Thoughts on Reaching the Lost:

I apologize for any type-os about to board the plane and don't have time to proof... 

Right now I am sitting in the Durango Airport reflecting upon my long weekend on the Navajo Reservation. I came out here for our Christmas Mission and Pastor Training program. My main task was to teach for several hours on Saturday. The topic at hand: Repentance. Part of the reason Becky, the head evangelist at Pure Water Ministry, and I chose the topic of repentance was to stress the need for a change of heart, a want to allow God to make us different. Sometimes these churches do not see much need to evangelize to the lost, to preach, “Repent and believe,” and are instead more comfortable serving their own body. Can any of us relate? In light of the lack of outreach, it was our task, our calling, to go and share the news of God’s giving to us His ministry of reconciliation (see 2 Cor 5).

With the call to serve the lost on my mind, and not simply at a simmer mind you, I began to read Jesus’ three back-to-back parables about the lost in the Gospel of Luke (15:1-24). The whole reason Jesus is telling these parables is in response to those Pharisees and Scribes whom seem disgusted by the fact that Jesus would fraternize with the sinners, those these religious leaders perceive to have low moral standards.

As I read this, I am reminded of how easy it is for humans to fall into hidden hypocrisy. When reading Jesus’ attacks upon the religious leaders of the day, it is easy for us to try and tag team with Jesus. In our minds we say, “That’s right, Jesus. You get ‘em,” never seeing our own prejudices in the attitudes of the Pharisees. We see a little bit of the Pharisaical nature in others around us, but never in ourselves, and that, makes us really Pharisaical if you ask me.

In the spirit of repentance, let me confess something to you. I am Pharisaical at times, perhaps often. No, I am not the most legalistic person in the world, but the Pharisees were not simply the focus of Jesus anger for one reason, but many. Like the Pharisees, I find it easier to hang out with like-minded religious persons like me. I do not often enjoy hanging out with those persons who embody what it means to be lost. When I say hanging out, I do not simply mean being in the same vicinity as I serve them, but actually investing my life in them.

We often idealize the lost, and that is easy from afar. But, if you spend much time with a variety of unbelievers, which Jesus certainly did, you will most likely, like me, find yourself unnerved at times. Not all the lost are happy to be sought after. Like the Pharisees, I find it much easier to speak about my faith with those who already believe as I do, but Jesus had a different tactic. He sought to speak about His Father, not with the righteous, but with the lost. (A quick reminder: He did not do it alone. He did it with the twelve. We do not have to go on our own)

But, Jesus did not simply seek to preach to the lost. He was not content speaking at them, but wanted to speak with them. He did not simply (I stress simply) serve them at a programmed event. He was not content with having brief contact as the needy were shuffled through a line, but wanted to spend time with the lost. He was kind to them. He celebrated with them. He sat and had meals with them. While in our humanistic fear we might hear the call to preach to the lost, and we might begin to think of simple loopholes. Some might envision a ministry where the individual can simply  “preach at” the lost, a get in and get out sort of game. Again, that was not Christ’s example. He was kind. He spent real, meaningful time with the sinners. He did not simply buzz in with a quick word or a hand out (that is often our tactic to check off the “I spent time with the lost” check box).

As I sit here, my human side, my fearful side, cries out, “Jesus, why did you have to be so kind. Why can’t I just get in and get out.” I read through the parables to see if I could find an answer there, but it was not explicit. There are probably several angles my mind could have taken to find the proper answer to this, but I could not help but focus on the parable of the lost sheep. The sheep wonders from the fold, and the shepherd goes off to find the lost one. The parable began to expand in my mind.

I don’t know much about sheep. They might be extremely easy to lead back to the fold. But, I do know a few things. First, I do have experiential knowledge of trying to wrangle in a wondering animal. It is not always easy to get to the animal that is wondering away. Have you ever had a dog run away from you? Each time you get just within reach, the dog runs off (perhaps this is why a common Jewish term for gentiles during the time of Christ was “dogs.” Perhaps we are seen as stubborn—by the way, I know this isn’t really the case, but there is a parallel at times). Second, I know that the sheep in Jesus’ parable are representative of people, and people are very stubborn creatures. Finally, I know that just like yelling at a dog to come back is not the best solution most of the time (there are exceptions), being anything other than kind to the lost is going to be at detriment to our testimony.

Calling people to repentance through the ministry of reconciliation is our primary call, but, I have seen in my self, in churches at home, in churches on the reservation, a pattern that must be fairly universal: The fear of reaching out. It is not something we are often comfortable with. We hold seminars and workshops on reaching the lost. We preach on the importance of reaching out. We start initiatives to be more evangelical, but we often simply do not follow through.

First, we must realize that our comfort is beside the point. We are not our own. We are His to do with what He wills, and He wills that we carry the ministry of reconciliation out unto the world. Second, perhaps we simply need a better perspective. Christ did not have a step-by-step initiative or a program that he scheduled into His weekly or monthly, or bimonthly calendar. He simply befriended the lost, and He celebrated with them. He showed them that life with Christ is something to be celebrated, a reason to break bread in and of itself. Their invitation was personal and celebratory. It was not drudgery.

As I encourage others to reach out to the lost, God is renewing my heart and mind towards the ministry of reconciliation. Will you join me?