He’s worth it

Iwas just reading about a guy in Philippians 2:25 named Epaphroditus. He was a servant leader, an ordinary guy that sat in a pew on Sunday, but he was asked to go and minister to the apostle Paul while he was under house arrest in Rome for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Epaphroditus almost died while on this mission trip, he got sick, maybe he ate some bad hummus or a bad falafel, but Paul wrote that “he nearly died for the work of Christ,” risked “his life” to serve others.

Why don’t we see this in the church today? Maybe because we only attend weekly services on average about 2 times per month. With that kind of commitment, who would ask us to go on a mission trip?

Several years ago I served at a pretty good sized church. We had about 200 in worship most weeks, big staff, lots of people coming and going from the church building all day long.

Can we talk? It just about drove me nuts. I spent all my time in meetings.

I remember one day where I was in three different meetings and we discussed drainage issues at the parsonage, problems with the new copier, sump pumps, personnel issues, choir leaders that won’t be leading at choir because they will be at state athletic events, scheduling of children’s choirs to “perform” on a Sunday morning (I thought it was about worship, guess I was wrong), deacons that are scheduled to serve (it’s what deacons do) but have to work, end of the year children’s parties, blah, blah, blah. Nothing about making disciples (the mandate given to the church by Jesus, Matthew 28:19-20), nothing about mission trips, risking our lives, making sacrifices, eating bad bean dip, getting sick and almost dying for Jesus. Am I not getting invited to those meetings? Are they secret?

We had twin boys that attended this church every time the doors were open. They were in junior high, a couple of real nice young men. Their mother had just lost her job as the manager of the local Subway.

At that time we were about to launch a food pantry ministry which was great, I loved that ministry. I was glad to be a part of it, but as I left the church council meeting I heard someone say how this single mom could come and get some groceries while she is unemployed. Yes, she can. The only problem is that you can only get groceries from the food pantry once a month and we only give away a grocery sack at a time (church policy). That’s going to last about a day. Good luck with that single mom.

I’m old, tired and sometimes cynical but when are we going to do the things we say we believe? Our job was to help this mother and her boys—I mean really help! We were to help until it hurts, to help until it costs us something, we are to help to the point of death (at least maybe it will just feel like we are dying like Epaphroditus). That kind of help never materialized. I long to see the church being the church.

If you are going to Rome on a mission trip, hit me up, I’m ready to go. I’ve had all my shots, I have a passport and I don’t like pita bread so I think I will be safe. My point is let’s risk it all, like we see in the Bible, let’s have an outward focus. He’s worth it.

He told me to tell you that.