I saw a quote by G.K.Chesterton that read: "We do not want...a church that will move with the world. We want a church that will move the world."
Do we have churches that will move the world, or do we have churches that sit and wait for the world to come to us? One church I served was a block and a half from a convenience store. I was in the store one day when someone stopped and asked them to direct them to the United Methodist Church. I was appalled as I heard the clerk say, "I don't think we have one of those in this town." And yet every time I tried to mobilize that congregation, the first thing I heard from them was, "People know where we are. If they want to join us they can."
We should be so active in our community that everyone not only knows we are there, but wonders how they ever lived without us. We should be involved with our schools, with our government, with our homeless or hungry, with those needing medical attention, with children, with youth, with the sandwich generation, with the elderly. Tiring? Yes. Requiring of lots of time? Yes. Needing organizing? Yes. But the alternative, of sitting there waiting for folks who are like us to come in our doors is unacceptable. We need to challenge the expectations of our society, to move the world. What can your church do to begin to move the world?
God who gives us courage, you sent us Jesus to teach us how we are to live in the world. He fed people, healed people, welcomed those the world had rejected. He challenged the powers of his day, and encouraged his followers to do as he had done. In our day we hear his call on our lives to move beyond our comfort zones and live boldly in our world. Show us how to best care for and invite your people into closer communion with you..................
Do we have churches that will move the world, or do we have churches that sit and wait for the world to come to us? One church I served was a block and a half from a convenience store. I was in the store one day when someone stopped and asked them to direct them to the United Methodist Church. I was appalled as I heard the clerk say, "I don't think we have one of those in this town." And yet every time I tried to mobilize that congregation, the first thing I heard from them was, "People know where we are. If they want to join us they can."
We should be so active in our community that everyone not only knows we are there, but wonders how they ever lived without us. We should be involved with our schools, with our government, with our homeless or hungry, with those needing medical attention, with children, with youth, with the sandwich generation, with the elderly. Tiring? Yes. Requiring of lots of time? Yes. Needing organizing? Yes. But the alternative, of sitting there waiting for folks who are like us to come in our doors is unacceptable. We need to challenge the expectations of our society, to move the world. What can your church do to begin to move the world?
God who gives us courage, you sent us Jesus to teach us how we are to live in the world. He fed people, healed people, welcomed those the world had rejected. He challenged the powers of his day, and encouraged his followers to do as he had done. In our day we hear his call on our lives to move beyond our comfort zones and live boldly in our world. Show us how to best care for and invite your people into closer communion with you..................
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