The following opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Chisholm Baptist Church, it's members, board, or pastors. These opinions belong to Pastor Kevin and he is the one you need to complain to if you do not like this post....
How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! Romans 10:14-15
There are two events on my mind as I sit to write to you this month. The first is dinner last night. For several months, I have been trying to find a time to have dinner with Shawn, but the demands of my schedule has kept me from it. Finally, I picked up Shawn and we went to Jim’s bar for dinner. We had burgers and played a little bocce ball before I had to get over to the church for cantata practice. As is Shawn’s habit, he introduced me to everyone. I don’t have everyone’s names down as I ought, but I met more non-church people from Chisholm in the hour I spent there than I had at any single event since moving here two years ago.
For those of us who grew up in the church, we have an image of the bar as being a "den of iniquity." We can hardly imagine the evil that is going on behind those mysterious doors. And yet, what we find there is a lot of people. These people all have different issues in their lives. There were people laughing and having conversations together. There were others who looked to be very sad or depressed who did not look like they wanted to interact with anyone. There were couples and singles. There were older folks and younger folks. Most everyone seemed to be on a first name basis with one another. When Shawn ordered his dinner, the server was quick to ask if he was able to have that on his diet.
From my very limited experiences of hanging out in a bar, it was a pretty typical hour. There was music and fellowship. There were signs of pain and heartache and addiction, mixed with times of joy and victory and celebration. There were friendships and good natured ribbing. There were conflicts and struggles. At the center of it all seems to be a deep desire to connect with other people in some sort of a relationship.
In other words, it was a lot like being in a church without the Gospel. Actually, the similarities are staggering. The bottom line is that people long to connect with someone or some thing outside of themselves. For those of us who have learned of the grace of God through Jesus Christ, we understand that this longing is placed in us by God so that we seek Him and find Him. However, we also have the joyous privilege of sharing this good news with those who have not heard. So the irony of the bar is that it has many of the elements of church community that we work so hard to try to create in the church. The thing that is lacking is the Gospel. But how can the Gospel come to the bar if the Gospel preachers refuse to go there?
The other event that is prominent in my thoughts today was the report Sam brought home from work at McDonalds yesterday. One of the young girls who worked there didn’t show up. It turns out that she took her own life. As we talked about this event, Sam was obviously concerned about how he could have done or said something to have altered this situation. While the things already done cannot be changed, we were able to discuss some possibilities of how he can be a Gospel bearer to his co-workers at McDonalds.
There is no shortage of people who are desperately hurting and deeply longing for connection. The lack of purpose that people experience and their deep loneliness can only be met by their loving creator who has made their reconciliation possible through the blood of His only Son. The question then is why is there such a shortage of people who will go to them and tell them the good news of Jesus? On days like today I am reminded that it is a matter of life and death – both now and for eternity.
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I think there is a shortage of people who will tell the Gospel because in order to go to these places we as church goers have to leave our comfort zone (the CHurch) and meet people who we are not comfortable with. They may smell like smoke, beer or drugs, they may have not shaved and probably are wearing dirty clothes. For most Christians, that makes people uncomfortable because for the most part they probably don't think they could possibly have anything in common with 'those people'.
It takes courage and confidence to surround yourself with people who are different then they are.
But how are we to gain this confidence and courage if we don't make the decision to 'associate' with people who really only for the most part look different than us.
I myself don't have a problem going into a bar or associating with people who are different.
I like people who are different, I use to be one, they intrigue me. And really when you think about it they have the same struggles we do, they just don't have the same hope we do. I try everday at work to give people the same hope I do, sometimes they take it and think about it, and sometimes they reject it. Either way I keep trying.
Jesus associated with different people all the time, he surrounded himeself with people who didn't fit the norm so to say.
It's hard to force yourself out of your comfort zone. But it's worth it!
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