Free Microsoft Word - Jakefinalnoappex.doc by Wayne Jacobsen

relationship.”
    “How can that be?” Don’t we have to walk away from sin to know him?”
    “Walking toward him is walking away from sin. The better you know him the freer from it you will be. But
    you can’t walk away from sin, Jake. Not in your own strength! Everything he wants to do in you will get done
    as you learn to live in his love. Every act of sin results from your mistrust of his love and intentions for you.
    We sin to fill up broken places, to try to fight for what we think is best for us, or by reacting to our guilt and
    shame. Once you discover how much he loves you, all that changes. As you grow in trusting him, you will
    find yourself increasingly free from sin.”
    “It sounds so easy when you say it, John. But learning to live that way would be the opposite of everything
    I’ve been taught.”
    “That’s why it’s called ‘good news’, Jake.”
    I knew sorting this conversation out would take some time, and I hadn’t even sorted out the last one yet.
    Which reminded me, I was mad at John. I wasn’t sure how to bring it up, but as I saw John start to gather
    his things together, I thought I’d better get it in quick.
    “Will this get me in as much trouble as our last conversation?” My tone had turned a bit menacing.
    “Is this what Bob was talking about earlier? What happened, Jake?”
    “Your little visit caused quite an uproar. Pastor Jim was angry because the short in the sound system kept
    popping up during his sermon. It distracted him and he thought it ruined his message. I should have been
    there to help fix it and instead I was giving a tour of our education wing to someone whose last name I
    didn’t even know. That didn’t go over too well. I couldn’t even tell him where you lived. He was livid,
    accusing me of giving some pedophile a tour of our children’s wing.”
    “That’s quite a leap,” John answered calmly. I thought the accusation would anger him, but it didn’t even
    faze him.
    “I assured him it wasn’t true, but he asked me how he could trust someone who wasn’t committed enough
    to be where he was supposed to be that morning. He exploded at me, John. I’ve never seen him like that.
    We’ve been close friends for over two decades and continued that friendship even after I came on staff.
    He’s loved me through my worst moments and supported me when others tried to tear me down. Now he
    picks at everything I do and we don’t spend any relaxed time together.”
    So You Don’t Want to Go To Church Anymore
    Page 43
    “All of that changed after my last visit? Didn’t you tell me in the park a few months back that things were
    already tense between you?”
    I paused to think about it. “Now that you mention it, it has been going on longer than that. He’s been
    difficult to work with for probably six months or more. He’s been distant and hardly ever responds to my
    suggestions.”
    “It sounds like something else is going on there.”
    “Whatever it is, this just made it worse. He didn’t even like any of the changes I made.”
    “Changes? What changes?”
    “The ones you told me to make.”
    “I didn’t tell you to make any changes, did I, Jake?”
    “I got rid of that sign you didn’t like, about our church being the house of God, and that guilt-inducing
    poster.”
    John chuckled playfully and shook his head as if I’d just made an innocent gaffe. “I bet that went over well.”
    “It’s not funny, John. A few days after I changed the bulletin board, Jill Harper, the lady who cut out all
    those letters and made the poster at my request, came by my office. She asked what happened to the bulletin
    board. I told her I was uncomfortable with some of the messages it gave out and wanted us to redo it. She
    was furious that I had changed it without consulting her. I apologized, but it didn’t do much good. She
    doesn’t want to talk about it anymore and I think she’s been spreading her anger to others on the children’s
    ministry team.