I heard this phrase this week. It's not your typical Southern saying..but some times "Mainers" say it... and in the context I heard it, it meant "thanks, but no thanks...not interested"
I went to Portland, Maine this last week on a mission trip to help a new church plant, Cross Church, reach out to people. I have not spent much time up north, and it was very apparent right away, that it was not the hospitable South I am accustomed to.
Don't get me wrong, not everyone was rude or indifferent, but typically people do not make eye contact or speak to you first as you pass them on the street. And talk about a melting pot...we could not have made contact with more nationalities unless that Southwest airliner flew us completely around the world.
I say all of that to say this...
I have been pondering this point for awhile. Here in Hopkinsville we have Challenge Houses. They are located is disadvantaged areas, the people who live in them become rooted in the neighborhoods. Services are offered from the homes, like GED classes, after school tutoring, and bible studies. I love the concept. Real live people who simply love their neighbors.
The more I learned about the Challenge Houses, I began to ponder some thing. Why do we not do this in other neighborhoods? Are the people living in the higher income areas all saved? Do they not need to hear the Gospel? I have been thinking about this for months, and I think this trip to Maine has given me a glimpse at the answer to some of my questions. As I walked the streets and beach in Maine there was a sense that people felt that we had nothing to offer them. They did not feel they were in need of anything.
From my very limited experience as to how things work with a new church plant, it seems like a slow grind of a process. How do you reach out to people who feel they have no need? Giving some one some thing tangible to meet a physical need is fairly easy, its what I do at work every day. But how do you make one aware of their need when they have a beautiful home complete with a dock and boat?
We know the need...we have felt it ourselves. As I watched these church planters at work, Aaron and Kathy Werner, I noticed some thing. It was brief windows of opportunity that they took. They never passed up the chance to chat with some one, to get to know them just a little.
We keep hearing "its all about relationships" lately, and it is. We must be willing to be in relationship with people if we hope to show them the most important relationship of all, one with Jesus Christ. Not every one, or should I say, most people don't respond to being handed a gospel tract. The more I ponder this, the more I come back to this point. Do we care that people are dying and going to hell? If we really do, then it will change us. It will change what we are willing to do, who we are willing to talk to.
I come into contact with people every day. I am free to share my faith at work, unlike many people. There are no excuses, it all boils down to how much I care.
Pondering....
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