Whatever It Takes

There wasn't a dry eye in the room. The Rev. Adam Hamilton, pastor of Church of the Resurrection, had spent the day teaching a group of Memphis Conference pastors and church leaders about evangelism. His church, he said, will do whatever it takes to reach people for Christ.

He meant that in a good way. Not in a will-compromise-our-beliefs-just-to-add-you-to-our-membership-list kind of way. But in a I’ve-lost-a-precious-coin-and-must-find-it-no-matter-what-it-takes kind of way. (Luke 15:8-10)

Then to remind us why we as Christians must be willing to do whatever it takes to seek and save the lost (you know, kind of like Jesus did), Hamilton told a story about a precious child -- his daughter -- who hangs with a tattooed crowd. She has reached the age of independence, rebellion, and spiritual soul-seeking.

Now, Hamilton claims God’s promise: Train children in The Right Way, and, when old, they will not stray (Prov. 22:6). So he believes that this child of his will eventually return to The Way of Christ. But this is his concern: If one such child were to show up at YOUR church -- spiked hair, tattoos, piercings, and all – would you do whatever it takes to reach that child for Christ?

I want to say yes. I want to believe that we at the Interfaith Student Center are doing all we can to seek and save the lost at UT Martin. I want to believe that we are reaching out in love to all God’s children. Because I want everyone to know just how much God loves them. (Check out John 3:16.)

But I’m not sure that we are. I’m not SURE that we are doing ALL we can.

Today, as I was reading a friend’s blog, I was reminded of the words of John Wesley: "Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, at all the times you can, in all the ways you can, as long as ever you can.”

That’s why I’m starting this blog. Right here. Right now. Today. Not someday, when I’ve made the whole thing look cool and professional and worked out all the kinks. But now. Because right now, I can. And right now, there are people who are lost. And some just might be searching the net looking for The Way. And this is one more way that Interfaith might be able to reach them.

In the future, I’ll be doing my journaling here. I’ll share with you a passage of scripture. Use a series of questions to meditate upon the word. And share with you some of my musings. I hope you’ll share yours as well.