Reach People!

A recent blog I read:
People ask me all the time how we’ve been able to see so many people come to Christ in five years.

Outside of the favor of God, I could give you a lot of specifics. Tell you a lot of things that we’ve done. But none of it will help you until you make a decision we made in the early days of our church.

And that was the decision to be more focused on the people we’re trying to reach than on the people we’re trying to keep. As others have said, to befishers of men, not just keepers of the aquarium.

We’re not going to cater to the personal preferences of the few in our pursuit of the salvation of the many.

And that includes if the few is ten people when we’re pursuing one hundred.
Or 5,000 when we’re pursuing 10,000.
Or 10,000 when we’re pursuing 20,000.

Most people and churches aren’t willing to do that. They’re keepers of the aquarium. They say they want to reach people, but in reality they’re more focused on preservation than expansion. On keeping people rather than reaching them.

They let saved people dictate style. Saved people dictate focus. Saved people dictate vision.

The result is a room full of saved people. Not people getting saved. Why? Because the people you’re trying to reach aren’t interested in the church that has been created by the people you’re trying to keep. If they were, they’d be coming. But they’re not.

For some reason, right here is where people usually play the discipleship card. They’re trying to disciple the people they’re trying to keep. They accuse you of pitting evangelism against discipleship.

But that isn’t the case. I just believe true disciples should care more about making disciples than freeze framing the church the way it was when they became one. Or wanting twenty-six programs customized to their liking. If the mark of Christian maturity is a bunch of people who want to create a museum glorifying and preserving their personal preferences and then sanctify it by calling it a church, count me out.

Some people say why can’t we have both? You can. Focus on the people you want to reach and you’ll keep the people you want to keep. Let the rest walk. They’ll find a church elsewhere to graze.

The way I see it is they’re just occupying the space of a person who needs to hear the gospel. You’ll fill their seat.
And it will be with the person who needs it the most. - Pastor Steven Furtick

My Thoughts: Its time we become the church Jesus talked about!  That church that has a passion for those that have yet to be reached.  I want nothing more than to be a place that reaches our city and reaches broken people that if it was not for the power of God they would untransformed.  95%  of all church plants just move sheep from one pen to another.  To be a church that has a heart to reach the lost with the POWER of God seems to be a foreign concept to most according to stats. Anytime you set out to do something out of the norm you will experience set backs, attacks, contention, etc... Yet if we let Jesus teach us, correct us, mold us, and use us we will only become better! Lets keep our eyes fixed on the author and finisher of our faith and then do what He did!

 I was doing a funeral in Nebraska recently and saw a sign for a museum of Religious artifacts.  I instantly heard the Lord say, Nate every artifact had an amazing beginning that was intended to reach my lost people, but then the way to keep the people became more important than the heart to still reach them. This is why it is on a shelf.  Nate don't look to the shelf on how ministry use to be done, but look into the world and see my harvest! Do what you see and you will reach my lost people. 

Third Day Trust In Jesus

Covenant!

cov·e·nant

 - Law . an incidental clause in such an agreement.  Ecclesiastical . a solemn agreement between the members of a church to act together in harmony with the precepts of the gospel.  The conditional promises made to humanity by god, as revealed in Scripture.  The agreement between God and the ancient Israelites,in which God promised to protect them if they kept His law and were faithful to Him.  Formal agreement of legal validity, esp. one under seal.  To enter into a covenant.  To promise by covenant; pledge.

2 Kings 23:3

3 The king took his place of authority beside the pillar and renewed the covenant in the Lord's presence. He pledged to obey the Lord by keeping all his commands, laws, and decrees with all his heart and soul. In this way, he confirmed all the terms of the covenant that were written in the scroll, and all the people pledged themselves to the covenant.

Heb 10:16-17

16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," 

NKJV

 I will say this and set the record straight form the beginning!  If we were even a tiny bit as FAITHFUL to others as God is to us, we as His church would be incredible at relationship! (1 Tim. 2:13)  Covenant is not an agreement to be kept until you are no longer willing to do the work of relationship, it is not a pledge that is only good until you come to a disagreement.  It is a vow of relationship made between God and man!  Not to be broken or taken lightly.  It is this covenant that we make with God that should govern or dictate how we do relationship with one another! My question I ask myself and you is this: "What does God say about this other person and if they were my kid, how would I want them treated?"  I believe if we were all mature enough to ask that question we would see a lot less hurt in the church and world.  I also believe if we held each other accountable for the choices we made in relationship, and worked all issues out with the heart of restoration before we acted, we would find that the world would come in throngs to our services.  Instead we have a history of hypocrisy, judgmental attitudes, and broken people who have now defined Christianity to the world.  Our wounded example is the only example of Jesus the unchurched person has, and because of this, men and women who are looking for The Answer say, "I want nothing to do with that ........"(you fill in the explicit blank)!  I am by no means an expert and a have just a few more things to learn (or a few million more) about the covenant we make with others.  I do have a desire to do all in my power to do relationships right, and this desire runs as deep as my passion to serve Jesus Christ!  

As I preach this next month on relationships I will lay out some God given Kingdom principles which should govern how we do relationship with each other! What does God have to say about Grace, Truth, Transparency, Boundaries,  Faithfulness, Accountability, Confidentiality, and other Biblical principles in relationship?