I had a couple of dear friends that left the church a while back because they don’t agree with our vision to reach outwardly in ministry and missions. Their preference is a church that ministers inwardly as a priority. I wonder how many of us would have never had the opportunity to be saved if all churches held that philosophy? I like what Perry Noble, the pastor of Newspring Church in Anderson SC says: “Churches aren’t called to contain Christ rather proclaim Christ.” Jesus himself proclaimed that “[He] had come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Luke 19:10 He also told the disciples “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Matthew 9:37-38 I’m not upset at my friends’ decision, however it does cause me to wonder how many other believers are content to reach inwardly to the Christian world, and pay little attention to reaching the outside world. What about you? How committed are you to reaching outside the walls of organized religion? What are you willing to see happen in the church in order to reach the lost? Every now and then I have someone approach me at church to ask why we can’t go back to a church choir and hymns. Why can’t things be the way they used to be? Well, look at the fruit. There are churches all over the valley that continue to stay trapped in a 1950’s style of worship and refuse to change in order to reach more people. And guess what? They’re dying on the vine. And listen, it’s not just about a style… it’s about a heart condition. Is our heart to placate to the religious folks or see the lost come to salvation? Time for a heart check?
Also, I would like to express my sincere appreciate to all of you that participated in the Sourwood festival this past weekend. We made many new friends, handed out lots of bibles and literature, and shared hundreds of cups of cool Mountain Dew in Jesus’ name. This is a wonderful expression of reaching out to the community around us. I love my church.
