was at military school he gave his life to Christ. I was thrilled to be a part of this guys life and to disciple him, he too was fired up.
One morning I rolled into work around 10AM, that’s the official start time for most youth pastors. I walked into my office and was surprised to find my “disciple” sitting on the couch. I asked him, “why aren’t you in school?” He looked me right in the eyes, with no shame, and said, “I got suspended.” Now I am thinking, “great i have already failed, my first disciple is suspended.” He explained what happened, “Man, I was walking down the hall of my school today and this guy took the Lord’s name in vain… so I punched him in the face.”
Wow! Talk about not getting it, right? Well actually, I have thought about that story a hundred times and after giving it some thought I think he may be closer to to who we should be than I am most days. I am not suggesting we start throwing punches but I am wondering if we should at least throw over some tables. Let’s face it the church surrenders more of it’s culture shaping influence every day. If we are going to change the system it’s going to take leaders who are willing to stand up for Jesus.