Jerry Cook - Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness: Being Christian in a Non-Christian World

1979, 2009 by Jerry Cook

Published by Bethany House Publishers
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.bethanyhouse.com

Bethany House Publishers is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan.
www.bakerpublishinggroup.com

Bethany House Publishers edition published 2014

ISBN 978-1-4412-6609-5

Previously published by Regal Books

Ebook edition originally created 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Other versions used are:

KJVKing James Version . Authorized King James Version.

NKJVScripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

TLB Scripture quotations marked ( TLB ) are taken from The Living Bible , copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, IL 60189. All rights reserved.

The nature of Christs church on this planet is of consuming interest to me not just because I am a pastor, but because I am also a part of that church. I came directly from seminary, and my wife from teaching to our tiny church of 23 people. We were equipped to answer all questions and forge into new streams of Christian thought, supposedly. We discovered we really knew nothing about our task. I had not come to grips with the nature of the true church of Christ.

We were driven by our congregation to face with them the implications of being truly Christian in a non-Christian and, at times, anti-Christian world. That adventure led us into the lives and homes of all sorts of people. We began to sense the thrill of the Jesus-life effectively invading and challenging every area of human hurt. From the confusion of the drug culture, to the violence of the street and motorcycle gangs, to the sophisticated offices of the executive set and everything in between, we saw the church function.

Suddenly, divorce was not merely a theological workshop but the heartbroken and disillusioned person sitting across the table. Drugs were not only a social evil but also the blank and tortured faraway look that makes a teenager suddenly an old person. We began to understand that the church was peoplereal peoplechanged by the power of Christ, filled with the Spirit of Christ, touching the hurting, dying and cynical modern man with the life of Jesus Himself. The church, which is His body, the fullness of Him...

This book presents some of the viewpoints and perspectives we have learned together as a group of people serious about truly being His Body. It is written for the churchpastors, homemakers, taxi drivers, executives, blue collar, white collar or no collar. It is a sincere effort to share with you the sheer excitement that exists in being the church.

I have found in Stan Baldwin a sensitive and perceptive writer. His questions, observations and balance have given to this book that which I alone could never have hoped to achieve. He has waded through hours of tapes and stacks of materials and has compiled those things we truly believe.

If in the reading of this you are called upon to question, evaluate or even change your thinking, so be it. What I desire is that all of us who go by the name Christian be effectively living out the implications of that name. It is time to get the church into the world and so fulfill the Immanuel PrincipleGod with us.

Jerry Cook, 1979

The Harley roared past, pulled sharply in front of me, and then slowed down, daring me to pass. On the way by, the rider took a long, hard look into my window, slowing slightly, and then gunned on ahead. I pulled out to go around, and he matched my speed for a fraction, staring into the passengers side window. He slowed down, let me pass, and then roared up on my bumper near the center line. He began motioning me to pull over.

Oregon is a beautiful state. It is divided into three very clear sections. There is the western section, bounded by the Pacific Ocean on the west and the Cascade Mountains on the east. The central section is bounded on the east by the same glorious snow-capped peaks of the Cascades, and then relaxes into a high desert that stretches into the eastern section and the Blue Mountains.

On this day, I was driving through a particularly empty section of Central Oregon to visit some friends. It was just me and this biker, as we called the members of a few outlaw clubs in our area. The emblem and insignias, the hair, scars and tattoos all made it clear to me that he was not a weekend wonder.

I am no hero. My fight and flight response is heavily weighted toward the latter. My heart and breath rate indicatedFEAR! Yet as I began planning my escape, something inside of me said, Pull over and talk to him. My immediate response was, Get behind me Satan! I was not called by God to die at the hands of an outlaw biker on a deserted road in Central Oregon.

But the impression increased, and I found myself actually pulling off to the side of the road. This is insane! What am I doing? But he was off the bike and at my door (which I hadnt thought to lock). He opened the door and pulled me from my car to my certain death.

Suddenly, his arms were holding me in a huge, hairy embrace. Tears were running from his eyes into his ragged beard.

Youre Jerry Cook, aint you? he said.

Who would like to know? I sputtered.

The man began telling me a story. He had been a prisoner in a Washington federal prison, and the chaplain had given him a copy of Love, Acceptance and Forgiveness. He had read it and given his life to Christ. He experienced remarkable healing and change. He vowed that when he got out, he would look up this Jerry Cook who wrote the book, tell him the story and thank him.

He had come to our Sunday morning service the day before with the intention of seeing me. We were having several services at that time, and he couldnt manage to get through the crowd to the front where I was. Disappointed, he had decided to ride to Central Oregon to see some Christian brothers, where he recognized me on the road and gave me the most terrifying and excitingly wonderful experience of my life. As he was talking, I noticed that he did not have a skull or swastika hanging around his neck but a cross.