human scandal

i love to tell the story of how God has changed my life, but for years i avoided anything involved in "churches" because of stories like this. for me i never had the privilege of being a part of a community where what people said matched up with how they lived. i'm glad to be a part of that here at the crossing, and i'm bummed for folks who haven't connected with a truly authentic community. at the same time, i realize it is often stories like these that keep people away from God. it took me a long time to understand that God is not like people. a friend of mine once told me "monty, never let people ruin God for you." whenever i read stories like these i keep that in mind, because it would be easy for me to write off all churches and say they're corrupt. but if i step back from things long enough i see that all people mess up, church people and non-church people alike. we are all hypocrites, and pursuing God is simply a way of saying "God, i want to change that about me." erwin mcmanus once said that those who pursue God are "hypocrites in transition." i hope for this guy's sake, he will transition.