God is at work again…yeah, I know He never stops, but seems to be working overtime lately. I’ve been in conversation with someone about why churches fail to reach people and the fact that it is not God who is failing, but it’s the church who fails. Well, this morning I read the following, which was posted by Mike Rayson on his Facebook page, and he credits Leonard Sweet for this line of thought. “If I go to Japan as a missionary & tell them how much I hate their food, their dress, and their music - and then tell them about the love of Jesus...I will fail. So why does the church insist on telling a younger generation that we hate their clothes, their friends and especially their music - and still think we can tell them about the love of Jesus.” That is so well said! Everyone knows that to be an effective missionary, one must not only go to those lost, but one must learn their culture and their language and then share with them the love of God in a way they’ll understand. It does not work to force our thoughts and ways upon them…just study English & Spanish history as they attempted to colonize the world. Why can’t we understand it works the same way with churches in communities? Rayson (or Sweet) is using the age/music example, but fact is, the results are the same for any division: social, economic, educational, racial...the list goes on and on. Remember, God wants them…but He doesn’t necessarily want them to be just like us. Another great comment in the conversation was, “We cannot show them the love of Jesus, without loving them.”
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