The Face of Christ

I had an epiphany this morning. I had a series of dreams last night and every single one of them involved what has been going on in our church. For those of you in the dark, let me shed some light. In short, we have made it our mission to not give up on loving the people of Wintersville Community Chapel, despite the few hang nails and speed bumps we have encountered.

Back to what I was saying before...I realized how complex the role of a pastor has become in the church today. Massive changes in cultural and societal environments of the church in the twentieth century seem to call into question everything the church has always believed about herself. It is the mission of the pastor to see that those in the midst of those changes, do not feel like "sheep without a shepherd". He or she must present the gospel of Christ and the cross to a "lost and dying world." Simply put: Ministry is people.

It also hit me that God is not napping during this hour of opportunity and harvest. He is watching and waiting for His bride to get herself ready. Some churches have become unbearable activity traps. How can we be effective in reaching other people if we are constantly involved in ministry (with other Christians) that never leave the church? There are other churches that have become steeped in a sense of purposelessness. They blame their complacency on the changing times, younger leadership, or lack of heart. Personally, I think the church has reached a crossroads. I've heard it said that this next generation, may be the last generation of Christians.

Jesus was a shepherd. He cared for the flock and was moved with compassion for them. He wanted what was in their best interest, and He went out of His way to make Himself uncomfortable and available for other people. He traveled long distances and had no place to lay His head. He sacrificed. Seeing this type of outreach without personal gain, is rare in the church today. People want to help the homeless for the "experience", to make them feel better about themselves, rather than stooping down and looking someone in the eye to understand why they are in the situation they are in. At one time, I was actively involved in a church ministry that would travel by van every Sunday evening to the streets in downtown Columbus and feed the homeless people there. Some of the people had shelter provided by the local faith missions, and some slept under the bridges night after night. Truth be told, the people didn't really need food. In fact, more often than not, by the time we arrived they had already been fed by the faith mission. Most of them had clothes that were in decent shape. We brought them food and clothes anyway, even though our mission was not to feed the homeless "food", but to feed them the Word of God. Our purpose was not to focus on converting them or to get them to join our church, but to give them hope in Jesus. It is not realistic to believe that a homeless person is going to get off drugs, leave the streets, and become an active participant in church once he or she accepts the Lord into their life. It's more realistic to believe that they may need ministered to a number of times, or that they will fall back into the same trap because they can't get out. It's easier to give up than to have hope in something and be let down. Only they are not let down by God, they are let down by us; the ones that go in the name of Jesus.

My husband has said numerous times that if he could do anything else for a living, he would. It's his job to aid in developing the hearts and minds of the people in his congregation to effectively go out into the community and represent Jesus. He must teach them to apply the gospel to their everyday lives. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. I can imagine how dirty and gross their feet must have been after traveling such long distances through the deserts surrounding them. And yet, He got down in their dirtiness and sin, and washed them anyway. He left us an example to live by in the way we are to treat others.

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how will they believe in whom they have not heard of? And how will they hear without a preacher? And how will they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: how beautiful are the feet of those who come in the name of the LORD, who preach the gospel of peace. Who bring glad tidings of good things!" Matthew 10:14,15