My buddy Mike Yaconelli was the Guru of American Youth Ministry. He ran workshops and conferences for youth ministers. Thousands of church youth workers from all over America would show up at these events. Mike almost always gave one of the keynote sermons. He was a powerful speaker. I attended several of these gatherings. One year he really got after us. Many of us were whining about the low pay and the long hours and how hard it is to work for demanding senior ministers and…and well, you get the point. He got up and practically yelled at the 3,000 youth ministers, “GO HOME AND GET FIRED FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!”
That got our attention. He calmed down and in a quieter voice said that we were good at writing memos and looking busy and majoring in the minors. He proclaimed, “Your job is to teach and preach Jesus and welcome all in his name. And if you are afraid of that come with me to a cross and explain your fear to your Lord.”
Mike is in the resurrection now and I miss him. Mike loved the church. He pastored a wonderful congregation in Yreka, California. It was filled with special needs kids and drug addicts and alcoholics and ex-cons and business leaders and loggers and truck drivers and liberal tree huggers and gun toting NRA members. It was a wild and crazy collection of folks.
Mike preached the grace of God for all. When he got tired of that message he preached it again! The people in his pews knew two things: They needed God’s grace and they needed the gracious presence of each other.
The single most powerful aspect of the Christian faith is seen in the combination of the love and grace of God which is given to all. We can easily get confused and caught up in all sorts of minor issues but in the long run, the church, at its best, is a place where all, no matter how messy their lives may be, are welcomed and loved.
Grace and Peace to you,
