| Checklist Compassion |
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| Written by Coach Culbertson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monday, 26 November 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A couple of weeks ago, I was late to church because I was stuck in a meeting with a friend. She had an appointment with one of the church’s compassion ministries; she is struggling and they advertise help for people in her situation. After almost two hours of talking and waiting, we were told that she did not meet their criteria because she was not spiritually acceptable, an official member of the church, or volunteering in their ministries. Though no help could be given her, we were both admonished to “have hope” and “stay centered on God” and assured that “things would fall into place.” James taught that we should not tell a beggar to “Go and be warm,” but should give them a coat. But this ministry essentially told my friend, “You don’t deserve this coat, but I’m sure somehow God will help you warm up.” The true irony is that as she was being dismissed as a candidate for aid, we were missing a ten minute video playing on the screens announcing that this church was about to “unleash unprecedented amounts of compassion” on the surrounding area, and that they needed our help to do so. They left out the spiritual merit badge requirements. I wish I could say I was amazed, but the truth is, I knew going in that the meeting might go that way. I feel similar trepidation when I pick up a Christian book. I have hope that it will reveal a powerful Christ in intense interaction with reality, but what I get instead is full of censored situations and a checklist driven CEO-Jesus with a knack for forgiveness. Luckily, Relief is looking for good writers to break this trend. Submissions are open.
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