Crossing the Gap

The longer I'm in ministry and when Sundays have drawn to a close, the greater the task of ministry that must be climbed. There can be a great tendancy to prepare for a week of ministry and exegete from the pages of the Bible and do it from the four walls of the church campus with little thought of the ongoing lives of those who will listen to the message or carry out the ministry plans. The utopia of the minister's mind can be that people leave Sunday service and ponder every syllable that was uttered and have a deep longing to return to the feet of your teaching. NOT!!!

• People leave the safety of the sanctuary and deal with the uncertainty that they will have enough work to fill 40 hours.
• Children return to homes where parents prevent them from being baptized because their parents cannot be sober long enough to talk about it.
• Single Parents wander if they will have grown-up conversation until next Sunday.

The list could go on and does....

But what we as ministers must be intentional about is jumping the gulf that WE can create between the campus of the church and the rest of the world we are called to reach. Gone are the days where church is the center of a community. Gone are the days when pastor's are the normal first voice to consult when life issues arise. (we are usually after Google, Oprah, Facebook, and Twitter.) We are called to reach people and partner with God, and His word, and His people to transform lives for God's glory- not create a pretty looking organization called church.

Jumping across that gap can be risky and calls us to leave the safety of our corner office. But God didn't call us to safety - why else would we need armor. I'm ready to jump. Anyone ready to join me?