She slipped into the church a little late and sat 3 rows
from the back. She might have gone
unnoticed and even slipped out a little early saying nothing to anyone, if it
hadn’t been a Wednesday evening and the congregation was dismissed to go to
their Life Group classes. Walking down
the aisle, I noticed the bewildered look on her face as most people walked past and down the stairs. I
stopped, introduced myself and said, “Why don’t you come with me. I will show you the way and sit with you.” She smiled grateful for a friendly face and
together we walked to the Adult Life Group.
For conversation’s sake, I asked what brought her to our church;
had someone invited her; did she know someone that attended the church? She said softly, “My Jesus-level was real low.” I replied that I was very happy she had
decided to join us this night. The
lesson was about spiritual growth and seemed directed at mature, committed
Christians. I listened to the teacher,
all the while praying that something was getting through to her and at least would bring her “Jesus-level” up to a readable measure. After the teacher finished his lesson, some comments were made and she
raised her hand; “Thank you, this really spoke to me tonight,” she said.
After the class, I told her again how happy we were that she
had come and invited her back for Sunday worship. She said, “I want to come back and I will, but tomorrow I am going into Rehab for a few weeks.” I hugged her, told her to take the time to
get better and when she got out of Rehab, we would be here to love her and her
children. I have her name, phone number
and address and I intend to follow up and help her raise her “Jesus-level” to
the top.
We are encouraged to invite our friends and neighbors to
come with us to church. So we invite, they come and then what? What do we have to offer; what are we serving
up when they come? Most cities have “Heinz
57” or “Baskin Robbins 31 flavors” when it comes to church variety. There are architecturally-beautiful
buildings, multi-program mega churches, rock-star music complete with flashing
lights, pastors preaching in robes, suits
or jeans, rumpled shirts and tennis shoes; but what happens when our “Jesus-level”
is low?
I recently read an article about a church in Oklahoma that
is offering a Sunday evening service of Beer & Hymns. Sure, they check your Id and there is a
3-beer limit. And after all, you are
singing hymns that hopefully mention Jesus.
Perhaps after you have consumed your 3 beers you might even be ready to
listen to a salvation sermon and pray the “Sinner’s Prayer,” but what about the
emptiness in your soul? What about your
Jesus-level?
Jesus asks the woman at the well for a drink of water, how
different the story would have been if His next comment had been, “Come
on down to the synagogue with me. We can
have a beer together and sing a few songs.” It wouldn’t have satisfied her thirst or
upped her Jesus-level; she needed the Living
Water that Jesus offered. What hope
would the young lady at our Bible Study carried with her to Rehab, if we had
shook her hand, offered her a beer and sang a few hymns? She
needed some Living Water.
When we invite our friends and the come, they are not looking
for programs; they can find that at the local community center. They are not looking for professional music
or flashing lights; they can find a concert to attend every weekend of the
year. They are not looking for a cold
drink and friendly faces, where “everyone
knows your name,” chances are they know a better bar that serves better
beer. They are not even looking for an eloquent,
hip speaker sporting the latest clothing trends and spiky hair. NO, they are hungry for something that
satisfies the longing deep inside. Life
probably hasn’t worked out so well, they want things to change and just maybe
you will provide some answers.
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