As I was sitting in the auditorium of Willow Creek Community Church this past Sunday I was reminded why we as Christians cannot just “sit” and warm a pew. I listened as Dr Bill Hybels recounted a story from the past; you see this past weekend marked the 36th anniversary of Willow Creek and they were reflecting on the lives changed through those years. As he recounted this particular story he was evidently moved emotionally as if it had just happened. As he wiped away tears from his eyes he told the story of two young boys who were fighting in an airport waiting area on a trip early in his ministry. One youth was around 9 years of age and the other was around 7. He was reading his paper when the fight broke out and as the nine year old was beating the younger child he looked around to see where the parents might be. Seeing no one he stepped in just as the older boy grabbed the younger boy who was now on the concrete floor. The boy began to pound the younger ones head into the floor with no restraint, it was at this point that Dr Hybels reached the boys and pulled the older one off and to the side, receiving some hits of his own for doing so. At this moment an airline employee took over so that Dr Bill could catch his flight. While sitting on his flight he began to ask the Lord why he had to witness that, because as it happens Dr Bill has an extreme intolerance to violence.. It was at this moment that the Lord gave him a phrase that to this day it is quoted around the world within the Christian realm..”The local church is the hope of the world”.As I sat there listening to this man of God speak with the same emotion and conviction after 36 years it brought my thoughts to our own ministry. We reach out every day to the hurting, needy, broken, and destitute people of our community. We see lots of “help” for these people; government programs, assistance programs, food programs. This help is so needed, however it doesn’t fix the problems. It would be like taking a pain killer for an abscessed tooth but never doing anything to fix the root problem; the abscess. We pray that we can be used of God to bridge that gap. To be able to come alongside the workers and get to the root of the problem. These issues are many times generational damages that have never been fixed. Through the Grace of our Lord we know that these special broken souls can find a permanent solution; a “real fix”.
..the hope of the world
After working on the streets with the hurting I can appreciate what Dr Hybels felt as he viewed the injury inflicted by a youth who simply didn’t know better. Being the Church, the people of God must understand that to be the hands and feet of our Lord we have work to do. The word DO would hint to an action and we cannot be in a state of action if we simply sit and warm a pew or chair in a building. Take what you learn in the building and get out and take action. Through that action we as a Church truly can be the hope of the world….