Dear Friends,

I sat next to a gentleman from Tallahassee on my way back from a conference last month.  He does not attend church and told me his wife is Catholic, but he didn’t like the Catholic way.  He then told me church wasn’t his thing.  I asked him, “If you did attend a church, what church would you go to?  What would it look like?”  He thought for a moment and said, “It would have to be the people.”  I wondered if that was the actual name of the church.  He went on to say, “It’s about the people in the church.  Are they really doing what they say to do?  I would look for people who are real in who they say they are.  I’ve seen too many….(trailed off)… Well, it’s about the people.”  I thought to myself, “he’s seen too many Christians not walk the talk.”  We had a little discussion about authenticity, and I encouraged him to attend church and take his little daughter to Sunday School.  He nodded, we exchanged a little small talk about children, fires in Florida, and about leadership.  He then started reading his book.  I may never know if he will attend church or come to Christ, but I hope that this conversation is a link in a chain for him.

After a layover, I boarded the plane and sat next to an elderly lady coming to Florida for a visit with her daughter.  I saw she had a Bible and asked her where she attended church.  For the next two hours we had a great conversation of how God works, and all the opportunities He gives us to share the love of Jesus Christ.  All we have to do is look around.  She was a veteran Christian who walked the talk.  We swapped God stories, and I was energized by our conversation.  I had the privilege to look at the world through the real eyes of a person who continues to give up her life for the Lord.  When the plane came to a stop at the gate, and the captain turned off the fasten seat belt sign, we joined hands and prayed.  I may never cross paths with her again, but the conversation enriched both our lives.

Of these two encounters, which one needs the church more?  You are right if you say the first one.  The young man who does not attend church, for he is exactly what the church was made for.  Christ’s sole purpose was to seek and save the lost.  This is evangelism, and our hearts are to break for those outside the faith.  Sixty six percent of the people within a five mile radius of St. John's United Methodist Church has little or no faith connection.  Folks, as Jesus said, the fields are ripe for the harvest.  Let’s go, for our mission is to make fully devoted disciples of Jesus Christ.

United together,

Kent

Pastor Kent