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Lasting Impressions
By Min. Raymond Williams
There was a time that I could
remember that if you were Christian or if you were a member of the clergy (priest,
preacher minister, etc.), you were respected and sort of admired for your
strength of character and high moral standards. Today Christians are treated
with scorn, disrespect and we are suspected of being even more immoral than
even our accusers.
I recently took a passenger to the airport by Towncar. This passenger was a young business woman probably in her mid thirties. As we were engaged in general conversation she mentioned at that time, the recent Bush victory and how she had wished that Senator Kerry had won. I remember remarking that 'maybe he (Bush) will be good for the country,' something in that order. To which she retorted indignantly; "Don't tell me that you voted for him?" Before I could even answer she cried; "Why?" I said; "I didn't like either candidate, but Bush supported the Christian moral agenda." Lord why did I say that, because as soon as I did, this nice lady lost her entire mind in the back seat of my car. She was now screaming at me at the top of her voice crying; "It is because of you people (Christians) that I can't get married. It is because of you people that I'm afraid to go out at night. It is because of you people that I'm afraid for my life and the life of my daughter. It is because of you people that I have to hide being a homosexual." Wowwww! I couldn't believe what just happened. She's homosexual. Anyone that knows me knows that I can talk. I normally don't even let the radio have that last word, but now I was stuck. I was really at a lost for words. I decided to let the Holy Spirit do His work.
Can you imagine the abuse this woman has had to endure at the hands of probably, well-meaning Christians? They most likely didn't mean to hurt her, but they did. Regardless of her sin, no one has the right to berate or abuse anyone because they don't accept your theology. I am always reminded of Barnabas and Paul at Antioch and how well they worked together, their love and respect for each other was so contagious, so admirable, that they were called by a new name, so that whenever you saw anyone acting like them you knew who they were because of this kind of behavior. They were called Christians.
Christians today don't seem to have that same type of love for one another anymore. You go to church and you are greeted with a scowl, skepticism or maybe you are not greeted at all. Church meetings sometimes may appear to be the beginnings of a fistfight. Where has the love gone in our churches? We must realize that what we do as Christians have lasting impressions on the world and each other.
Today, I was listening to: Focus on the Family; with Dr. James Dobson, and he was saying that the Reverend So & So and his followers were picketing the Focus on the Family Headquarters, because they believed that 'Homosexuals' should have the right to marry. At the same time another group of Christians were also picketing his headquarters because they believed that women should have the right to choose (abortion). Have we all gone crazy?The world is laughing at us because we're not sure that we believe, what it is, we're supposed to believe in. We're so busy trying to get our point across that there appears to be very little difference between us and the secular world.
Anyway, this woman is still screaming at me in the back seat, she says; "You people are hateful and bigoted and you won't leave us alone. It is not my fault that God made me like this. I've known from a very early age that I was different. Why can't you just accept us?" At last, she gave me something to build on. She said, 'God.' This young woman and I had a very long conversation and eventually I was able to present the Gospel to her, after first apologizing for every Christian that ever hurt her, telling her that there are Christians who genuinely love her regardless of what she has done in life. She didn't accept the Gospel to my knowledge, but she did get a different impression of Christians. Brothers and Sisters, please be careful, the closest anyone might ever get to the Lord Jesus, might be the Jesus that they find in you, and you do want them to get the right impression. †
I recently took a passenger to the airport by Towncar. This passenger was a young business woman probably in her mid thirties. As we were engaged in general conversation she mentioned at that time, the recent Bush victory and how she had wished that Senator Kerry had won. I remember remarking that 'maybe he (Bush) will be good for the country,' something in that order. To which she retorted indignantly; "Don't tell me that you voted for him?" Before I could even answer she cried; "Why?" I said; "I didn't like either candidate, but Bush supported the Christian moral agenda." Lord why did I say that, because as soon as I did, this nice lady lost her entire mind in the back seat of my car. She was now screaming at me at the top of her voice crying; "It is because of you people (Christians) that I can't get married. It is because of you people that I'm afraid to go out at night. It is because of you people that I'm afraid for my life and the life of my daughter. It is because of you people that I have to hide being a homosexual." Wowwww! I couldn't believe what just happened. She's homosexual. Anyone that knows me knows that I can talk. I normally don't even let the radio have that last word, but now I was stuck. I was really at a lost for words. I decided to let the Holy Spirit do His work.
Can you imagine the abuse this woman has had to endure at the hands of probably, well-meaning Christians? They most likely didn't mean to hurt her, but they did. Regardless of her sin, no one has the right to berate or abuse anyone because they don't accept your theology. I am always reminded of Barnabas and Paul at Antioch and how well they worked together, their love and respect for each other was so contagious, so admirable, that they were called by a new name, so that whenever you saw anyone acting like them you knew who they were because of this kind of behavior. They were called Christians.
Christians today don't seem to have that same type of love for one another anymore. You go to church and you are greeted with a scowl, skepticism or maybe you are not greeted at all. Church meetings sometimes may appear to be the beginnings of a fistfight. Where has the love gone in our churches? We must realize that what we do as Christians have lasting impressions on the world and each other.
Today, I was listening to: Focus on the Family; with Dr. James Dobson, and he was saying that the Reverend So & So and his followers were picketing the Focus on the Family Headquarters, because they believed that 'Homosexuals' should have the right to marry. At the same time another group of Christians were also picketing his headquarters because they believed that women should have the right to choose (abortion). Have we all gone crazy?The world is laughing at us because we're not sure that we believe, what it is, we're supposed to believe in. We're so busy trying to get our point across that there appears to be very little difference between us and the secular world.
Anyway, this woman is still screaming at me in the back seat, she says; "You people are hateful and bigoted and you won't leave us alone. It is not my fault that God made me like this. I've known from a very early age that I was different. Why can't you just accept us?" At last, she gave me something to build on. She said, 'God.' This young woman and I had a very long conversation and eventually I was able to present the Gospel to her, after first apologizing for every Christian that ever hurt her, telling her that there are Christians who genuinely love her regardless of what she has done in life. She didn't accept the Gospel to my knowledge, but she did get a different impression of Christians. Brothers and Sisters, please be careful, the closest anyone might ever get to the Lord Jesus, might be the Jesus that they find in you, and you do want them to get the right impression. †
Minister Raymond E. Williams Jr., is an Associate Minister at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church, in St. Albans, New York. His area of expertise is outreach. He heads the Prison Ministry Teams at Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church. Minister Williams is the founder of Brother Raymond and Friends (Homeless outreach ministry). He is also the former Editor of The Herald and The Minister's Speak newsletters (church publication). Minister Williams is also a good friend of Ronald Wiggins.
Find out more about his ministry by visiting http://www.brotherraymondandfriends.com
Find out more about his ministry by visiting http://www.brotherraymondandfriends.com
