Call me an idealist, but I believe that we as the Church of Jesus Christ could completely do away with what we call "outreach" and perhaps end all para-church ministries, as well as many agencies that support the poor, homeless, etc., etc., etc. I am not against any of the before- mentioned, but would just like to make a few points as to why I believe this way.
I know that WE, as the Church, are called to DO outreach, but it seems to contribute to compartmentalizing our thinking into a subtle form of segregation. Outreach, by its very nature, classifies people into groups and labels them. I began to think much more on this starting a few weeks ago when I met with a local pastor. He basically said to me, "we don't do homeless outreach in our church." Of course my initial thought was, "WHAT? You have to be kidding me!" And then one of the most wonderful things I have ever heard came from his mouth: "WE DO all that we can to make the 'homeless' and poor in our community of faith feel so welcomed and a part of the family, that we don't differentiate in any way between them and anyone else."
Wow! Just think about that! What if we, as the Church, functioned in ways that the early church did? What if we did not have such segregation within the very Body of Christ? What is we truly took the Bible seriously and committed ourselves to passages like Acts 2 and Isaiah 58 which teach us that we should have all things in common, that no one among us should have want for anything, that we please God and He reveals Himself to us when we feed those who are hungry, clothe those who lack, and bring people into our homes?
While I am dreaming, what IF we literally followed Isaiah 58:7?
Just some thoughts to ponder. Yet, if 20% of the professing Christians in America would get out of themselves and DO what the Bible says to DO, we would have no need for shelters, para-church ministries for the poor and homeless, or government organizations to provide food, clothing and shelter, WE would just DO it because that is what God says to do. Could it really be just that simple?
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2 comments:
Great blog Phil right on the money... Dan C
Great post P'Fiddy! Someday we will see that very heart and that very thing...sadly I dont believe it will ever be this side of heaven. In the meantime, my thought is that to each are given gifts...not all are the same...and so it is with hearts and deeds.
As to the church who you spoke of...as long as the congregation "acts" out Acts...then I am for the Pastor's heart...but IF there is no real fruit, then I have to go back to; What are we, the Church Leaders, teaching...better yet, how are we discipling, is it by example?
My point is, stop the Outreach and begin the ReachOut.
Thank you Phillip, for your way of excersizing my thoughts and my heart!
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