The Buzz Commandments continue. Here is Buzz Commandment IX:
Thou Shalt Touch Lepers [1]
Why did the Pharisees instigate the crucifixion?
Because Jesus didn’t fit into their nice, neat religious categories! He was too unpredictable. He was too counter-cultural and counter-intuitive. He was too revolutionary. He healed on the Sabbath. He hung out with tax collectors and prostitutes. He talk with Samaritans.
Jesus wasn’t just out of the box. Jesus smashed the box to smithereens.
Here’s another out of the box ministry tactic employed by Jesus: Jesus touched lepers. According to Old Testament custom, touching a leper was a no-no. Lepers were the untouchables.
Matthew 8:2 says, “Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached Jesus.”
For what it’s worth, I think this leper snuck up on Jesus before any one in Jesus’ entourage could turn him away. Read the gospels and you’ll discover that Jesus’ disciples often acted like overzealous go-kart bouncers!
Can I share an overlooked and under-appreciated key to leadership?
Approachability.
Have you ever noticed how comfortable people felt approaching Jesus? It’s amazing isn’t it? The woman with the issue of blood pushing through the crowd to touch the hem of his garment. Parents bringing little children to be blessed by Jesus. Prostitutes crashing parties. Four friends making a hole in a roof to lower their paralytic friend on a mat. And lepers violating their quarantine!
Jesus didn’t intimidate people. He attracked people. His holiness didn’t scare people away. Why? Because he wasn’t holier-than-thou. His holiness was magnetic. You couldn’t keep people away. That is why the word “crowd” is repeated 101 times in the gospels. People wanted to be around Jesus.
We need to bridge the gap between clergy and laity. Everybody is a minister! We need to bridge the gap between secular and sacred. Everything is scared. We need to bridge the gap between church and marketplace. The church belongs in the middle of the marketplace!
Can I share something that I don’t know if I’m supposed to share? One of the greatest compliments I can receive is this: you don’t seem like a pastor. Please don’t take that the wrong way. I honor the pastoral calling. It is a God-ordained office within the church. And people need someone to call pastor.
But I want to be touchable and approachable. That is one reason why I dress normal. I like jeans and a backwards baseball cap. It’s not one of the buzz commandments, but Thou Shalt Not Wear Long Tassels made the honorable mention list. Read Matthew 23:5. Again, don’t get me wrong. I wear a suit and tie when the occasion calls for it. And there is nothing wrong with dressing up!
Here’s the bottom line. I’ve learned that people identify more with my weaknesses than my strengths. I’ve learned that people identify more with my failures than my successes. Pastors need to be authentic about their struggles. Too many of us hide behind a pulpit. Our sermons need to have a level of approachability to them. I’m not afraid to let people know I’m a work in progress. And as soon as I’m omniscient you’ll be the first know!
So Jesus heals the leper in Matthew 8, but I don’t think that is the nut graf. It’s how Jesus healed the man. Jesus didn’t just say, “Be healed.” It says, “Jesus touched him.” Who knows how long it had been since this leper had been touched by another human being? Who knows how long it had been since he’d felt the validation of a human touch.
I want NCC to be high-tech. We’ve got to redeem technology and use it to serve God’s purposes! But our primary calling is to be high-touch. We need to reach out to the untouchables. We need to be moved by compassion like Christ.
And the byproduct will be supernatural buzz! Mark’s account says, “As a result, such crowds soon surrounded Jesus that he couldn’t enter a town anywhere publicly. He had to stay out in the secluded places, and people from everywhere came to him there.”
Pure Buzz!
[1] Matthew 8:1-4
