The story below is not mine. I
‘stole’ it of a friend of mine from Facebook. However, it has much to teach us
all.!
Pastor Jeremiah Steepek
(pictured) disguised himself as a beggar and was at the church of 10,000
members, where he would be presented as senior pastor in the morning. He walked
around the church for 30 minutes while it was filled with people for worship.
Only 3 out of 7 of 10,000 people said "hi" to him. For some people,
he asked coins to buy food. No one in the church gave him something. He entered
the temple and tried to sit in the front, but the deacons asked him to sit in
the back of the church. He greeted the people who returned dirty looks and
judgment, looking at him up and down.
While sitting in the back of the church,
he heard the ads cult and soon the lead from the altar and the announcement
that they felt thrilled to introduce the new pastor to the congregation:
"We would like to introduce you to Pastor Jeremiah Steepek". The people
looked around cheering with joy and anxiety. It was then, that the homeless
man, the beggar who sat in the last seats, stood upright and began to walk down
the aisle. The applause stopped. And they all looked. He approached the altar
and picked up the microphone. He restrained himself for a moment and said:
"Then the King will say to
those on his right, 'Come, blessed of my Father! Take your inheritance, the
kingdom that was prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was
hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink: I was a
stranger and you welcomed me, needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and
you looked after me, I was in prison and you visited me'. "Then the
righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when saw we thee hungry, and fed thee, or
thirsty and give you drink? When saw we thee a stranger and welcome thee, or in
need of clothes and clothed you? When did we see you sick or in prison and come
to You? '"The King will reply,' I tell the truth, whatever you did to some
of my smaller brothers you did to me. '"
After, having recited the text of
Matthew 25:34-40, he looked at the congregation and told them everything he had
experienced that morning. Many began to cry, many heads bowed in shame. The
pastor then said: "Today I see a gathering of people, not the Church of
Jesus Christ. The world has enough people, but not enough disciples. When will you
become disciples?". Soon after, he ended the worship and fired up:
"See you next week!" Being a Christian is more than something that
you advocate. It is a way of life..!
Nice. I'd seen another pastor do this. It was on a TV programme. But it was not the same priest or church. We should do a similar thing in the Greek Orthodox Church when a new priest is appointed, but instead of a beggar, it will be an Englishman, and the biblical passage will be Matt.8:11-12: "...many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. But the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into outer darkness."
ReplyDeleteIts important to promote these stories, whether they are true or not...they have a lot to teach us..!
ReplyDeleteI think it is important to note that Pastor Steepek is not a priest, but a pastor or minister. Priests are clergy of the ancient Catholic and Orthodox Churches or the Anglican (Episcopalian) church. Priests primary task is offering sacrifice in the form of the ancient liturgy, called the Holy Mass or Divine Liturgy. Protestant (other Christian) groups have pastors or ministers, whose primary task is preaching or teaching.
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