“But you will receive
power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:8
Over the past 5 weeks in Boston, the “melting pot” effect
has become so much more apparent. In
Boston, there are over 140 different countries represented. Since starting 5 weeks ago, I have met and
prayed with Nepalese, Brazilian, Russian, Haitian, Arabic, and Korean pastors. When you hop on the subway or bus, you can
hear several different languages being spoken.
The United States continues to change, but is the Church willing to
adapt? If you don’t think our culture is
changing, try calling an 800 number and see if you don’t have to press 1
for English. This wasn’t the case 10
years ago. However if the Church chooses
not to adapt with the culture, it will become ineffective!
Unfortunately the Church, in America, is still one of the
most segregated hours of the week. Sadly,
Islam and Mormonism are two of the fastest growing religions in America. I believe this is greatly due to the fact
that they welcome everyone with open arms.
Please know that this isn’t an immigration
issue for the Church, it’s a heart issue.
Jesus said we were supposed to be His witnesses to the ends of the
earth. However the “ends of the earth”
are coming to our front door, but the Church is not reaching them.
Jesus, as our example, adapted His strategy to reach His
culture and context. He never changed
His message, but His strategy was so foreign to what the status quo was
doing. Jesus consistently stretched
across cultural borders and included everyone.
It is time that the Church follow His lead!
It is time for the Church to wake-up!
Oh Thank God I read this! I am so grateful for your likeminded heart in Christ Jabo! And by the way, love your nickname! You could not have said it better, and more concise -an easy read and every drop counted! Thank you for such a great read from your heart, from His heart, Jesus The Christ! it makes me think of where I was at when I did international mommy time, they came to my front door because I could not travel at the time. mjh 2014.
ReplyDeleteIt is a family nickname that's been around for ages. My grandfather and father were both called that, so I wanted to be Pastor Jabo.
ReplyDeleteGood stuff, Scott.
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to having you guys back!