God the Father, Mentor's Guide, MG06

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G O D T H E F A T H E R

that appear to some in the church to look more like license than freedom in Christ. They have begun to dress “worldly,” bring secular music into the fellowship hall, and want to throw “dances” at the church. Some think it is wonderful, while others blame the youth pastor for placing these worldly ideas about freedom into the minds of the kids. How do you so address this issue as to help the students understand what the freedom of Christ really means as a response to the goodness of God?

“Making People Afraid Just Doesn’t Work.”

An older parishioner who for years has been a part of the fellowship commented one day to the pastor, “I have now been listening to you for four years, and I do not think I have ever heard you teach on the wrath of God. I mean never–you’ve never taught it in a Bible study, a sermon, a workshop, seminar–nowhere. I know that there is probably a good reason for this, but why don’t you ever mention it? The Bible sure does!” The pastor nodded at the church member, and replied, “You’re right, I haven’t preached on this since I have been here. I just don’t believe that teaching the wrath of God helps people really understand what God’s intention is for today. Christ came to save, not to condemn, and people need to know that God cares for them, not be frightened into coming to Jesus out of dread and fear. Honestly, through my ministry over the years, if there is one thing I’ve learned is that making people afraid doesn’t work. People don’t need to be frightened into faith; rather, they need to be loved into it.” Do you agree with this pastor’s assessment of our task in communicating to people about God’s love and wrath? Where is he right and where is he wrong? In commenting on the reason why he just couldn’t become a Christian, a coworker says to you during lunch break, “I like Jesus and all the talk about love and everything, but the thing I notice is that most Christians are really nasty people. They oppose too many things, they hate all kinds of groups, and just seem to be disagreeable about a lot of stuff. And, seeing the way they treated some of those fallen televangelists, they shoot their wounded, too. For all the talk about God’s grace and goodness, they don’t seem to be gracious to anybody, and they don’t tend to find much good in anything. I just couldn’t become a Christian. They are just too mean!” How would you respond to a person who had this perception of the Christian experience of grace? “Just Too Mean.”

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