Friday, August 14, 2009

Not in my backyard (church)!

It was announced last night that Michael Vick has signed a contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. For those of you who don't follow sports, Michael Vick is a Pro Bowl caliber quarterback who was convicted and jailed on Dog fighting charges. He has since been released from jail and been working on a comeback to the NFL.

A lot of theological language has been used to describe how people should view the situation. And yet, in the midst of the story is much controversy. Should a person who has been convicted of such a heinous crime be given a second chance?

I found myself asking such questions and even going as far as saying that he should be offered another chance, "but not on my team." I have a lot of sports reasons for that, but I wonder if they are founded in sports or some other deep seeded thoughts.

Do we do that in the church? Do we think that people should be offered bread, but not in my backyard? Do we believe in justice, but just not here? Do we believe in redemption, salvation, reconciliation, and even grace - but just on our terms?

I see a lot of churches (and pastors) claim that they believe a lot of things, but they don't always play out that way. I believe in the "forgiveness of sins," so will I practice it on my field of play?

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good post! My questions are "When did the NFL become the standard for giving out second chances?" and "Why does Vick's 2nd chance have to be in football?" My prayer is that God will use Vick's 2nd chance in football to bring many, many others to the reality that is God's grace and forgiveness.

As for the church giving out 2nd chances - there is a fine balance between accountability, cheap grace, and being faithful to God's way that the church can't seem to grasp hold of.

Elephant shoes! Tracy

Greg Cox said...

Wow, anonymous - you should blog!

Andy said...

thanks for making this connection, Greg. i have a guest preaching gig this sunday, and i'm using the text from acts 10 (Cornelius and Peter). with your permission, i may very well reference this post.

Theresa said...

Aaaahhhh.... very very good.

@_purpleducks on Twitter said...

Greg,

NIMBY is used by churches so often. I've written about the idea that churches often times neglect what might be labeled as the undesirables. They say it's good that people reach out to "them" or help "them" with "their" problems, but as for their own congregation, they just keep up their ministering through maintenance and make no difference in the world.

Thanks for the good post.

Brett Probert said...

Hey Greg Cox...maybe YOU should blog!