Icky poo
You've seen the pictures of the man in a flowing robe with long, immaculately-styled hair, with a megawatt smile, surrounding by children, holding a cute lamb.
In the "progressive" pictures, the man may be surrounded by children of a variety of colors.
Yet I have never seen a representation of this picture in which the people surrounding the very nice man have track marks, missing eyes, the DT's, or other things that might unsettle the viewer.
Yet there are churches that minister to icky people who are Not Like Us. The text below was distributed by one such church (based in Ohio, which accounts for the Buckeye and Wolverine references):
At Miami Valley Community Church we practice the inclusive Gospel of Jesus Christ.
This means you may be gathering today with tax-collectors, sinners, adulterers, hypocrites, Buckeye fans, Wolverine fans, Jews, women as well as men, the disabled, dying thieves, and other sinners; people from ethnic minorities, bigots, peoples of other faiths, strangers from other countries, heretics, etc., etc. -- and all are most welcome -- in fact, anyone like those who Jesus mixed with are welcome here. So beware, this is not a private club.
Welcome to all!
But the whole concept of a church full of sinners causes problems for some. University Christian Church addresses the issues as follows:
Aren't some of the world's biggest sinners in church?
A. Yes, often big sinners get some psychological support and justification to not change by attending and even being a leader in a church.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 8:19-23 and 3 John 9-11
If there are sinners in church why would I want to go to church where they are?
A. To encourage, teach, pray and be an example of real Christian discipleship.
SCRIPTURE: 1 Timothy 4:12
Do I have to be a Christian to go to Church?
A. No, many people attend church when they are searching for faith. Some just attend out of a need for fellowship.
B. I don't know of any church that limits attendance to Christians.
SCRIPTURE: 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 and Luke 18:10-14
What do I have to wear to go to Church?
A. Wear whatever you would wear to work or any other public place. There is no such thing as 'church clothes'
SCRIPTURE: James 2:1-4
Am I going to be laughed at or made fun of since I've never been?
A. No
SCRIPTURE: Romans 12:10
Comments
The drive to keep the church free of sinners is not an institutional one, it's a personal one. I will admit that I (regretably) would feel uncomfortable if ragged, smelly homeless people were sitting in the front pew of my church.