Monday, March 08, 2010

Jesus said, "You make me sick!"

What is the worst thing that Jesus could say to a church? Think about it. Of all the things Jesus could say—what would be the worst?

Try this on for size: “You make me sick!”

That would be pretty bad, wouldn’t it?

Have you ever told that to someone? I can’t remember a time when someone so upset me that I uttered those words. I know I’ve thought it a few times. I’ve read about some terrible and disgusting criminal offense and I’ve thought, “That’s sick” or “we live in a sick world.”

We all know that Jesus had some serious public disagreements with the Pharisees but he never tells them, “You make me sick.” To the insulting people at Golgotha or to those people who beat him or spat on him and taunted him he does not say, “you sicken me, you nauseate me.” But He does say those words to a group—to a church group, no less. This is how the Message version reads Jesus words: “I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You’re not cold. You’re not hot— far better to be either cold or hot! You’re stale. You’re stagnant. You make me want to vomit.” (You might recognize that those are the words he tells the Church at Laodicea in Revelation 3.)

OK here’s what worries me, while God is doing great things in our world (i.e the Horn of Africa, India, China)—the church in the USA can at best (at Best? I think that is accurate) be described as “stale” and “stagnant.” Our methods are old. We aren’t reaching many people. Revival is not occurring. (I know these are generalizations, but for the great majority of places and a great majority of churches these facts are very true).

So here’s my point-- what are we doing about it? I do not want to be stale. I have no desire to be stagnant. And I certainly do not want our Lord saying to us, “You make me want to vomit.” So what are we going to do about it?

It seems to me that we have two choices: 1) Act like Jesus didn’t say these words and be OK with the fact that we live in a spiritually stale and stagnant land; or 2) Decide to be part of the solution and take an “All out” and “Whatever-it-takes” approach to providing new, alive, growing, prayerful, ministry.

I beg you to join with me as we begin to explore what this means. Just in case you are wondering, I think it has everything to do with lighting candles in the darkness (and not hanging more chandeliers in the fellowship hall). It has everything to do with stepping out in faith, being risky, and not burying the blessings that God has given us. In has everything to do with not being satisfied with the status quo and determining we have this one life to make a difference and then going about (through God’s enabling) to make more and better disciples. Join me…. in this Great Adventure.

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