Erosion of Pretense
Over time, Kingdom focus and Great Commission labor has eroded all pretense in my approach with Christians, leaving little but a bold simplicity that has little patience for anything that inhibits disciple-making. By God's grace, I manage to maintain a gregarious tone in most of my admonitions, however direct they may be. However, there are days in which even my natural demeanor is exasperated, and all that is left is a line in the sand.
Today is such a day, and I make no apology for it.
“And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Never before have Jesus' words from Luke 10 been so real to me. The harvest is indeed plentiful and the laborers are indeed few.
Every day, I spend time with people who don't know Jesus, people who are void of the the hope that is found in knowing Jesus, and I ache for God to receive the glory He deserves for their redemption. And, every day I find myself looking to the left and to the right seeing only a faithful few harvesters bearing the burdens of disciple-making, swinging their scythes in this great harvest of souls. And, every day I pray for more laborers....every day.
A Life's Worth of Excuses
Let me tell you what a tragedy is. Every day, millions of Christians spend all of their waking hours giving no thought to spiritual death their neighbors live. Every week, those same Christians show up to a building where they have an experience and do nothing of significance to advance the Kingdom. Every year, millions of dollars are spent on making that experience as comfortable and as entertaining as possible for those very same Christians who are doing nothing to fulfill the Great Commission.
I no longer just pray for laborers. I seek them out. I ask them to leave their comforts and join the harvest. The excuses I hear are soul-starving. They include, "It's not my gifting" and "I'm busy with (fill in the blank) and can't help right now." Most recently, I started doing the math on stage of life excuses. Consider this list of excuses when listed in chronological order: "I'm too busy with school." "I'm too busy getting established in my new job." "I just got married." "We just had kids." "My kids are in elementary school, and I just don't have time for more." "My kids are in Middle/High School, and I'm focused on them right now." "Our kids just graduated, and we're taking time to travel as empty nesters." "I'm really busy planning my son/daughter's wedding." "My grandkids get all my time right now." "I'm too old and tired." "Let the young people do it. I've done enough." I don't know whether to cry or curse. I usually do both.
Christians have an entire life's worth of excuses not to join the harvest, and I cannot hear one more of them. My heart is broken for the lost and by the found, and my arms are weary from swinging this scythe alone.
It is now that my heart aligns with the Keith Green's lyrics from decades ago when he calls out a church that remains Asleep in the Light. Have a listen.
“Open up, open up and give yourself away
You see the need, you hear the cries so how can you delay?
God’s calling and you’re the one but like Jonah you run
He’s told you to speak but you keep holding it in.”
The Last Measure of Kindness put to an Appeal
So, I appeal to you with the last measure of kindness Jesus has made available to me today. Will you really forsake all and follow Him? Will you leave your comfortable church building and love those who won't come in? Will you leave your office cubicle and take the gospel to the person at the end of the hall? Will you leave your financial security and give to the poor? Will you leave your programing and sound system and go into the home of a person of peace whom God is drawing to Himself (Luke 10)? Will you leave your TV and pray for your unsaved neighbor?
If the answer is "no" and you would rather stay comfortable than be on mission, then make that clear to Jesus and to yourself. Don't go on pretending that you are an agent of His Kingdom. Admit to yourself and to God that you don't care about Him or the people He loves, so we can all leave you to your carnal devices.
But, if the answer is "yes," then I can offer you several opportunities today. This is no admonition to make some ambiguous commitment to "try to do more." I have some specifics. Here you go:
- Volunteer to lead children's ministry in one of our house churches. We have several kids that don't know Jesus yet, but are eager to hear about Him every week.
- Volunteer to host a house church in your home. Invite your lost neighbors over for dinner, and invite me or another person to show up and share Jesus.
- Give to support missions and church planting in all the places no one is going. You can do that right here through the Great Commission Fund.
- Take on my son as your little disciple. He has some special needs that limit my wife and I both in ministry. He needs someone to minister him, and you could radically influence the Kingdom of God by caring for him and freeing my wife and I to serve more.
- Leave your comfortable church and help plant a church. You can come to mine or I can connect you with 30 different church planters in Northeast Ohio or elsewhere. Tell me where you are (dan@restorationamherst.org) and I'll find a church plant near you.
- The next time someone tells you we don't need any more churches, remind them that most evangelism is happening through church plants. Then punch them in the face and tell them it was from me.
- Sell everything you own and go make disciples somewhere else in the world. Here's how to get started. I'm not kidding. God may want you to sell everything and go.
- Stop whatever you are doing, and make a list of lost friends, family, and acquaintances. Then pray for them every day.
The harvest is plentiful and I have plenty of scythes. Whose with me?
