I remember sitting in a mega-church in Plano about 13 years ago and hearing the pastor stand at the podium and tell about 5,000 + people on a Sunday morning that they better not mess up their witness or God would sit them on the bench (he loved to use sports analogies). God would sideline them…take them out of the game.
Well…I was in a bad place in my life. The words sunk in…God can’t and won’t use me. I felt worthless and hopeless. Just to be sure I heard him correctly I got the tape from the bookstore…yeah…God was going to bench you if you messed up your witness. This pastor was very clear.
Well I want people to know that God does not work that way. He works through the most unlikely of people. People that are not perfect. People that have messed up. People that have gone through and even created shit-storms in their lives.
Those are the very people that can best help others. Those are the very people that can best understand the heartache of others. Those are the very people that are willing to get in the trenches with others. Those are the very people that God calls off the bench and sends into this messy, human experience to rally the team. God wants us as we are…not a phony version of what we think we should be to impress the masses. Just pure, raw, authentic and yes…often broken.
-Michelle Welch