So how would you describe your church?
Is your church Messy or Nesty? In America you will find these two types of churches. The Nesty church is the kind of church that is like a mother bird in her nest. She creates this nest out of sticks and branches, and then places cotton and fabric and leaves to soften the nest. She is making it comfortable and pleasant for HER BABIES. This nest is not about other birds… it’s not intended for other birds… the comfort is for her “4 and no more”. She isn’t concerned about what other birds are doing. She isn’t concerned about what they are facing or if they even have a nest… this nest is all about her and the ones she loves… her family.
Then there is the messy church! Now I don’t mean chaoss and a lack of order… a messy church is one that is not about itself but focuses on those who are outside of God and who are in need of Him. A messy church is one that says we are not here to make a nest for our “4 and no more”, but we are here to GO get those lost without God and bring them into His house. When a church is focused on the lost… they become a messy church. They have a Lawyer sitting next to a lawbreaker… Messy church! They have a Doctor sitting next to a patient dyeing of Cancer… Messy church. They have a well put together family sitting next to a family on the brink of divorce and financial ruin.
The point here is that a Nesty church has very few MESSED UP PEOPLE! It is full of SAVED folks and no LOST folks who are messed up. A nesty church is one who becomes possessive of the church and when MESSY people show up, they run them off because they don’t want them messing up their nice soft nest, which in their eyes was made for just them and their families.
Just visit a church and within minutes you will know what kind of church it is… Nesty or Messy!
A Messy church understands it was created to have sinners and MESSY people sitting and participating in the church, after all it was a sinner woman who fell at the feet of Jesus and he never felt out-of-place… just the NESTER’s felt out-of-place.
In the last several months the heart of our church, Greater Life Church of Sherman TX, has really turned its focus on the lost in a much more intense degree. You can walk in our church and see a lot of people who don’t have it all together. They don’t have an understanding of holiness yet. They are still dealing with some things of the world. There is still small influences of the world fighting them. They don’t look like Pentecostals, they don’t act like Pentecostals, they don’t smell like Pentecostals, and they don’t talk like Pentecostals… and you know what… I wouldn’t want it any other way… I like that we have MESSY folks calling GLC their home church… I like that we are a MESSY church!
I love that our people embrace the people who show up to visit and even those who stay, that have Messy lives. I love that I look around and see some of our very seasoned saints hugging and smiling and embracing people who don’t get it yet! I love that our church people include the messy folks right along with the folks who Get it!
Some pastors and some church folk get nervous when the MESSY folk start showing up and staying. Some pastors and some church folk get uncomfortable when the MESSY folks numbers start increasing… but I have to admit… I never feel more Christ Like than when I look out and see so many MESSY people sitting in the midst of our church folk. I actually LOVE IT… and so does Greater Life Church, because they are a MESSY church, not a NESTY church.
Take a look around in your church… is it hard to find someone who doesn’t look and act and talk “Pentecostal”? Your church might be NESTY! But if you do see people who don’t look, act and talk “Pentecostal”, calling your church home… your church is a MESSY church and Jesus Christ couldn’t be more excited for that church!!!!
