Creating Safe Places for God's Lost People

This past Sunday we looked at Luke 5:27-31 a little differently. Luke 5 reads,

“After these things [Jesus]went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” ²⁸ So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. ²⁹ Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them. ³⁰ And their scribes and the Pharisees complained against His disciples, saying, “Why do You eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” ³¹ Jesus answered and said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. ³² I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”

In this passage Levi, a tax collector, decided to follow Jesus. Upon making that decision the first thing he did was throw a big feast (or party) and invited all of his other tax-collecting friends over to his house. Without noting the obvious lesson here of the spiritually sick needing a doctor, Levi set forth, by example, a simple outreach strategy that I had not considered before. Levi’s party was simply dinner at Levi’s house with Jesus as His special guest. Levi created a safe place for his tax-collecting, “sick” friends to come and interact with Jesus for a time. Nothing fancy, but oh so special- Jesus was there!

 

At BCC we are actively re-considering outreach. Is outreach, at its base, simply creating safe places for lost people to come and rub shoulders with Jesus? The church is Jesus’ body (Col.1:24) and every time we welcome others to walk alongside us there is the potential that they will rub shoulders with Jesus too. However, we cannot expect them to come discover Jesus if we do not provide them safe places to do so.

 

This Sunday we are seeking to create a safe place for God’s lost people whom He loves to come by throwing a back-to-school cookout. We are going to dumb down the religiosity a bit. A prayer, perhaps a testimony or two, but otherwise it will be simply friends hanging out with friends and sharing Jesus in casual conversation.

 

Please pray that many of our friends will come and be curious about the source of the loving life of our people.