One

I just returned home from a church conference. While this certainly was not my first, and hopefully not my last… I have appreciated the injection of enthusiasm and spurring on these events provide in just a couple of days.

Whatever the main topic is – we are always left with what do we do with the information given to us? I’ve been poured into and challenged over the years at these events. Those speakers and teachers provided scriptural foundations and God’s truths to encourage me… but ultimately, it’s up to me what I do with that knowledge.

I think this is the difficult part for many of us. Our excitement often doesn’t translate into change. It’s so much easier to maintain our normal rhythms and routines. Getting out of our comfort zone is hard, so we make excuses and/or justify our way of thinking. We want others to change and see the world through our lens, but how often do we pause and try to understand a different perspective, a different concept, or method of doing something?

I’ve often referred to this adventure I’m on as a journey. This road that God has me on has rarely been a straight path and has had too many speed bumps and detours for my liking. Who wouldn’t want to travel on a freshly paved, obstacle-free road? My husband and I are both convinced that our move to Sarasota was a God-thing. While we may not ever understand it fully, we’ve seen God’s hand in it and are pretty confident that He has us here for a reason. One indicator for us is that God wants us to experience “church” like never before.

And this conference that I just returned from is another indicator of why we’re here. While I won’t get into the details… I do want to share the vision. The church plant we’ve jumped into is committed to bringing in those who don’t know Jesus and making disciples. And our staff attended the “Intentional Church” conference. The foundation is simple and starts with the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19-20:

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (ESV)

Couple that with Matthew 18:12-14, where Jesus shares about a shepherd leaving 99 sheep behind to look for the one missing. Unless you’re a Navy Seal (you know, no man left behind), it’s hard to fully comprehend the significance of that. Leaving an entire group to intentionally save one. And even if we agree with the premise… that’s not our normal practice. It’s that comfort zone thing. It’s much easier to stay within the familiar and let people come to us. Except that’s not what scripture says we should be doing!

Jesus teaches all of us in Matthew 18:12-14:

“What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.”

Far too many churches have created an environment that literally cater to those 99 who didn’t stray. I seriously want you to think about that for more than a minute. Consider your own church’s services (times, style, etc.) and the programming (events, classes, etc.). Also consider outreach and discipleship (what are you doing to reach the lost and help them find Jesus?)

I’ve sat in more than one worship service and listened to the pastor brag about the number of people that attended the recent big event. Yes, it’s great that the church drew in that number… but what made me heartsick was knowing that there was no plan in place to reach them on an individual level. Outside of the a la cart menu of all the church programming, there was nothing.

And I’ll be bold here and say that, no, just telling people about your class options does not count as true discipleship. Having your bulletin or fancy handout full of information is not the same as having a cup of coffee with someone who walked through the church doors in search for meaning for their life.

But changing our thought process about the 99 and the church doesn’t stop there. Remember… there’s the one. The lost one. The one who needs Jesus and other believers to do life with. We are all supposed to be out looking for that one. Not just our pastors, elders, church leaders… but all of us.

Matthew 28:19-20 does NOT read like this:

Go Elders and make disciples of all nations, so the Pastors can baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, so our trained teaching staff can teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.

Go back and reread what it actually says:

We are to go

We are to baptize

We are to teach

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are that shepherd looking for that lost sheep. That one.

You don’t have to travel abroad – look around you. Those ones are everywhere around you right now. Find someone to come alongside today. Help them experience what life is like with Jesus.