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heartaches, headaches, venting...

So something made me very angry today.. very very angry. In a way I have not been for a while. One of the residents here, lets call her Mary, was condemned at a local church she has been a member of for a few months. Mary was told apparently by the leadership of this church that she is in unforgivable sin because she and her husband are divorced, and her teenage daughter, who Jessica disciples one on one weekly, is a child that does not want to know God at all. In fact, Mary was given counsel to kick her own daughter out of the home after she turns 18. Whats worse, this was said in front of her daughter who cried and cried that evening, telling God what her teacher said is not true. False teaching and hypocricy at its worst...

My wife and I have known Mary and her family for a couple years now and have come to love them dearly. Lord allowed us to be there during certain crisis in their lives, including major surgery, and now this. We see the children on a regular basis even outside of our weekly youth nite and kids club programs. Lord has really grown our hearts close together and they have been a mutual blessings in our lives on as well. 

 Scripture says "be angry and sin not, for the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God.." but when I first heard of this incident today, it was very hard to keep from marching right down to the doorsteps of that modern day religious establishment, teaching its bad thology, and give its leadership and the wayward teachers a piece of my small and not so humble opinion of them. This one church in question, so seemingly believes it has the right to criticize and condemn yet does not hold any personal relationship with this special family outside of the few hours, one or two days a week, that they attend as transportation allows. How can a church do that?

When Mary spoke with my wife during a ladies bible study tonight in our home, she asked us for guidance afterwards. Her question was, "Where should I go to worship now?" She felt rejected by that local church there after that event, but also didnt know where else there was a church that she should attend. The question was brought up afterwards, should she attend a local church much farther away then she can afford the time and travel? That would be ok I guess, but is that the only solution? Is there a better answer? If we are the church, another way to see it is how can we bring the church to Mary? 

 Jesus said in John 4, those who worship Him must do so in "spirit and in truth." It does say those who worship him must only do so in a building with a pulpit, for those who live in the USA?  If as Jesus says, worship is spiritual, then it is not limited but includes anywhere and everywhere, even in an apartment complex if need be. Therein lies a nugget of truth from Jesus. Are we leading others to worship where they are and wherever they are? Or do people have to go to a buiilding only on Sunday and Wednesday to be ministered to? Are we leading others to worship Him in spirit and in truth for that matter, nevermind location? Another good way to put it, is the church mobile? Do we bring Jesus and his body to the people around us where we live, or do the lost have to find their way into a local church building to ever hear the gospel?

 I am really praying how Jess and I can continue to minister to Mary and her family.