Sterling Griggs

“ All the tax collectors and sinners were approaching to listen to Jesus. And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them !’” (Luke 15:1-2) In those two brief verses, the entire ministry of Jesus can be summed up as well as the legacy of the church that has been tasked to follow after Him. While He was on earth, Jesus loved those who were far from God while the religious leaders of His day hated Him for it. Unfortunately, that pattern still holds true today. Years ago, someone coined the phrase “What Would Jesus Do?” (WWJD) and from that spawned countless bracelets, t-shirts, and Wednesday messages from youth pastors. The idea was that if it was good enough for Jesus, then it should be good enough for us, too. And what exactly was good enough for Jesus? Luke 15:1 gives us the answer – He loved those who were far from God. Today’s Christians – myself included – have too often chosen to take this idea of loving those who are far from ...

Beaver Bottom Church had a problem. Actually, they had lots of problems but this one stood out more than any of the others. It seems that the new pastor, Rev. Donald Doorite, was wanting to nix the canine evangelism program that had been run out of their fellowship hall for the past 17 years. The distinguished Mr. Harold Winston Higgenbotham, lifelong member and self-proclaimed top tither at Beaver Bottom Church, started and initially funded the canine evangelism program after his daughter came home from a Disney movie convinced that dogs could - and should - go to heaven. Because Mr. Higgenbotham was such a faithful giver and dominant voice in the church, no one really opposed the idea. Besides, maybe dogs do go to heaven, they reasoned. Now almost two decades later, Mr. Higgenbotham and his immediate family was long gone, having left Beaver Bottom Church in a huff after a disagreement over the color of the new carpet in the sanctuary. Yet the canine evangelism program was still ...

Once upon a time there was a teacher who didn't want to go to school to teach that day. It wasn't a Monday and she wasn't coming off of a nice vacation. She didn't want to go because she truly believed that the students she was there to teach didn't care.  Day after day she prepared lesson plans and poured her heart and soul into making literature come alive. Yet time and again her students came to class unprepared and she was convinced that almost none actually read the books she assigned - they opted for the Cliffs Notes instead. Yes, there were those bright students who engaged her now and again, but those seemed few and far between.  She didn't want to go to school today because she truly didn't know if she was making a difference. Once upon a time there was a volunteer at an after school program that bused in students after school. This volunteer had been serving at this post for several months now, yet all he could show for it was a pack of rowdy kids ...