Don’t lose compassion for outsiders, Miss. pastor pleads

NEW ORLEANS (The Baptist Paper and local reports) – “Are we letting our light shine? Are we merciful and full of compassion? When it comes to our action, when it comes to our affection, when it comes to our attitude, how do we deal with the strangers in our own services? Do we welcome people in? Are we hospitable?”

Those were the challenges presented to attendees June 12 at the 2023 Pastors Conference in the New Orleans Convention Center by Bartholomew Orr, senior pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church in Southaven.

As he described how Jesus turned over the tables of the money changers and salesmen in the temple, Orr turned over tables on the stage and asked the question, “What set Jesus off when He went into the temple and literally began throwing tables?”

The answer, according to Orr, is that “They had lost their joy for what the Lord had called them to do. They had become more concerned about profiting from their work than participating in the worship. They had no more mercy for the people of God.” 

Orr said pastors and leaders need to ask themselves how they’re representing God to outsiders. If pastors are not careful, they can lose their compassion for outsiders, he cautioned.

“Mercy. More than just an attitude of the heart, it’s our Christianity in action. Even Jesus Christ Himself in Hebrews 2:17 is our merciful and faithful High Priest,” Orr said. 

The day He cleansed the temple, Orr said, “Jesus literally saw the need to rearrange some things in the church, to shift some things in the church, to change some things in the church because they had lost their mercy and compassion.”

When Jesus turned over the tables, He also turned the tables for those who were on the outside, Orr pointed out. “It was a miracle that was able to take place. The blind came in, the lame came in, others were able to come in and they received something from the Lord.

“Why? Because Jesus was going to reverse the situation and give others an opportunity to come to the table.”

Orr said Southern Baptists need to be careful not to give the church over to people who are more concerned about the bottom line than about people who are at the bottom of the line and the back of the line.

“There are still folks who are sick and need healing,” he said. “There are folks who are struggling and need a hand up. There are folks who are stressed out, and they need some help for tomorrow.

There are folks who are suffering and saying, ‘I need some help,’ and God is saying, ‘I want My church to be a church of mercy and compassion where sick people can find the doctor that they need, where individuals can come and if they’re down, they can be lifted up.”

Brown Missionary Baptist Church is a member of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.