A man whom I'll call "Dave" came to see me last week. I've known Dave for over 20 years. He's not what folks around here would call a "church-goer." Not by a long shot! He's been (as westerners might put it) "rode hard and put up wet!" But throughout the years, during some of the rough spots in his life, Dave had felt free to come by and talk. I've thought about trying to evangelize Dave in the past, but somehow it never seemed like the right time (whatever that means). Maybe I should have been more aggressive, but I'm just not the aggressive type!
But this visit was different. Dave was broken -- by another bad marriage and divorce, by business problems, and by who knows what else. "I've finally realized that I don't need another woman, I need Jesus!" And so, finally, we talked about Jesus. Dave still has a ways to go -- he still doesn't quite understand that sin is not just what we DO but who we ARE -- but he's so close to the Kingdom that he (and I) can taste it. I'm praying that he'll "get it" and take the final steps; and I'm pretty confident he will.
But my point -- again -- is that this was a contact that God has nurtured for years. And when Dave finally does stake out his faith in Christ it won't be a flash in the pan "decision" but the first step in a life-long walk of "discipleship!" And I'll have the great privilege to be there to walk with him.
It's worth it for a pastor to stay around long enough to see these kinds of relationships bear fruit!
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Giving Time for Contacts to "Mature"
Sometime it just takes a while for personal contacts to "mature."
This past Sunday our elders interviewed a couple for church membership that I first met about 20 years ago. The husband was a reporter for our local paper and attended a service to cover some story he was working on. Sunday he told us that he never forgot the impression that the service made on him. So when his own church began to fall into some troubling doctrinal problems, they decided to join ours.
Just tonight I had a conversation with a couple I've known for 10 years or so through a community organization that we are part of. They had been talking to several of our members about our church and were impressed by their enthusiasm. I don't know if they'll decide to try out our church (I never try to "recruit" members from other churches), but if they do, it will be the culmination of years of personal relationship with them.
I could tell lots of similar stories of the benefits of "sticking around" and getting to know people in the community outside the church. These are opportunities that would never mature if the church traded pastors every five to seven years.
This past Sunday our elders interviewed a couple for church membership that I first met about 20 years ago. The husband was a reporter for our local paper and attended a service to cover some story he was working on. Sunday he told us that he never forgot the impression that the service made on him. So when his own church began to fall into some troubling doctrinal problems, they decided to join ours.
Just tonight I had a conversation with a couple I've known for 10 years or so through a community organization that we are part of. They had been talking to several of our members about our church and were impressed by their enthusiasm. I don't know if they'll decide to try out our church (I never try to "recruit" members from other churches), but if they do, it will be the culmination of years of personal relationship with them.
I could tell lots of similar stories of the benefits of "sticking around" and getting to know people in the community outside the church. These are opportunities that would never mature if the church traded pastors every five to seven years.
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