I was looking at the famous picture from "In Darkest England" by William Booth and I couldnt help thinking about todays church. What is it we are actually doing ? What are we really about ?
“Dramatic changes in purpose, attitudes, behavior and lifestyle, characterized by actions of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control that reflect a commitment and obedience to Jesus Christ.”
I truly believe that the local Church is still a viable ministry vehicle. Unfortunately it seems like it normally functions like a rescue ship that is constantly recruiting passengers to become sailors who end up spending their time fixing the holes in the sails instead of rescuing people. We watch as sailors jump ship to find a better one somewhere else. It’s inadvertantly become a competition of who’s got the better ship just to keep people in it. Of course, there are those who just jump back in the water and start rescuing people.
The sailors who jump in to rescue people in the dark stormy waters are usually looked at as disobedient, undisciplined in the fine art of rescuing. The sailors looking for a different ship are too occupied to rescue the drowning people around them.
When the captain decides to jump in to rescue someone, more will join him in the water and use any means neccesary to rescue victims. The rest of the crew either stay on the ship, look for a new ship or look for a new captain. Why? It’s because the majority of sailors became highly skilled in caring for the ship and never learned how to swim.
Here it is. Are we discipling people to fix and build ships so we can build more ships, or are we rescuing people using any means neccesary to get them to shore as quickly as possible? The message is just as relevant today if not more so, yet we are busy fixing the sails. Are you willing to get wet to save someone ?
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