Larry L. has called me the “Master of Outreach” and I confess that I liked that sobriquet. I liked being known as a man, a pastor that had a heart for outreach. I have to confess that at council I was under considerable conviction about being the “master of outreach.” I have been passionate about outreach for years, but this year at council I became convicted that I did not have the heart of God when it came to outreach.
For years I have done outreach because I wanted to see the church grow, to see more people engaged in worship, in small groups, in the programs and ministries of the churches I pastored. I wanted to see people saved, I wanted to see prodigals returning to the father, but my motives and God’s were very far apart. At council this year I was deeply convicted about how shallow this was. About how easily outreach could become about me, about our church, about the numbers, our accomplishments.
At council the veil over my eyes was unzipped, the cloud over my heart was lifted and I experienced perhaps for the first time a glimpse of what the heart of God was like for the lost. In those moments of weeping and conviction I believe I became a changed man. My understanding of God’s heart forever changed.
Our great God is not simply carrying out a program, a plan, a strategy to save the world. NO. His heart breaks for lost people. His heart breaks for lost people and He has done, and will do anything to see them saved, including dying on the cross.
How do we understand His passion for the lost, His desire to see them saved. I thought I understood, but God used a message preached by Scott Slocum to renew my eyes. So I invite you on a three-day journey with me as we rediscover the heart of God. Be prepared, you may never be the same.
The heart of the call is discovered in the heart of God.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment