The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, "Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say? (John 8:3-5 NIV)

When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." (John 8:7 NIV)

Introduction : This value should be viewed in terms of the ministry of Jesus. The values of grace and mercy were character traits of Jesus, everything that He did was full of grace and mercy. His motivation for healing and ministering to sinners and the downcast came from this basic character trait. For us grace and mercy may not come quite as naturally, none-the-less, as we practice ministering from this value, we experience a change in our own character which brings us into conformity with the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

We define this value as follows -

1) People will come to us looking for refuge. They will be worn out, and often anti-institutional. Some will have crossed the line of what is permissible and what is not. Many will have a history of coming up against a legalistic interpretation of Scripture which has in the past expelled them from the Church. Like refugees without a country, they're now a people who have somehow lost their hope in salvation because they are outside of the Church community. Maybe they've committed adultery, divorced, or remarried, or have done something else that is considered out of bounds.

Our fellowship should be a place where righteousness and mercy come together. That is, where the Scripture calls for regiment, there should be a merciful interpretation, where the Lord can breathe life through the text, so that people are redeemed in spite of their guilt. (Jesus and the prostitute).

Many of these people will come with rebellion and resentment towards "the establishment". This attitude will mean that we need to gently and mercifully help them to come under the Lord's wings and to enjoy the protection and blessing which results from an attitude of submission and brokenness.

2) The sense of our utter lostness and God's overwhelming grace towards us is the true place from which our ministry should flow. When we have been broken before God, we can minister to others with a sense of mercy. People who preach a 'success doctrine' or who are into denial about any sense of failure in their own lives are not very good at ministering in this way.

3) It is OK to fail! This doesn't mean that we encourage moral compromise, but that in attempting to serve God we willoften blow it and do something dumb. The value of grace means that people are given latitude to try again and to be nurtured even after they have failed.

4) Grace means being committed to non-manipulation, not attempting to play god for others or to play games with their consciences. We should treat other adults as adults, people need to work out their Christian lives for themselves. The legalist view says that pastors and ministers should parent 'less able' Christians. We must allow God's grace to change people, rather than trying to manipulate them into change by our norms and expectations.

Priorities - The following priorities emerge from this value.

1) That our preaching menu should be bathed in the biblical theme of grace and God's mercy.

2) That a climate of love, acceptance and forgiveness be cultivated in our church, often accepting those whom others have rejected.

3) Modelling mercy in the way we pastor people. People catch the spirit of the leader. If we are legalistic or manipulative in our leadership, our hearts will be transposed over the whole church community. It is important to be able to distinguish between matters of morality (biblical ethics) and conscience (personal opinion and conviction). While we stress holiness, we do not want to prescribe on issues that Scripture leaves for the individual's conscience.

Practices

1) Gearing the ministry arms of the local church towards the broken and needy in whatever shape we are led to do so.

2) Having materials, resources and ministry options geared for the recovery of the broken.

3) Including acceptance of people as part of our life styles. This should be part of the grass roots of our small groups.

4) Allowing people to receive God's grace and mercy as part of our ministry times, specifically as we invite the Holy Spirit to 'come'.