So, this past Saturday , about 30 of us did something most Christians in America will never do…we took the invitation of Jesus out of our front doors and into the neighborhood around us. We weren’t being pushy, we weren’t banging people over the heads with our Bibles. We were offering a simple invitation to join us on Sunday morning for worship.

Sadly, most Christians in America (and I say this because I don’t have any experience being a Christian somewhere else in the world for any length of time) will typically live their entire life without having invited one person to church, at least that’s what George Barna said a few years back.

Hopefully that trend will reverse itself, and the Church in America will get off of it’s collective couches, turn off their televisions and get out into their communities to share the joy that they know in their hearts through Jesus.

It’s high time the Church in America was awakened from it’s self-induced slumber and apathy and made an effort to reach out into the world around us… We were told for so long, by the media and then our own trendy leaders, that we shouldn’t be pushy…that we shouldn’t talk to people for fear of bothering them when it comes to the most important thing in our lives.

And sadly, again, we complied. We decided that, yes it was nicer of us just to live and let live, rather than make someone uncomfortable or put ourselves out there for possible rejection or ridicule.

But, Church, it’s high time to disentangle ourselves from the web of complacency and the attitudes of defeatism and fear. We were given a Great Commission to GO, MAKE Disciples, BAPTIZING them &TEACHing them everything Jesus taught and is still teaching us today. It isn’t a suggestion. It isn’t a request. It is a commission, a mandate and rule to live by…

The sleeping Church in America continues to get a wake up call from the society around it that is screaming for real direction and truth, but it seems we keep on hitting the snooze button and rolling over. When will we finally awake? When will we take those words of hope and liberation form the bondage of sin out into the world that so desperately needs them? When, Church? When?

Time runs thin as each day passes,
our opportunities wane,
people are wandering, lost in darkness,
and we keep the light to ourselves.

When will we rise up,
and share the light
of truth and love
to our waylaid friends,
family and neighbors?

Forgive our silence, Father.
Spirit, give us strength and the words to say,
Jesus, help us to be Your ambassadors to those whose hearts long for healing and restoration that only Your blood can bring.

Amen.