A Final Word!
I appreciate the comments posted to my last blog. This is a very volatile topic, and certainly begs to be explored. How far do we go in reaching the unreached? Do we just live with a “Field of Dreams” mentality and hope that “if we build it, they will come?” Stick a church on every corner of the city, and the unchurched will show up… like it or not!
I am old enough to remember a time when that was the case. In the 50’s, people went to church; went to church most Sundays; went to church even though they might be bored to tears and get nothing out of it. It was the thing to do, and if you didn’t do it, you were not a good citizen and certainly not a good parent. I believe it was in the 50’s that I first heard, “The family that prays together stays together.” I cannot argue with the spirit of that statement, but, unfortunately, many of the church-going families of the 50’s failed in one key area. They lost their kids! Their children grew up never wanting to attend church again! They became the lost generation who reared children (the ones who now make up the Post-modern generation) who know virtually nothing about church or spiritual things.
“Wlc346” says, “So I guess its ok to go into a topless bar and reach out to people that need to hear the word of god.” First of all, they do need to hear about God. (Notice, “capital ‘G’!”) Since you added “topless,” am I to assume that you do OK going into a regular bar? I don’t! There is a big difference between reaching out to people where they are and “fellowshipping” with people as they are. I will not lower my standards to reach anyone, but what are standards. Are my “preferences” my standards? There are those who think the church should always have a steeple, a pulpit, a choir in choir robes, and a preacher in coat in tie; but, that is a preference. You don’t lower your standards by conducting church in a warehouse, storefront, or someone’s living room with the preacher dressed in blue jeans and a sweatshirt. If the Bible is preached faithfully and effectively, it could even be done in the backroom of a local pub, reaching out in Jesus’ name in Jesus’ love.
And, then there is that puzzling statement, “the sbc seems to do what ever to fit in.” By “sbc,” I assume “Wlc346” means the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Well, that is a rather difficult identity to stereotype. Quite frankly, to put all SBC churches into one category is like making a racially bigoted statement such as “all blacks… all Mexicans… all southerners do or act a certain way.” People are different, and each SBC church is unique. There are traditional churches, contemporary and seeker churches, and just about everything in-between. What ought to link all of us together, however, is a common belief that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of the living God and our sole authority for faith and practice. And, we are not “fitting in,” we are reaching out!
Recently, my wife and I were invited to the homes of neighbors who were celebrating important events in their lives. When we arrived, we immediately saw that alcohol was being served. Now, I did not grow up in an alcoholic environment, and it was never a part of my family culture. But, we remained, ate, and drank something non-alcoholic, which, by the way, did not seem to offend anyone. We visited, made friends, and, hopefully opened some doors to future ministry.
Perhaps there are those who would say, “You had no business being there. You compromised your standards by being in that environment, with those people. You should have left or at least let them know drinking is wrong.”
My, that sounds familiar. I read where someone once said, “How is it that (your Master) eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” And, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” But, Jesus would not be deterred, because He came for sinners, not the righteous.
You know, I think I’ll let Jesus be my Model. For me, it’s not WWJD. It’s WDJD! (“What did Jesus do?”)
I am old enough to remember a time when that was the case. In the 50’s, people went to church; went to church most Sundays; went to church even though they might be bored to tears and get nothing out of it. It was the thing to do, and if you didn’t do it, you were not a good citizen and certainly not a good parent. I believe it was in the 50’s that I first heard, “The family that prays together stays together.” I cannot argue with the spirit of that statement, but, unfortunately, many of the church-going families of the 50’s failed in one key area. They lost their kids! Their children grew up never wanting to attend church again! They became the lost generation who reared children (the ones who now make up the Post-modern generation) who know virtually nothing about church or spiritual things.
“Wlc346” says, “So I guess its ok to go into a topless bar and reach out to people that need to hear the word of god.” First of all, they do need to hear about God. (Notice, “capital ‘G’!”) Since you added “topless,” am I to assume that you do OK going into a regular bar? I don’t! There is a big difference between reaching out to people where they are and “fellowshipping” with people as they are. I will not lower my standards to reach anyone, but what are standards. Are my “preferences” my standards? There are those who think the church should always have a steeple, a pulpit, a choir in choir robes, and a preacher in coat in tie; but, that is a preference. You don’t lower your standards by conducting church in a warehouse, storefront, or someone’s living room with the preacher dressed in blue jeans and a sweatshirt. If the Bible is preached faithfully and effectively, it could even be done in the backroom of a local pub, reaching out in Jesus’ name in Jesus’ love.
And, then there is that puzzling statement, “the sbc seems to do what ever to fit in.” By “sbc,” I assume “Wlc346” means the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). Well, that is a rather difficult identity to stereotype. Quite frankly, to put all SBC churches into one category is like making a racially bigoted statement such as “all blacks… all Mexicans… all southerners do or act a certain way.” People are different, and each SBC church is unique. There are traditional churches, contemporary and seeker churches, and just about everything in-between. What ought to link all of us together, however, is a common belief that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of the living God and our sole authority for faith and practice. And, we are not “fitting in,” we are reaching out!
Recently, my wife and I were invited to the homes of neighbors who were celebrating important events in their lives. When we arrived, we immediately saw that alcohol was being served. Now, I did not grow up in an alcoholic environment, and it was never a part of my family culture. But, we remained, ate, and drank something non-alcoholic, which, by the way, did not seem to offend anyone. We visited, made friends, and, hopefully opened some doors to future ministry.
Perhaps there are those who would say, “You had no business being there. You compromised your standards by being in that environment, with those people. You should have left or at least let them know drinking is wrong.”
My, that sounds familiar. I read where someone once said, “How is it that (your Master) eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?” And, “This Man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.” But, Jesus would not be deterred, because He came for sinners, not the righteous.
You know, I think I’ll let Jesus be my Model. For me, it’s not WWJD. It’s WDJD! (“What did Jesus do?”)