Sunday, September 16, 2007
Making an Exception
Typically, I'm pretty laid back, but I can be pretty anal retentive when it comes to certain things. One of those things involves premarital counseling for weddings. I have a marriage policy with fairly high standards, and I don't normally make exceptions to it. But I had a couple approach me back in May, in desperate need of a pastor to officiate at their wedding. They had no church affiliation, but had been planning their wedding for the past 18 months with an ordained clergy person from another denomination. Everything was in place, and 3 weeks before the wedding, this pastor told them he had to go to a conference that weekend, but he would find someone else to do their wedding. Long story short, he left them in the lurch, and they came to me through a member of my church. Normally I wouldn't perform a wedding with only 3 weeks notice and little time to connect with the couple or do adequate premarital counseling. But after hearing their story and seeing the need they had as a result of this unreliable pastor, I agreed to do the wedding if they would come to church at least for the few weeks remaining before the wedding, and come for premarital counseling with me. They did so, and I married them. Fast forward to September. This couple, AND the bride's parents, are now taking the membership class, getting involved actively in ministry, and are joining the church. On top of that, the groom got saved during this time period, as a result of seeing how God opened all of the doors necessary to help them get married in their time of need. I don't make exceptions often, and I'm not recommending that we as pastors relax our standards regarding premarital counseling, baptisms, weddings, etc. But in certain cases, there are some real opportunities to reach people and help them in a time of need, and I rejoice when things work out. Too many times, I feel people 'use' the church to get what they want, and then we never hear from them or see them again. Until the next time (baptism, funeral, etc. - you all know the drill!). This was one occasion, however, when the church met a need, and the people responded by being drawn to God. Praise God for this!
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6 comments:
Excellent story. This is EXACTLY why I have loosened my strict policy on weddings and I now see it as a ministry opportunity. We are not here for the saved, but the lost. And this is just evidence of how He will use us if we'll remember that fact. Awesome!!!
Jeff,
Great story...Thanks for reminding me about the "why" of ministry.
Couldn't have said it better myself. Got burned a few times with that policy, but more times that not, God works wonders.
Good job, Jeffrey. I love it when God takes those exceptional situations and uses them to bring more folks into the flock. Keep up the faithful work!
Thanks for your faithfulness. You nailed it. We shouldn't relax our standards, but we SHOULD see each situation as unique and be willing to adapt.
Why are we so willing to let the sacred become secular? Many of us approach weddings as more of an incovenience than a ministry opportunity. If they are unchurched and unsaved, all the better. Talking about a committment to Jesus in the context of the marriage committment seems almost natural.
I applaud your efforts and celebrate God's grace.
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