Monday’s Message

At church Sunday, we finished up our series “Unveiling the Vision” where we revealed our e³ strategy.  That’s basically our road map for how we execute the mission Jesus gave us in the Bible: “Doing whatever it takes to reach whoever we can with the hope we have in Jesus“. It’s pretty simple: three E’s: 

• Engage - Connect people to Jesus
• Equip – Connect people to community
• Extend – Connect people to service 

I am so pumped about this series!  I am also jacked from the responses we’ve received from so many people who “get it”!  It is so passed time for the Church to be acting like and thinking “It’s all about me” when people are dying and going to hell without Jesus! To quote my old football coach, “There’s no I in team” and there’s no I in church either!  Funny though, it’s right near the middle of “trad-I-tion“.

You know what?  It’s never been about us.  It has only, can only, and will ever be only about one person: JESUS!  Anything else is simply selfish and it’s sin – no matter how spiritual it sounds!  Here are a few examples:

• That’s not the way we do things here. Translation – I am more concerned with my personal preference and tradition than than with seeing God move in a powerful way. (The Pharisees did that here).
• Doing ministry like that is compromise. Translation – I boost my spiritual ego by adhering to legalistic principles that make me feel good about myself.  (Of course, Jesus calls us to live holy lives, but there will always be those who don’t get it!)
• I just want to go ‘deeper’! Translation – I am more concerned with knowing about Jesus than knowing Jesus. (This is an honest misstep, but being madly in love with Jesus like the Bible says here will motivate us to serve Jesus – not join another Bible study class!)
• You’re bringing the world into the church!  I can’t translate this one.  I just don’t get it.  I hope we are bringing the world into the church (engage), so that we can send the church (equip) into the world (extend).  Maybe I’m confused, but I thought that’s what this meant??

I could go on, but I won’t because the task ahead of us is too great.  People are on there way to hell, just like I was before I met Jesus, and there is no time to be distracted from the work at hand.  People need a savior.  His name is Jesus.  I have committed my life to telling as many people as I can about the hope that is found in Jesus Christ alone.  Beyond that, I could absolutely not care any less about what people think or say about me.  I have resolved to concern myself only with what Jesus thinks of me.  I don’t want to be one of these guys.  How about you?