Let me start off by saying that the word “outreach” really, really bothers me, especially when it is used in the church context. The reason it bothers me is because it implies that us Christians, who are “in” have the duty to reach “out” to all those dirty sinners and help them. It never really crossed my mind before but the word can really give off a posture of arrogance and elitism, especially if you’re the one being “reached out” to. If I heard that the local Muslim mosque was planning a community event to “reach out” to me because I was an infidel and I needed to convert, I would be like “ummm, no thanks!”
I am fully convinced that in order to truly “reach” those who don’t know Christ, we must do it from withIN. That’s how Jesus did it. He didn’t feed the 5,000 or heal the sick so that they would come to synagogue on Saturday. He did it because He walked, lived and breathed the Kingdom of God and the kingdom was smack dab in the middle of the filth and sin of the world. He was touched by their sickness because He was actually touching them on a daily basis and their sickness became His own. Compassion was not a buzz word to Jesus…He felt thier hopelesness and sin in His gut and it compelled Him to heal them, feed them and die for them!
This all points to one word that I want Sanctuary Church to have in it’s DNA from day one: INCARNATION. We are not called to “reach out” to the homeless, hungry and lost…we are called to be WITH them and Be Jesus to them. This will take more than a church program with a cool campaign and a catchy slogan. It will take changing our priorities as to how we spend our money, where we live, what we consider “church” and who we decide to give our lives to. Now, I’m not so naive to believe that this will happen overnight or will even be a result of human will. This is an act of the Spirit and will be accomplished through thousands of daily decisions to be Jesus withIN the world that we already live. It will be hard but I know that it will be worth it!
