Finding Out That Someone Who Goes To Your Church Just Got Out of Prison

It’s always a bit disconcerting at first. Especially if they don’t give off the I-just-out-of-prison look (i.e. orange jumpsuit). A few weeks ago, after I met a nice looking young family, I found out that one of the parents has been out of prison less than six months. Many people’s reaction might be a mixture of fascination (what did they do?), repulsiveness (hide the kids!), and condemnation (how dare they show up in God’s house!). Especially if your church isn’t the type of “church” that welcomes ex-convicts. I’ve been to those types of churches. I grew up in a few of those churches. It’s the kind of churches that Pharisees would absolutely love.

For the record, I’m glad that ex-convicts find Mt Vernon Church a safe and welcoming place to explore their relationship with God. To my knowledge, we’ve got three ex-cons at Mt Vernon, and many more with a troubled past. I know one ex-con who continually invites other acquaintances with similar backgrounds to our church so that they can hear the gospel. One of the people at Mt Vernon that has invited more people (and clients) than anyone else is a bail bondsman.

End result? Mt Vernon is full of misfits, and I love that. When Jesus declared his Messianic identity at the beginning of his ministry, he used an ancient quote from the prophet Isaiah, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19).

It’s tough to proclaim freedom for the prisoners if you don’t know any. That’s why I love that my church seems to attract the broken and hurting. They know they will be loved and accepted here. More importantly, they know that they kind find the hope of Jesus Christ here.

QUESTION: Does your church embrace the messes?

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