God's Extravagent Welcome

I heard a similar version of this NPR story aired on the radio Friday morning:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9213698

As I listened I couldn't help myself from responding outloud in frustration to some of the comments being made about this. The fact that this church had to have a committee to decide what to do in this situation, whether or not to allow someone into their congregation, felt terribly wrong.

The general issue was "should a church welcome sex offenders?" My thoughts are, yeah, they probably should. However, whether people are willing and able to do that is not that easy. So many people have been been hurt by sex offenders and continually struggle with that pain. One of the women interviewed for the story did have a history of being sexually abused as a child, but based on her faith she felt she had to accept this man, who was a convicted sex offender, into the church community. Others, especially parents, were (to put it lamely) not so thrilled about the idea. One of the parents who spoke claimed to believe in "radical inclusion," but... and then gave her excuse; perhaps a legimate excuse out of concern for protecting her children, but an excuse nonetheless. Perhaps this seems insensitive and perhaps I would feel differently if I was a member of this church with children of my own... but still...

As hard as it may be to accept, I do believe God asks us to welcome all people into his family no matter what their past grievances and no matter how uncomfortable that is for us. Yes, certainly easier said than done, especially for people with certain connections to the issue. But the willingness of people of God to offer grace and forgiveness is what aught to set us apart as His people. Ultimately, God will not turn people away from heaven who honestly seek salvation no matter what they have done; sex offenders, murderers, liars are all welcome. What right does the church have to turn someone away who is seeking to be a part of the family of God? The women in the story (who was sexually abused) describes that allowing this man, who is a convicted sex offender, into the church as an opportunity to live out her faith. I love how she describes what she believes in as "God's Extravagent Welcome."