Speaking to Our Neighbors
When the idea to set up a booth for our church at the Thursday night market was presented to the elders, we were all enthusiastic. We knew that our church needs to engage with the culture around us and seek opportunities to begin spiritual conversations with our neighbors. To set out our flag downtown among a cross section of our culture seemed right. We do not want to isolate ourselves from the world. We actually want the people around us, however blinded by darkness, to join us in the glorious light of Christ. And we know that God makes his pleas to them to be reconciled to himself through the church, even our church (2 Cor 5:20).
We had a few areas of concern to address with everyone, though, before launching. We were not sure how the culture would react to us being there. The elders wanted to be along for the first two maiden voyages so that we could help others at LHF know what to expect, be ok with not having all the answers to the questions we would be asked, be able to redirect conversations back to our gospel focus, and to trust God to draw people to himself.
But it was even more important to address how we present Christ to our culture. Too often the Church (with a big C as well as the local church) in America has moved away from winsomely and lovingly speaking the truth of Christ in favor of other messages. Like it or not, all outreach must overcome obstacles. Some only the Spirit can overcome, and others we must do in the Spirit's power. But all of these are exacerbated by the fact that churches too often dress up the gospel in additional and/or ulterior messages. How confusing this must be for the lost!
We have no other message than the gospel and we needed everyone who would participate at the market to agree to that focus. Not that every conversation would necessarily result in proclaiming that gospel, but every desire of ours must be motivated by that gospel in order to prayerfully connect non-Christians to Christ. We're not on a mission to convert people to anything or anyone else.
Social justice issues have long taken many churches on detours, circumventing the gospel. The gospel certainly deals with justice and brings definitive change to society. Everyone from widows to orphans to slaves to ethnic outcasts to war criminals to despots are transformed by the gospel in Scripture. But, by dropping the whole "we're sinners in need of a savior and that savior died in our place, rising again in triumph over sin" bit, the social justice movement became powerless to bring about the lasting justice and societal change it seeks. We must not be detoured from the central message of freedom from sin that only comes through Christ's cross. Is that what our neighbors would hear from us?
LGBTQ issues have derailed many in the church by causing an inordinate amount of focus (read stigma) to be placed on one type of sin, all the while minimizing or ignoring many others. This kind of selective application of gospel truth has caused us to lose a hearing in our world. If the church lacks integrity, we lack influence. Would we be able to regain some respectability in the public eye by genuinely wanting to reach the LGBTQ culture for Christ while not minimizing sin, every type of sin, even our own sins? If there is to be a greater focus on any kind of sexual sin, the Scripture tells us where to look: inside the church.
I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people—not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler--not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those outside. Purge the evil person from among you (1 Cor. 5:9-13).
The recent scandals of Ravi Zacharias and the Southern Baptists, among others, should make us shudder with much more agony than the sins of the world.
Christ died for all manner of sexual sinners, which Corinth was full of, but they had become "washed," "sanctified," "justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God" (1 Cor 6:11). Like Corinth, we need to deal with the sin on the inside while still offering the gospel of grace to those outside. Nothing less than God's heart for sinners will do for our church. Will our neighbors see that heart? They must!
Additionally, political power has jockeyed for center stage in the church. The buttering up to government power has long held sway in the church. The weird thing is, that sword cuts both ways. Politicians pander to the church and the church courts their ingratiating influence. As Russell Moore said recently, "The kind of cultural Christianity we now see often keeps everything about the Religious Right except the religion." Some of you are old enough to have witnessed this intensify over the last few decades. Some of you are young enough not to know anything else. But parties don't make disciples, and policies don't regenerate hearts. So we were not interested in converting people politically. We want to trumpet Christ and no one else.
I speak for the elders when I say I am very pleased to see many in our church desiring to keep the gospel the focus. A big thank you goes out to the McConnells for putting their backs to the plow here. I know that, inasmuch as we constantly set our eyes on Christ and abide in him, we will bear much fruit despite moments of disappointment.
Not all of you will participate at Thursday night markets (but please, everyone, participate by praying for the next five weeks!). This is certainly ok; this is not the only context in which we can share our faith. But all of us can take some lessons from this outreach:
What are you doing to show that you genuinely care about the sinful condition of souls? (Of course, if you don't have that concern, there is an even deeper issue to address.)
What do you really want to convince people about?
What makes you the most upset and how does the gospel answer those things?
Are you being selective in how you apply the gospel, making more of others’ sins than your own?
How are you intentionally reaching out to people who don't want you reaching out to them?
Will you enter the marketplace, without something to sell, knowing that Christ is his own attraction?
