A quick chat this morning with a co-worker sent my thoughts spiralling off, so in an effort to bring my world into some sort of order again I'm writing this out. It's something that's been resonating with me for the last week or so, and I guess this morning was the nudge that's dropping the penny! Here goes...
LifeXchange, the organization I am now serving with, is currently looking to recruit mentors (specifically men) in the local area. After targeting several prominant churches and other networks in the Fish Hoek Valley, they have struggled with a lack of response and are currently sitting with maybe three potential applicants. Already behind schedule, we have decided to give it another month to try and get at least seven more, before making decisions about going ahead. Given the desperate need for mentors to walk alongside and disciple the troubled youth in only one set of streets in one community in this corner of the Cape Peninsula, it's disappointing that only three people have responded to the call.
We were discussing whether targeting churches for mentor recruitment was the right approach. Because, if we want to disciple the youth - following Jesus' example - where else can we go? However, we realize that the people who are most likely to respond are those who have a heart for giving and serving, which means that they are probably already over committed to things within the church and cannot take on something else. And it was sad to hear that in the past LifeXchange has had more people showing interest in being mentors from within the secular world, where those who are interested in 'giving back' may not have an avenue for doing so. But again, we go back to the point that this ministry is about discipleship.
So, what's going on, church? Luke 14:15-34 is ringing in my ears! Is it wrong for me to conclude that congregations are made up of a few givers and a much larger majority of takers? Or is it fear of people from the townships, and the community itself, that's an obstacle? Or is God's still, small voice lost in the raft of louder voices, thoughts and ideas that come from the multitude of things that we fill up our time and life with? Or maybe it's an even more devious distraction, where we are pursuing holiness and building each other up until we are 'ready' to do God's will? In the words of Erwin McManus (Seizing Your Divine Moment), "We have a lot of great assemblies that we call churches, yet the very word church means 'to be called out.' No football team has ever won a Super Bowl on the strength of the huddle. It's what happens after the 'ready, break' that brings the victory ... like Israel's army, you cannot win a war until you leave the assembly and engage the battle. It's not enough to assemble; you also have to go to war. We have a propensity towards assembling for our own good without being moved to serve the good of others..."
I don't want this to be a rant, which is always so easy to do when it comes to the church. I know that we are not perfect and pointing this out over and over again isn't going to help any! But realizing that God has not abandoned us in our imperfection, nor miraculously granted us perfection from the second we receive salvation is a first step. We are all in the beautiful tension, being worked or fashioned together by the mostly invisible Holy Spirit, chosen by God to be a holy people, God's instruments to do his work and speak out for him. Or are we?
I guess I'd like to ask the question 'What's happening to our saltiness, church?'
Or more importantly for myself, 'What can I do to be the change I want to see?' Well, for me, the answer to bringing change is relationships. So, crazy as it sounds, I have decided I need to be on mission to church! Everything I am learning about mentoring and discipleship I can put into practice with my own congregation (or community group at least) and through relationships hopefully stir up hearts that have gone cold or are still dormant. Maybe that's the role for all of us? After all, the beauty of mentoring is that people on both sides of the relationship, mentee and mentor, are changed. Is that what Christian community is all about?
