BINGO! SPOT ON! For Sure! Way to many Churches have turned into ‘clubs’ or ‘kingdoms of their own’ Walls! Not open doors to the very poor, handicapped, homeless and felons. Many love preaching to the choir! When is the last time you were in church and you saw people on their knees needing help? People in wheelchairs that have been driven to church by others? I was blessed to preach in Reserve, New Mexico for 9 years on and off, filling the pulpit as a circuit preacher. It taught me so much about GOD and HIS PEOPLE! God showed me what is wrong with many Churches! At FBC in Reserve people from all walks of life would come. One Sunday Deacon Charles McCargish invited a young man who was very poor and was in need of a bath. This young man came forward during the Alter call and asked Jesus into his heart and asked me to pray that he would give up drugs and turn his life around. Weeks later he died of an overdose, but he had accepted JESUS! BUT!!! It took Deacon Charles to ask him to come to Church that Sunday. Deacon Charles has done that for years…inviting the hurting to Church, to the hospital. We all need to carry out THE GREAT COMMISSION! AMEN! What is the Great Commission? We need more like Deacon Charles and his wife Joan, pictured above, they have ministered to the Catron County area for many years. I have many stories from my years at FBC in Reserve, I should write a book on what God has shown me. Serving at FBC in Reserve was so much better than seminary ever could have been for me! 9 years of on the ground, experiencing God at work in my life and many others. Are you shining your light in your community for JESUS? When is the last time you have reached into the depths of hell and asked someone to the hospital?
So many in your community would love to come to Church….but they need to be invited in the love of Jesus! This Sunday Pastor Sheldon Wolf is baptizing a special young lady! I wish I could be there! The folks in Reserve are so very blessed to have Pastor Sheldon! PTL! AMEN!
FROM CHURCHLEADERS:
It is a natural thing for Christians to want to be around other Christians. Something special happens in the fellowship of believers but too much of a good thing can lead to broken churches.
We can worship freely, study deeply and communicate clearly. Hanging out with like-minded people who (appear to) “have their stuff together” can be a wonderful thing.
But how well are we engaging those who aren’t as spiritually stable as we (think we) are?
I’ve been fascinated by the fact that a lot of Christians don’t seem to like non-Christians—otherwise known as “the lost,” “the unchurched” or whatever other term you may want to use. They want to keep away from the messy people—perhaps missing the obvious,
Hospitals, Not Country Clubs: Churches Without the Broken Are Broken Churches