Posted on 12/05/2013 8:06:39 PM PST by grundle
Pastor Jeremiah Steepek transformed himself into a homeless person and went to the 10,000 member church that he was to be introduced as the head pastor at that morning.
He walked around his soon to be church for 30 minutes while it was filling with people for service, only 3 people out of the 7-10,000 people said hello to him.
He asked people for change to buy food – no one in the church gave him change.
He went into the sanctuary to sit down in the front of the church and was asked by the ushers if he would please sit in the back.
He greeted people to be greeted back with stares and dirty looks, with people looking down on him and judging him.
As he sat in the back of the church, he listened to the church announcements and such.
When all that was done, the elders went up and were excited to introduce the new pastor of the church to the congregation.
“We would like to introduce to you Pastor Jeremiah Steepek.” The congregation looked around clapping with joy and anticipation.
The homeless man sitting in the back stood up and started walking down the aisle. The clapping stopped with all eyes on him.
He walked up the altar and took the microphone from the elders (who were in on this) and paused for a moment then he recited,
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
‘The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
After he recited this, he looked towards the congregation and told them all what he had experienced that morning. Many began to cry and many heads were bowed in shame.
He then said, “Today I see a gathering of people, not a church of Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will YOU decide to become disciples?”
He then dismissed service until next week.
Following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ should be more than just talk. It ought to be a lifestyle that others around you can love about you and share in.
I don’t like to be around stinking beggars. I think I’d change churches.
It’s true! The supercomputer (the Beast) in Begium has verified it.
Give *you* a break?
How ironic, given the story’s point.
Not everything is about you, or me, or a perfectly pristine experience of our every moment whether in the church, near the church, on the grounds, or anywhere else.
Jesus expressed it better than I, as the story attests, but you know that already.
I wonder how many of us would hang our heads in shame at the beama seat of Christ on that final day.......
Right - I got caught posting this story a few months ago. It looked so legitimate when I did it and usually I vet stories before posting. In this case I didn’t.
If this happened at all I would find another church to attend. The pastor would be a leftist fraud.
Yep. I saw no reference in the article as to the location of Pastor Jeremiah Steepek or his new megachurch, so I went looking. The only thing that popped up was the Snopes article debunking the story. The picture was of a photogenic soul in England somewhere that caught a photographer's eye.
Thanks for the link!
Thanks for that link!
I recall the time I went to a small-town church having been on the road, no showers, sleeping in my clothes and hung-over. Got plenty of treats and conversation at coffee hour, and then invited to the picnic lunch afterwards.
On the other hand, lots of homeless people take advantage of the church's generosity. In my suburban town there is a organized effort of all the churches to go over the “homeless” or “poor” people's names and their requests. Some of them keep popping up over and over again, alias, etc.
All a scam. Folks calling for $50 to help pay their electrical bill. We would offer to pay the entire thing for them - come in with the bill and we'll write a check for the entire $238.97 and even put the stamp on it and mail it for you. Very rarely would someone come in.
We did have vouchers for the fast-food joints down in town so at least if they were begging for money we could give them something that hopefully would go to good use rather than directly supporting any bad habits they might have.
Yes, congregations should be attentive to the whole counsel of God, which includes awareness of the perverse nature of fallen men (e.g., John 2:23-25). Having practices that filter out the grifters and frauds from access to church beneficence is not a slam on the poor any more than having security measures and audits in banks and other repositories of wealth is a display of undue suspicion of the well-to-do. People from both groups need to be accountable.
Giving cash to beggars is easier than inviting them home or to a nearby eatery for a meal together, but is reinforcing bad behavior, not helping them. Likewise for shelling out cash to clever con artists, when it could be directed to those truly in need by doing some simple verifications of the sort you mention.
Reminds me of the movie “Brubaker”
There was a guy on Fox news claiming to be this person....I think this might be true!!!
Agreed. You don't give him money. Instead you tell him, "Come sit with us. After church, we'll all go out for lunch."
“I wonder how many of us would hang our heads in shame at the beama seat of Christ on that final day.......”
Because all our good works are filthy rags?
It’s fake; but it keeps coming up
One thing I have learned is that people who ask for money are rarely helped by it.
Well I did see Roger Waters do this at a concert for Pink Floyd: The Wall.
That’s almost the same thing, right?
There but for the grace of God.....It’s always good to keep that in the back of your mind. Then follow your heart to do something about it.
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