Controversial Jesus

When you read the Gospels and follow Jesus' life you realize how controversial He really was. He turned the "religious establishment" upside-down. In spite of all of His great works, the miracles He performed, the healings, and the love He poured out, there were those who hated Him.
The most interesting thing to me is that the ones who hated Him were the "religious" ones. The Pharisees saw Jesus as a threat. They were blind to the great works He was doing and who He was, so they lashed out.
On the other hand the ones who loved Him most were those who were the furthest from God, the down and out of society. The ones who gravitated to Jesus were the prostitutes, the thieves, the hurting, the hopeless, the lost. In Him they found freedom and life.
If you are a leader in a church that is truly reaching out to lost and hurting people, please understand---you WILL be misunderstood. There will be those who will hate you as well (even though they don't know you!) Most likely the ones who will slander you, and lash out will be the modern day Pharisees. Don't be discouraged, you're in good company!
We made a decision when we started Foothills, that we would be a church were hurting, lost, lonely, messed-up people could find healing, hope and salvation. And we would do WHATEVER IT TOOK to reach people for Christ. Are we misunderstood sometimes? Sure. But I am willing to take that risk to help people find Christ.
Rick Warren author of the "Purpose Driven Life', and Pastor of Saddleback Church once said, "When your church is small they ignore you. When your church is growing they will criticize you, and when your church is large, they will resent you."
I am so excited about our future. I believe that we will see thousands more who will come to know Jesus Christ in the days ahead. We are committed to that cause!!