%201.avif)
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free.” Luke 4:18
Imagine that a flood was rushing through your town or city. The water levels were at least waist high, and the force of the flood could knock anyone over. Many people sat inside small boats or kayaks but they had no oars and so they were floating down the avenue with no way to control their direction or pace.
Some people didn’t even have boats. They were simply doing their best not to drown as the current violently shot them down the street. They had no life vests, and they had no way of saving themselves.
Now further imagine that you and a few of your friends sat in a larger, powered boat with a winch and with food and with life vests. Your craft was tied up to a secured wall, and aside from the inconvenience of a flood destroying your town, you all were safe and doing okay.
Finally, imagine that you and your people sat for days watching people float on by. You had the supplies and equipment and the expertise to be of assistance, but you chose instead to sit in your powered boat and sing songs and enjoy each other’s company.
That is the perceived idea the unchurched of North America has toward the evangelical church. And their idea isn’t based on speculation or guesswork; many of the unchurched people previously belonged to congregations all over the place. But as time wore on, they found that the culture of church didn’t exactly marry up with the culture Jesus commissioned His followers to build. His church was to bring His good news to the poor, the blind, the sick, the brokenhearted, and the oppressed.
What is good news to a poor person? Not being poor. How about a sick person? Maybe being made well? What are the oppressed looking for? Freedom from their affliction.
Part of the good news of Jesus is helping those who are afflicted. And His followers were called to go into all the world, not to stand at the front door of their church building and say “come.” I believe it’s a great thing for Christians to invite people to church, but that is not what Jesus is proclaiming in Luke 4. We are called to bring the good news out to those who need it.
Are the unchurched simply being unfair and unreasonable about the matter? Or are they right when in a recent pool, over 75% of the previously churched said that the reason they left had nothing to do with politics or judgementalism but rather with apathy. They didn’t see the point of church anymore. It led to nothing of true value. People created a culture to allow them and their people to feel good about life for two hours a week while the world around them burned.
So, what can churches do in response to this? What if every church spent 5% more in volunteerism and money toward local outreach, poverty, and the overall health of its community? That’s a half a million churches in North America adjusting their culture slightly from coming to going. Is it possible that we could do more than just send a few people to the soup kitchen once a month and instead, be a part of truly feeding the hungry and clothing the poor?
Floods come and go. The question we need to ask ourselves is, “Are we ready when the next one slams through town?”