Preaching to the Choir

Daily Reading: Acts 17

As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. Acts 17:2

Some of us are slow at learning truth. For years I have read Acts 1:8 where Jesus tells the disciples that they will be witnesses to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth in the wrong way. I always interpreted Jerusalem to mean our local community. I live in Wildwood, FL so for me my Jerusalem would be Wildwood. Something occurred to me through my reading over the past few days. Whenever Paul enters a town he goes to the synagogue first. Paul always takes the message of Christ to the religious insiders. Maybe Paul’s Jerusalem is the religious insider. Maybe our Jerusalem is our own church! 

Several years ago I read a very compelling book called The Continuing Conversion of the Church, by Darrell Guder where he calls us to the ministry of the continual conversion of our own christian community. Guder shows how our church communities are often full of non-disciples. If I change how I read Jesus’ call to be a witness it gives me a more complete picture of the mission field before me. First, we need to go to our own sisters and brothers where we make sure we proclaim the true gospel and from there enter into our community to friends and neighbors and then to the people whom we would not normally go to, the people who are different from us…finally we have to go to the whole world.  

It is further insightful that Paul’s greatest attacks always come from the religious insiders. When I started a Christian Coffeehouse, in Tallahassee, over the course of four years the only attacks we received all came from Church people. The most common attack would come because we would not disseminate one groups propaganda over another groups. We would tell a secular group who wanted to put out materials that we would put nobodies information out, so that we could be equal to all. None of these groups ever had a problem with it, in fact we often would get a affirmation. But, when we would tell a church group the same thing they would invariably attack us and say that we are not really “Christian.” 

Let us not forget to live out the gospel to our own brothers and sisters in the church freely telling the story of God’s great love.

Lord, help me to be consistent with the gospel wherever I am and may we see a revival come to the church.  Amen