Saturday, March 31, 2007

Who Does Jesus Want To Be In His Churches?

The woman said, "I know that the Messiah will come. He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us."
"I am that one," Jesus told her, "and I am speaking to you now." (John 4:25-26)


As I am reading the Gospel of John, I am once more impressed with Jesus. He is commonly found in the company of the sick, the rejected and the forgotten. In this particular instance, Jesus is revealing His identity as the long-expected Messiah to a promiscuous Samaritan woman. He tells her but keeps it from many others. It seems that Jesus really liked hanging out with the marginalized people. This fact raises the question of what kind of people are in our churches. If Jesus chose to be with the broken, the poor and the disenfranchised, why are we trying so hard to attract the middle-upper-class people, the educated and those who have it all together? Sure, they also need Jesus, but why are we giving them the highest priority? By the way, we do that by planting churches in growing, affluent areas as opposed to poor, falling apart neighborhoods. It is not always the case but seems to be a general trend in evangelical circles.

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