What would you be willing to pay to save someone from eternal separation from Christ? What would you be willing to do to have someone find their purpose in life; that God-shaped void that they had been spending their entire life attempting to fill in vain? What would we be willing to do or pay or maybe even readjust to have someone come and hear the gospel message of Jesus Christ that would impact not just heaven and hell, but their very existence today?
Different People
I was in Bulgaria one time in a city that was littered with statues of communist leaders that were too expensive to take down so they left them up. Teens gravitated to these courtyards and were putting plywood up against the statues creating ramps to skateboard off of. Teens littered the squares; skateboarding, drinking cheap bear and listening to their music on large jam boxes. My old skateboarding self came out. All I wanted to do was spend the rest of the summer there with those students, skateboarding, getting to know them, and sharing Christ.
I pastored in a city that was known for rodeos, cowboys and cutting horses. We held an Easter worship service at the high school; the feel, vibe and décor that year was geared towards the cowboy crowd. The stage was covered with country type decor, the announcer for that day was a world-renowned rodeo announcer, and I wore the wranglers, boots and leather vest to preach in.
One men’s event that we put on we built cooking pits where we smoked several huge hogs in each pit, brought in Sam Childers - the real-life man that the movie “Machine Gun Preacher” starring Gerard Butler was made after.
Why? Why would we roast pigs, build bucking shoots, spend the summer with Bulgarian skateboarders? Why would we make humorous videos about the joys of being a guy?
The apostle Paul would put it this way:
1 Corinthians 9: 19 For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23 I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
I’m going to give you what the apostle Paul said again; :23” I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”
If I could quote of friend of mine who has this in their church values statement; “We will do anything short of sin to reach people for Christ”.
What are willing to do to reach people with the life changing message of Christ?
Generations
I remember so vividly in seminary one professor that I thought understood the importance and urgency of reaching the lost. He took a crystal goblet that he told us he had received at his wedding some years ago. He said; “This is my generation.” He then took a plastic Flintstone mug and said; ”This is your generation.” I was a little offended, but now curious as to where he was going with this. Next, he took out a liter of orange soda and poured the soda into the crystal goblet and said; “This is the gospel message in my generation.” He then poured the orange soda into the Flintstone mug and said; “This is the gospel message in your generation. The content must never change, but the container holding it must continually change.” I heard what he was saying, and it resonated within me.
Meet the people where they are.
Acts 13:36 said that David served his own generation by the will of God...
His generation, not another, that generation. He met that generation where they were and served them there. He didn’t meet the generation of 2019, but the generation that God had placed him in.
I have seen some ministries that asked me what they should do with how they were doing ministry? I thought, put up a velvet rope charge $9.50 and take people on a tour of ministry in the 1950s. Are we meeting people where they are; for this generation? Jesus would take people to where he knew they needed to go, but he started with where they were. When Jesus talked to the woman at the well in John 4, he didn’t walk up and begin with a theological discourse of “You must be born again.” He knew where she was; he met her where she was with, “Can I have a drink of water”? You may ask; “A drink of water? How is that going to transform that woman?” Jesus met her where she was, “Greek to the Greek, gentile to the gentile.” When Jesus met with Nicodemus he didn’t use the same technique; “Nick, can I have a drink of water?” No he met Nicodemus from where Nicodemus was coming from, so different from the woman at the well. Jesus was familiar with people. He knew where they were coming from. David ministered to his generation.
“The men of Issachar were familiar with the times of the day.” They may not have comprehended the times of today, but like David, they were familiar with their generation, they knew the times of their day. What about us as a church? Are we familiar with the times of the day? Do we understand what year it is? Do we like David, understand our generation? Or, do we look at the woman at the well and say; “You must be born again”? Are we so set in being believers that we expect the lost to come to us, speak our Christianese, understand our journey, theology and God? Or are we called to meet them where they are? Jesus asking the woman if she wanted a drink of water did not transform the woman, it was a tool, a task, and a process to something far greater and deeper. But you have to start where they are to take them to where He is.
Will we say; “You come to us on our terms” or will we meet them where they are to take them to where He is?
When James, the brother of Jesus was part of the Jerusalem council and leadership, he was approached by Paul. Paul had seen the gospel being received by the Gentiles of all people; unheard of. But Gentiles were following Christ and being filled with the Holy Spirit. This was huge! When Paul asked the Council how they should proceed and what should they say on this matter, James, after much prayer and consideration responded that on the matter they should attempt to remove barriers from the Gentiles that would hinder them from coming to Christ. So many people have barriers of what they expect church to be; stuffy preachers in a pew lined, bright lit room where perfect people sit perfectly upright with their 2.3 children, saying amen at the appropriate time as they pass the plate for offerings.
Do we know what year it is? Do we as the church, know our generation and the times of the day?
OLD SCHOOL
I love so many of the old school hymns. I pray that we never lose them. So many of those old hymns carry such rich theology as well as our history as believers. I love to incorporate them into worship services. But I don’t want to utilize only the hymns written in 1879. The same way that God had moved on the hearts of song writers in 1879 He continues to do in 2019. Will we only utilize what God did and not acknowledge what he is doing in worship music that is being written today? I find myself, time from time, listening to old Keith Green music. Keith was a Christian singer of the 70s Jesus movement. When I listen to his music it takes me back to a sweet time in my walk with Christ. The old hymns do the same thing. But will I miss out on what God is doing today in the music world? Will I expose people only to music written in the 70s because that was my taste, my time, my generation?
David ministered to his generation; the men of Issachar knew the times of their day, will we minister to our generation? Will we hand out hymnals in a time of screens and technology? I will not bow to technology; it was not intended to be my idol, but it can be my servant.