“We are called to reach the world”. I believe this is the epitome of a tent mentality. Just another group of talented Christians with so much to offer settling to get their names out their to a bunch of other Christians. I believe Christianity as a whole is
truly called to reach the world, but I do not believe a Christian or group of them are called to reach the entire world…instead I believe that we as Christians are called to reach our world. Each Christian reaching their world to the best of their ability
with the tools they have been given will result in a world reached. It grieves me to see Christians always “going out and going out and going out” to other places while the local church body (the bride of Christ) is left broken and burning. The
local church. The place where the naked are clothed, the hungry are fed, and the widows and the orphans are cared for and protected. I see none of that in individuals or bands that are “going out”.
I hear over and over how people feel they are called to travel the world and preach to the masses, but I see that those peoples own cities, churches, and people are left alone and untouched. Hundreds of bands and ministers travel to try to “reach the world” and change peopele but if we take an honest look at it…Who has Kirk Franklin, Relient K, an other half christian traveling…things…truly changed. Yea they may have snagged a few fish, but then they move on hoping that the fish find water (or a church) before they die. Yet we glorify that. We look at what their doing and proclaim “Look at all the fish!!” Yea but where is the discipleship? Where is the mentoring? I believe Jesus chose 12 to stand by him at all times for a reason. Because crowds come and go. One day they sing hallelujah the next they cry crucify. I believe Jesus chose 12 because that is whatchanging the world truly is. Its changing someone’s world so that they can do the same for someone else. Yes we may travel the world and get our names in bright lights, but how does that build the church of Jesus Christ? How come there issomething in Christian humanity that glorifies playing in another country or state, but the fact is your honestly playing to just another 70 Christians..on a stage that isn’t the stage you normally play on. The grass is always greener.
“I believe we can travel the world”. Big deal. So does every Christian band in existence right now. Yet how many bands have the vision of changing their world? That’s great Sacramento, and Nashville, and Los Angelos gets changed by our mighty presence their and the powerful God we brought with us, but what about Smithfield! Doesn’t Providence and Cransont, Pawtucket annd Rhode Island need that God just as badly?
Yet we look upon that as normal while Los Angelos is the big time. When 90% of the time you will have the exact same amount of people at each show or service. Let me pose another question. Are those people actually change by our traveling
music or traveling preaching? Possibly. Maybe. All I can say is that my life has not been changed by Relient K during a 2 hr concert. My life has been changed when I got myself into a world of pain and confusion, and Mike Servello jr spent 3 days
with me to help pull me out of it. My life has been changed when Pastor Marco pulled me aside and told me how I needed to change x amount of things in my life when no one else would. My life has been changed when Mariah brought be to
starbucks and talked to me about purity and girl guy stuff. My life has been changed when Jay brought me up to Generation Conference to just hang out and receive a different perspective on how things should be done to reach the people we know.
If a man does good things for those whom he loeves (other Christians) what good is that? Even sinners behave in such away, but I want to be the person to reach out to others who have personally wronged me. Who have personally hurt me. I want to
reach. Like Jesus literally stretched out his hand and touched a leper. We as Christians have figured out how to be mighty cute. We want to change the world for Christ as our band name, personal name, sermon title is flashing high, but is that
Christianity? Or is Christianity Rock the City. Is Christianity Smithfield High? Is Christianity missions trips? Is Christianity what Mother Theresa did? Yea we can have the greatest call on our lives, and wow! We can preach to millions. So what? What does that change? honestly. Mother Theresa had ZERO personal agenda. She had ZERO amazing abilities, and she had zero vision of where she was going to go. She had only the vision that Christ gives. Take care of the widows and the orphans.
Take care of the poor and the sick. Love the unlovable. Sounds almost like a completely different Christianity doesn’t it? But she was elevated to a point in this world where no band, preacher, president, or anyone else has been elevated to in the last 200 years! Why? Maybe it is because she was to busy trying to change her and other world in Calcutta, India that she was to busy to get caught up in prideful useless cries to “change the world”.
I find it interesting that Christ tells over 500 of his followers to go into the world and make disciples. He uses the word make. Because it is not easy. You cannot sing or preach to someone than Poof! That person is now a disciple. It is a long
process that God has commended us to adhere to with others. Its is like a potter forming a clay pot. It takes hours of patiently waiting for the clay to become stable and ready. Thing need to be gouged out while other things need to be added.
Like catching the fish is only half the job. Almost the easy part. Then comes the make part, and as I look around the church today I see very very few disciples who went through the process of being made. They were fed a shallow gospel of hit and
run, so their Christianity is a shallow walk of stay then move. I don’t respect pastors that have to give me their cards to call them to come preach sometime. If God hasn’t elevated you how come you are trying to elevate yourself? Why not let God
shape and form your destiny without all your preconceived ideas about what changing the world is? Why else would Jesus choose 12 dumb rejected disciples? Fishermen and Tax Collectors. I believe he choose them because there was a whole lot less deprogramming to do before he could reprogram them during the making process of becoming his disciple. The lost art of discipleship.
We have nice gospel inoculation. We sing we preach you pray. See you at Christmas. What about the cost of following Christ? What about Brokenness to his will? What about persecution? What about laying your life down for your friends? What about our whole lives being about God and others?
Mother Theresa’s life was. Her entire life was about serving other, and God elevated her to a place that we could all see because I believe he was trying to send a clear signal to the church “THIS IS CHRISTIANITY!” Have we lost that? Are we trying to
elevate ourselves with a self promoting self given vision? I believe many times that is so. I have not figured Christianity out even a little bit yet, but what ive seen so far through the example of Christ is that it is a long process in which it is our duty
to help others through that long hard road. Is what our vision for ourselves what Christs vison would be? Would his vision be to build his local chuch and people so that the Gates of Hell could not prevail against it? Or would his vision be one to
reach everyone once with something that sounds and looks like something he would preach so that someone will be able to find God somewhere in it all. Idk. If “making it” is going out and getting my name in lights, and my face on cameras. If
making it is inoculating people with the gospel one time then never seeing them or hearing them again because they were never “made” correctly. If making is is me getting up and preaching a firestorm that gets people jumping for joy…..then
leaving.
Correct me if im wrong, but I don’t think I want to make it.
