Lately I’ve encountered a number of people who (a) think differently from me, or (b) are struggling to get their lives together. One is a friend who tells me she’s ready to come out as a lesbian. One is a single mother whose 17-year-old daughter recently attempted suicide. Another young mom just separated from her abusive husband. A young father who is raising his 5-year-old son needs help parenting. A wife of 22 years is concerned that her marriage is stuck and her husband is bored.
My first reaction is to do what any good church member would do: invite them to church. There they’ll hear the word of God presented in a way they can relate; their spiritual eyes will be opened; their hearts will be strangely warmed, and miraculously they’ll find themselves at the altar surrendering to the lordship of Christ. Only in a worship service can they experience God’s presence via anointed music and feel conviction of the Holy Spirit as the sermon is preached.
Right?
I wish. I wish it were so easy. I wish I could feel good about simply having a conversation with people, inviting them to church, and then gettingback into my comfortable life. I wish I could sub it out. But I have come to realize this isn’t what Jesus meant when He told his followers to go and make disciples.
Makes me think about birthing a baby. The conception is the easy part. Then comes the gestation period as that embryo develops, next the birthing, and finally, the arduous, confusing, tiring, sometimes discouraging process of helping that new creation develop into a mature adult.
I know one thing. If I’m not allowing the Holy Sprit to identify me with the character of Christ, I won’t be willing to go the distance with anybody. I have to give up my rights to some of my stuff. My cell number for one thing. These people need to be free to call me. My personal time: sometimes conversations extend much longer than my original schedule dictated. Sometimes a relaxing encounter nbecomes a Q and A period for a Soul searching for answers. Even my expected vacation time turns into an opportunity to research what the Bible says regarding the seemingly gray areas.
At times, I’m lost as to how to give advice. I open my mouth with the pat, churchy answers I learned in my spiritual toddler days, and find they aren’t adequate. I told my lesbian friend I’d walk this out with her. I promised not to preach to her, or pass judgment on her, but together with her, explore what the Word says and if that lifestyle is wrong, together we’ll understand why. To my young mom who is married to an abusive husband, we’ll explore the scriptures about divorce and God’s will.
What I’m realizing is that I’m feeling an increasing willingness to go the distance with these people. I might go as far as to say I love them. I know this didn’t come from myself. I’m a spoiled Christian. I like comfortable church seats, pretty music, and lunch at a nice restaurant afterwards. And I like for the pastor to have all the answers so I don’t have to wrestle to find them.
In a recent sermon, our pastor did give me an answer. He said that all the commandments are summed up in one: to love God and love the people He created. He said if we do that, we can’t help but make disciples.
No longer can I just invite them to church. I have to take those people by the hand, walk alongside them, and tirelessly lead them to Jesus. Eventually they might go to church. And I pray that if they do, they will find a gathering of Christ-followers who are also making disciples, who are willing to be broken and poured out—be the bread and the wine—for other hurting people.