FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE

I often reflect on exactly: What do I, as a Christian, or us as a church, have to offer the world? The answer I most often suggest is, the Gospel. But, Why should the world or the un-churched person care for knowing the Gospel? A thinking person would ask, Why do I need it?
I once heard one of Billy Graham’s evangelism teachers compare the situation to a doctor and patient: A patient may go to the doctor and may disagree with the doctor’s conclusion, You have cancer. But every patient would agree that they aren’t feeling well. The symptoms are there, whether they agree with the prognosis or not. The same is true of most all people in the world. They may not acknowledge that they are sinful, or that they need the Gospel cure, but they live a life seeking faith (something to believe in), hope, and love. I was listening to the radio just yesterday thinking, wow! So many songs I heard were an emotional response to a need for faith, hope, or love. Our world may not know they need the Gospel, but they desperately want what it provides- faith, hope, and love.
Unfortunately Christianity and “church” have often fallen short in our promise to deliver what we know the Gospel is intended to provide. Our political views, bookstores, activist groups, t-shirts, and private schools have done little to reach the world and more to isolate us from it. I believe one of the most effective ways in which we can serve the world is through a process of community redemption. We will strive to offer community to the world. I remember Jesus eating with Zaccheaus, visiting with the woman at the well, welcoming children to his side. Our development of a church based on Community Groups will provide a mechanism to offer a Gospel-centered community of faith, hope, and love to our world. Tomorrow we will begin defining what these groups are and how they will work within our context.
Blessings,
Pastor Bryan