No Hateful People Allowed

A few years ago, a pastor named John Burke wrote a book entitled "No Perfect People Allowed." Burke pastors Gateway Church in Austin, TX which has done an excellent job of building a culture that accepts people just as they are and then allows Christ to transform them. It is a great book about a great church. Well, this past week I thought of a similar title of a book which could examine a different aspect of healthy church culture..."No Hateful People Allowed." Let me explain.

Without naming names and being hateful myself, here is something I learned this week...Christ followers have no excuse for ever being hateful to each other. There literally should be a sign in churches that says "No hateful people allowed." The sad thing is that in some churches that would cause half the people to stay home. I reflected on this idea for a while this week and I have a theory as to why there are hateful people in churches. Ready? Here it is: No one ever told them to stop being hateful.

Recently I heard a talk by Bill Hybels which I think applies to the idea of telling hateful people to "STOP IT!" Hybels said, "It is a leader's job to call fouls." In other words, a leader cannot sit idly when someone is being hateful, disrespectful, or un-Christ like to another person, especially in a public gathering where their behavior is a model for lots of other people. So, I have decided that even before we launch Northwest Community Church that we are not going to allow people in the church to be hateful to each other. Also, I am asking every member of the launch team to help eradicate hateful people as well. If you see a hateful person, just explain to them that this is not how we act, give them a do-over, and let them try again. I know this sounds like a joke, but I am dead serious. I will put a whistle around my neck if I have to and call fouls.

By the way, this is not directed at anyone on our launch team...you guys are the least hateful people I know. I am just preparing for the fact that in an environment of imperfect people (which I am certainly one of) people are bound to be hateful from time to time. But, that doesn't mean we just let it slide. Christ did not die for his Church so we would act like a bunch of hateful people.