Door greeters are the hope of the world

I think it goes without saying that this week has been of the most difficult, overwhelming weeks we've had in a long time. For our nation. For our community.

On Monday, Boston began the week with a tragic, twisted story. Tuesday, a man killed himself by jumping in front of a train .5 miles from my house. Wednesday, a plant in Texas blows up in the most visible display of power I've ever seen. Thursday, the mighty Des Plaines River begins climbing higher than ever in recorded history.

I sit here and ponder. Such pain. Such sadness. Such defeat.

I knew I needed to write something....but what? What could I say to all of this that would matter?

I'll start here: I don't have all of the answers. As our lead pastor wrote, Jesus said "In this world you will have trouble." He couldn't have been more right.  Jesus that is (Scott too!). So often, this place stinks. We face awful situations on a regular basis. And I wish I knew all of the answers to why.

But what I do know is there is hope. God hasn't left. In fact, he did the opposite.

I believe that there is hope found in Jesus Christ. He loves you. No really, he does. This God-man comes down here, lives through all of the crap we live through, and then dies for you. For you! He obviously wants to know you. WOW!!!  That is amazing.  And if you're not buying this, please keep reading anyway.

This is why I love my job. I love being a pastor. Every weekend more people in our community visit The Bridge and learn about this hope. This Jesus. That it is true. That there is WAY more to life than all of this pain. And they put their faith in him. Their destiny becomes heaven.

Again, you might laugh, or say "really?", but it is true. You don't have to do this alone. You don't have to navigate a week like this hopeless, searching, depressed. I would never want you to do that.

That's why door greeters are the hope of the world. Because every person who is involved at our church, who welcomes people, teachers their kids, plays music for them, is part of the bigger story. That God wants to rescue YOU from this place. To show you love that you've never known. And they serve to make sure you know that!

So...if you serve at our church, thanks for being a part of the bigger story. God is using you. And don't worry, I know that ultimately Jesus is the hope of the world. It's just a title :).

BUT...if you've never learned this hope, I challenge you and encourage you: check out our site (www.thebridgedp.org) and make a visit this weekend. Come meet one of our door greeters. It might literally change your life.