Monday, June 30
Smelly People…
“In the Messiah, in Christ, God leads us from place to place in one perpetual victory parade. Through us, he brings knowledge of Christ. Everywhere we go, people breathe in the exquisite fragrance. Because of Christ, we give off a sweet scent rising to God, which is recognized by those on the way of salvation—an aroma redolent with life.” II Corinthians 14-16 (The Message)Based upon that passage, and our understanding of it, we have, at Crossings, put out plea for people to be looking for ‘smelly people’. People who give off that ‘aroma redolent with life.’
We want to tell the stories of people who are, in the midst of ordinary life, allowing Jesus to be seen and heard and smelled.
I think in some ways it’s hard for us to define and even harder to be aware of ‘smelly people’ around us. We notice it on Sunday morning, we notice it when some grandiose, awe-inspiring act, but what we’re looking for are people who are bringing the scent of Christ to a place where that aroma is not usually the dominant smell.
We want to hear those stories and more than that, we want to share them with the rest our community. So we are trying to start a video series (2-3 minute pieces that tell these stories; which we would play as a part of our worship gathering, maybe once a month or so...) titled "Smelly People".
Below is the video our people put together with our request…
Mark Nelson at 7:44 AM 1comments
1 Comments
-
at 2:18 PM
Rafael said... John Ketchen.
At least on a personal level, for me John certainly has a whiff of Christ about him. He was the first person I met at JBC, and he made my wife and I feel very comfortable in what had been up to that point a very uncomfortable environment for us. Now, my office has been next to John's for two years, and he and I have shared many thoughtful and personal conversations about his "Biggest Question" (and mine) — how do my religious and professional lives relate to each other, and how do each contribute the the whole person that I am? And among the many ways John has ministered to me, he encouraged and guided me as I dealt with a very difficult situation involving a former student.
Beyond affecting my own life and my family, both John and Marsha have demonstrated their commitment to Christ (over and above their commitment to Christianity) in many ways. When JBC was dealing with the aftermath of having one of its faculty members resign and "come out" (as it were), the Ketchens refused to stand staunchly on either side of the lines that were being drawn. Instead, they showed how to remain faithful to biblical precepts with respect to homosexual behavior while also showing the love of Christ to people rejected by the church.
And you, Mark, are better able than I am to describe John's (and Marsha's, too) self-giving service to Crossings (I'm tempted to write "the congregation"). But I thought I needed to speak up for John, who pretty much is the answer to the question: WWJSL (What would Jesus smell like?).