Winning Ways: “Wreck the Roof!”

Are you willing to wreck a roof to get people to Jesus? Before we go any further in our Connection Campaign, we better have an answer to that question.

At the end of the first week of our Connection Campaign, 55 households told us they’d like to come to our Open House on October 14. Eighty-one other households expressed interest and wanted more information. We also gave 328 requests to our prayer team.

Imagine what those numbers will be after three more weeks of calling!

So, now’s the time for our entire congregation to settle the question: What are we willing to break to get people to Jesus?

That question comes from a story in the Gospels. Matthew said that some men brought to Jesus a paralytic, lying on a mat. Mark and Luke point out that since they could not get their friend into the house where Jesus was teaching, they dug a hole in the roof above Jesus and lowered the man to him. All three of these Gospel writers point out that it was “when Jesus saw their faith” that Jesus healed their friend.

Sadly, not every church has this kind of single-minded passion. Some churches are more interested in keeping the roof intact than in getting people to Jesus. Mark Buchanan wrote about this--

Roof-tile Syndrome is when we are so caught up in the preaching of Jesus, we turn our backs to the needs of those still outside the building. It's when we're more upset when stuff gets broken than excited when the broken are mended. It's when the church exists for itself; to hell with the rest of you.

Have no doubt about it: getting others to Jesus requires that we break some things. It may mean we have to break our comfortable routines, or break up our cliques, or break our Common Ground table into two. It may mean that we have to cheerfully break our habit of claiming that choice aisle seat! It may mean we have to break our preferences for what we think “ought” to happen in a worship service.

I’m struck by that line in the story: “When Jesus saw their faith” he healed their friend. Remarkable! I wonder what kind of faith Jesus sees in us during this Connection Campaign. I want it to be the kind of faith that sets everything aside to get people to Jesus!
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Each Wednesday I post my article from "Winning Ways," an e-newsletter that goes out to over 830 subscribers. If you want to subscribe to "Winning Ways," sign up here.