People overwhelm me.
I've been sitting in the Charlotte airport, watching hundreds of people walk by. All shapes. All sizes. All colors. All ages. Happy. Sad. Ticked. Annoyed. Excited. Discouraged. I'm seeing it all.
And 2 things just hit me.
ONE
Many of these people are lost. Most in fact. They don't know Jesus. Or that He loves them and came to save them.
That absolutely breaks my heart. How do I reach these people? How will they know? Why have so many rejected?
That struggle is hard enough. It should keep me up at night. It should be more important than my job. Your job.
But then...
TWO
Something else hits me.
No one here has ever heard of The Bridge Community Church in Des Plaines, IL. Or at least 99.99% haven't. In fact, most haven't heard of Harvest Bible Chapel. Maybe Rick Warren? Maybe? Probably not.
7 billion people on earth. And probably .000003% have heard of my church. WOW!!!
Christians...get a grip.
Why do I ever think I'm big stuff? Why do you? Because of our ministries? Because I get to play guitar? Because of your study group? Your church's slogan? Logo? Because people 'know' you? They 'know' me?
I have to be careful here. What God is doing in the lives of individuals and families at The Bridge and other churches is incredible. It's overwhelming. His grace is all around us. His work is constant.
But He is big. Not me. Not you.
I'm not that cool. And neither are you :). Our church isn't the greatest thing in church history. And neither is yours. And if you don't go to one, that's not better either.
A few weeks ago, our Lead Pastor zoomed out from our church to the edge of the universe. I thought I was so small that day. Overwhelmed that God even loved me.
Today....again...I'm small.
Wait...one more thought.
Do you know what else is bugging me right now? That us "Christians" often spend time shooting down churches that no one has ever heard of!
We go after the very thing that this airport needs, because we think our opinion is so important. It's not.
These people need Jesus. They need His bride...the Church. How dare any of us bring our petty arguments into the way of God's work in our world?!
Again, I have to be careful. As Christians, we can have real reasons to switch churches. Or want to try something new. Or to just move on. I get it. That doesn't necessarily bother me.
But put the guns away. The verbal shots. The quiet conversations. The 'prayer' meetings. The blogs. The nonsense. Stop aiming at each other.
Christians...get a grip.
So you don't like The Bridge? The people at the table next to me don't care. You don't like Harvest? No one here seems to care. Not the biggest Rick Warren fan? Who cares?!
There are so many people to save and we want to waste time tearing each other down? Hoping the "other church" doesn't reach people? Seriously?!
These people at CLT don't care! They just need hope. They need love. They are lost.
Christian...search your heart, whichever side you're on.
1. Are you too proud of your church? Think you're cooler than everybody else? That your music is better? More godly? That your ministries are more effective? That your way is God's ultimate way?
Don't scroll on too fast. Are you?
2. Are you bashing another church? Making sure they know why your new one is better? Throwing cheap shots and gossip around? Even just to close friends?
Again...are you?
This isn't just about The Bridge. Or Harvest. Or Rick. It's about all churches. All cities. All countries.
This blog is about all of us. Because this stuff can happen to any of us. Trust me. It happens to me.
My advice? Since God already knows, stop now and confess your pride. Then repent and move forward.
Cheer for God and His Church. Cheer for all of them. It's what I'm trying to do.
I better go. I have a flight to catch.
My heart remains broken. The lost are everywhere here.
People have left the tables around me and more have shown up. Guess what? They don't know The Bridge either.
They might not even know God.
You see, ONE is way more important than TWO. But we better get TWO right so we can do ONE well.
Christians...get a grip. Because the world is lost.
