Pastor Carl Lentz of Hillsong New York has been known to be one of the most outrageously nontraditional pastors today. This week, he took it up a notch by declaring Hillsong NYC as a "gay-welcoming church."
The young pastor said, "Our beliefs on biblical marriage and sexual morality have never changed at Hillsong church. Yet we stay open and desperate in our pursuit of the whosoevers."
While the pastor's decision has both supporters and naysayers, one thing we can all draw from this decision is the realization that the church is not for good people. If it was, then church pews, church membership cards and church as a whole would be a wasted.
Mark 2:17 says, "And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.'" Jesus has always had a special place in His heart for the lost and broken. That's why we enjoy the love and grace that we do today.
Here are a few points that we must remember when being a church that welcomes the lost.
Welcoming sinners doesn't mean approving of sin
2 Corinthians 6:14 commands us, "Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?" While this scripture does not exactly stop us from talking and mingling with unbelievers, it warns us to steer clear of the snare of sin as we reach out to the lost.
If you believe you are called to minister in bars and clubs, go where God has called you. Just make sure that you don't come out being ruled by the world instead of ruling the world for Jesus.
The one mandate given to us is to love the lost
Jesus likens the struggle with lost people to a shepherd who leaves 99 of his valuable sheep for one sheep that is just as valuable. Another example he gives is the parable of a woman who searches for one small coin when she already has others.
So your churches are packed and your attendance is hitting the 1000 mark. Churches must stop thinking they're big enough, at least until every soul in their city has been found by Jesus Christ.
God celebrates at the thought of people turning to Him
Luke 15:7 says, "Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." God and the whole of heaven throw one massive party every time a lost person returns to Christ.
God is all for church community and fellowship, but unless we are on a mission to win the lost back to Christ, we have barely scratched the surface of ministry.
