Are We Missing the Mark?

I'm not going to pretend like I know all the details regarding the story about the autistic boy who is now being told he can not come to mass. I won't assume that there wasn't already a lot of thought that went into the situation prior to the priest making a decision to file a restraining order from the local police department in order to secure the "safety" for the other congregation members. I also won't deny that this is a very tough situation that would be hard for anyone to handle.

But with that said, here is why I think this church and its priest are missing the mark.

Church is not a place we go to simply get our fill or "spiritual blessings" every week. Church is a way for us to express our love for God, fellow believers, and for the world.

Adam Race is a boy with autism. His family cares for him very much. He is 13 years old and is six feet tall and weighs more than 225 pounds. He has also had several outbursts in church that have been very disruptive and have put the safety of others at risk. But he is also a child of God.

What I see in today's church is that we are far too concerned with what we can get out of a Sunday service. We want good music, a short sermon that doesn't convict. We want fresh coffee with our donuts and we definitely don't want any dirty looks from anyone when we don't put our tithe in the offering plate. We want lots of programming and free child care so we don't have to worry about doing our job as parents and keeping our children in line.

My question is this. What ever happened to the idea that the Church was to be a blessing to others as Christ has been a blessing to us?

I understand that this young boy is probably a distraction, but are you honestly going to tell me that the only solution is to restrain him from coming to mass? You're kidding me right? Why can't a group of people from the congregation come along side the Ryan family and help them through this tough situation. Don't you think that would be more in line with how the Bible calls us to be? A blessing to one another. Taking care of those who are in need.

But now, instead, we we have a church that is giving the impression that not only are they a 'selective' group who probably don't want anything to do with the outside world, but they are also kicking people out from the inside who actually want to be there.

Why would anyone want anything to do with a Church like this?


What a shame. A perfect opportunity to show the world why the church is different, wasted!



Your thoughts?