Our churches have been talking about being more intentional about reaching out to those that are “outside.”
I sent out the following email to encourage us in this:
Jim Petersen lists three obstacles that we all face when we consider reaching out to others:
1. Fear: “What will people think?”
2. Time: “There is no time in my life to do even one more thing.”
3. Personal inadequacy: “I’m just not ready for this.”I happened to read these words of Jesus, yesterday, written in The Message translation: “I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders.” (Matthew 9:13)… hmm… I’m the insider that He’s not here to coddle… those out there that don’t know him are the outsiders… That shows where His focus is…
But, I’m sharing this with you because I really enjoyed this email response from one of my friends-in-community:
Interesting, Roger, I have also been thinking alot about reaching out to the “outsiders”; frankly, they are more “real” than many believers I know, and they are searching, actually they are wanting to be listened to and made to know that they are loved “unconditionally.” This has been my biggest challenge, but I know that the sign of spiritual maturity (for me) is when I weep for the lost like Jesus did–it spurns me on to get out of my way (egoway) and just go for it…thanks for the reminder. YO
Comments
2 responses to “Weeping For Outsiders”
The example in Acts always has the Church doing its best evangelism when everyone is doing it by the power of the Spirit, not by one’s own strength. Usually a power encounter with the Holy Spirit occurs first, then comes the evangelism. We should take heed of this because we always forget it and then wonder why our evangelistic outreaches are so tepid and fruitless.
To this end, we should be praying for the Holy Spirit to fill each of us anew, to fall on the Church in a powerful way, so that when we go out our results are maximized.
(See Acts 1:8; 2:1-41; 3:1-26,4:1-4; 4:29-33; 5:12-14; 9:32-42 and on and on.)
Perhaps we need to do as the revival preachers of old did, lock ourselves in the basement and pray for a vision of the lost and their eternal destiny without Jesus. Then we will truly have a broken heart for those outside the Father’s Family, then we will use honest methods of reaching them motivated by love and not greed.
If we truly have a love for the lost then we will not be interested in outreach as a tool to grow our little corner in the Kingdom. If we truly have a vision of hell then we will lovingly share the Gospel with a sense of urgency and passion.
When we can weep for those on the outside then we will never again use some slick gimmick to trick another soul into venturing inside the church under false pretenses. We will never again use some lame excuse to invite someone to church. We will never again invite someone to a church social, but we will invite them to the Wedding Feast of the King.
The church has too often in the past traded the Good News for a program. We have depended on man’s methods rather than the truth of the Gospel. The Gospel is the Program! When we use “Felt Needs” as a way to win new converts all we get are folks that expect their needs to be filled all the time. When we use “Programs For The Whole Family” then all we get are folks that expect the whole family to be entertained or at least babysat. When these programs fall short of expectations, then the shallow roots are exposed and they wither up and die or move on to the next church with the newest and slickest program. Maybe we need to weep for the church?
Start with an honest love and concern for those outside. Use honest communication – be a compassionate listener. Don’t just invite them to some church function, invite them to meet the most important person in your life who can meet their deepest need – Jesus!
Peace & Love through Jesus!
Kevin