I’m writing as a man concerned for and standing in the gap for our community! I believe you all to be sincere men in your desire to please God, dedicated to lead His people with wisdom and grace, and faithful to your calling. I believe that in your heart of heart, you desire to impact this community with the redeeming and transforming power of the gospel for the glory of God. I am also encouraged to hear that so many men who are concerned for the fate of the community, the plight of its people, reparations of its families, and the future of its children.
. . .Hear my heart. . .
Today, feel compelled to encourage you one and all to move from passive dreaming and praying to active obedience, together. I don’t confess to have things figured out, but it is unsettling and dishonoring to see so many “churches” in one area with no fellowship as believers or on mission together. I mention this because I came from a similar area, from a neighborhood in which the churches were plentiful and occupied by members who had no stake in the community, no mind for mission, no vision for really reaching the community with the gospel and thus no impact in the lives of broken people. I was raised in a church that would go to Palestine, Cleburn, and Allen, TX to “fellowship”, but did not partner with churches on the same street for any mission-al purpose. We would send money and people to convention and congress, but leave our ministry context without the gospel. We had a token offering for missions on fifth Sunday, but wouldn’t engage those right outside of our door. Is this not neglect and hypocrisy of the worst kind? Most churches in my neighborhood were the same way, and I fear that this may be the case here as well as other “inner-cities”. I don’t know if you feel that you are alone, if you are prideful, if you are uncertain as to how to proceed or if you are concerned for your church building than God’s people. You may be just plain old exhausted, but the work is as you go preach, and as you lead, equip for ministry, be HIS witnesses until He returns. A s long as we ignore one another, we bring no one and no honor to our God.
I confess that I used to think that I had ministry figured out and I’ve cried, broken through the steps of anger at church and its leaders for not being mission-ally engaged and present in the inner-cities. I’ve been broken over the broken-ness of the cities people. I have been “hot” at the hypocrisy of supporting missions a world away without concerning ourselves with those in our own neighborhood, and I’ve been withdrawn because of a world-view that convinced me that things are not going to change. For a while, I thought the church was worthless, a bad idea that’s not worth the emotional energy of praying for or presenting the word of God to. At times, I figured that God’s people were functionally hopeless. I know now that conceited and overly critical, I truly believed that my wife and I were the only Christians in the area that are really concerned with the will of GOD, but God is GREAT! He’s taught me that bi-vocational ministry has unique staffing and scheduling challenges that may hinder those with the position of pastor from fulling their ministry. Unique challenges restrict access to one another. God is teaching me that getting around to meeting one another, coordinating or cooperating with one another and brainstorming about what God can do through the people of God to be salt and light here, can be a challenge in itself.
Shepherd, although I may not have expressed these thoughts to you in the past, I still apologize for my private conceits and anger. There have been times where I have entertained the idea of planting another church right here, however, I’m convinced that another church is not what THIS neighborhood needs, rather it needs to redeemed people of God to become in tune with the will of God that none should perish but all should come to repentance. I’m convinced that if the good samaritan were more than just a Sunday school lesson to our children, but we teach God’s people to love God and love their neighbors as themselves, three things would happen in our communities,
1) people would run into Jesus,
2) people would have no justification to mock church folk and by extension the God that we "serve" as being irrelevant, unloving and hypocritical, and
3) lives would be changed as the word of God begins to work its way into their lives through the discipleship process.
I’m writing, begging, that we chase the priorities of God. If truth be told, we all are in need of repentance for letting those in our ministry context struggle, search, die, without giving them the gospel. For not equipping our congregations to do real ministry outside of the doors of the church, for considering ourselves alone in a neighborhood with over multiple “churches”. We need forgiveness for NOT seeking cooperation, for NOT seeking the peace of the city. I pray that God forgive us for keeping up the status quo, and NOT seeking the salvation of those around us. When all is said and done, God is not glorified in our fish dinners, pastor and wife anniversaries, church annual days, all day “church” services, or fund raisers, He is glorified in His people delighting in Him and being salt, light, holy yet approachable, distinct yet engaged, honest yet graceful Christians.
I understand some of you may read this and write me off as unteachable, angry, or conceited, I assure you this is no longer the case. I am not trying to tell you how to do “your”job, however as a man responsible for my actions before a holy God, I can no longer watch the hurts of people without trying to give them the good news. I can no longer just pray that God bring the leaders together to minister. I can no longer make excuses while waiting for the so-called church to join the mission of God. The gospel changes people, and God uses redeemed people to change homes, streets, blocks, and hoods. He is more passionate for His own glory than any of us could hope to be and He alone is the one who deserves it.
-Quest
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| LORD please, don't let be our reputation be a worthless ruin. |
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