Church of the Hills

This past weekend, members of our church volunteered at the community Duathlon/Pump and Run.  That is, a 10K bike race, 5K run and weight-lifting.  I got tired just writing that!  One of our members, who was working at the registration, asked me "Are you running?"  I said, "No! I am looking for the volunteer donuts."  I was assigned, along with my friend Randy Hyde and a local police officer, to a particular spot on the course that had the potential for danger.  The riders would be heading south, coming up a slight incline, then heading down hill towards an intersection that required them to bear left.  The police officer was stopping traffic at the intersection, but the traffic could not see the bikers coming.  I was positioned at the crest of the hills where I could yell instructions to the bikers and to notify the officer as to whether to hold up traffic or not.

   It had rained that morning, so the roads were still a little wet. I was really concerned that we might see someone go down.  As the bikers approached, I would yell, "Watch your speed, down-hill, to your left!" I did this for about 90 minutes.  Another volunteer said, "He's going to wear hi voice out", to which Randy replied, "Don't worry. He's a preacher."  Fortunately, with over 100 bikers, two times past our position, we saw no accidents.

   I had lunch yesterday with one of my favorite people, Pastor Rick Duncan of Cuyahoga Valley Church in Broadview Heights, OH.  He had just finished a teaching series about different faiths and how we has Christ-followers can share the Gospel with these groups.  Two of the passages he used in the final message of the series were...

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6) and,

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no othername under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12).

   While most Christians would give a hearty "Amen!" to these verses, the majority of us live as if we don't believe them.  Why do I say that?  Because 95% of us will never leade a person to faith in Jesus Christ.  The majority of Christians will never share the Gospel with a lost person. And here's a shocking stat, 48% of Baptist pastors have not shared the Gospel with anyone (outside of their preaching) in the last three months! We say we are Evangelicals, but we act like Universalists.  Universalists believe all paths lead to God and everyone is going to heaven.  You might say, "I don't believe that; Jesus is the only way!" So, who is the last person you with whom you shared the Gospel?

   Imagine for a moment if there was no positioned along the course at the dangerous intersection I described above.  What if the sponsors of the event decided, "That is just not that important"?  What if instead of being on the course, we were back at the registration, wearing our volunteer T-shirts, drinking coffee, eating donuts and having a good time?  You would say, "That would be crazy and irresponsible! The reason the volunteers were there was not to get the T-shirt and donuts, but provide safety and protection for the racers." True.  And why are we still here as Christ-followers?  Is it not to warn the lost about an impending judgement and point them to the Cross?

   As we approach the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando and the very important matter of the Great Commission Resurgence, let's remember that restructuring is of no value if we are not passionately, intentionally, regularly and personally sharing the Gospel.

  Or did you come just for the T-shirt, donuts and coffee?

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