Getting Dirty for Jesus: Breaking Rules to Reach the Lost

Are you tired of playing it safe in your faith? Do you long to make a real difference in people's lives but feel stuck in religious routines? It's time to get our hands dirty for Jesus.

As your pastor, I'm going to be real with you today. The church has lost its edge. We've become too comfortable, too clean, too concerned with keeping up appearances. But that's not the example Jesus set for us. He came for the sick, the broken, the addicted - not for those who had it all together.

It's time we remember our mission and get back to the heart of what it means to follow Christ.

The Lost Are Our Mission

From day one, reaching the lost has been the mission of this house. When my parents started this church 42 years ago, they didn't choose a nice, safe location. No, my dad called my mom and said, "Connie, I found the place. There's this little old rundown building...broken beer bottles everywhere, cigarette butts everywhere, roach clips...And it sits right across the road from a package store where there are tons of young people just hanging out. This is where God wants us to start the church."

Why? Because they understood Jesus didn't come for those who thought they had it together. He came for the lost, the broken, the sick, the addicted, the orphaned, the youth, the confused. That has always been our mission, and it needs to stay our mission.

Carrying Some Weight

As followers of Jesus, we've been called to carry some weight. We need to bear the burdens of the people God has placed in our lives. Look at the story in Mark 2 of the four men who carried their paralyzed friend to Jesus:

"Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on." (Mark 2:3-4)

These men didn't just invite their friend to go see Jesus or give him a couple of tickets. No, they said, "Hey man, Jesus is going to be in town tonight. I don't care what it takes. If we have to carry you for miles, we're going to get you in front of Jesus no matter what it takes."

That needs to be our attitude. We can't just casually toss out invitations to church. We need to be willing to go the extra mile, to carry people to Jesus if that's what it takes.

Breaking Some Rules

Not only do we need to carry some weight, but we also need to be willing to break some rules to reach people for Christ. Those four men in Mark 2 didn't just break the rules - they destroyed the rulebook to get their friend to Jesus. They dug a hole through someone else's roof!

According to one commentary, the roof would have been made of mud, straw, and manure. You know what that means? As followers of Jesus, sometimes you have to be willing to dig through somebody's stuff to get them to the feet of Jesus. You have to put up with the smell. You have to get your hands dirty.

I'm telling you, when the harvest starts coming and we've got kids that haven't had a bath in a week, not because they can't, just because they couldn't - our job as followers of Jesus is not to point it out, but to begin to love them right where they are and be the hands and feet of Jesus right there in their mess.

To reach people no one is reaching, we have to do things no one else is doing. We can't keep doing church like we did 50 years ago, or even 5 years ago. We have to be willing to innovate, to try new things, to break out of religious molds - all while staying true to the gospel.

A Vision for Our Church

Here's my vision for our church: I see a group of people who don't judge those who don't know Christ, but instead love them into a grace relationship with Him. I see a church full of people willing to carry some weight, dig through some stuff, get their hands dirty, and break some rules to bring people to Jesus.

I see a church that remembers what it was like to be sick, to be broken, to need healing - and because they remember someone doing that for them, they do it for others.

Putting It Into Practice

So how do we live this out? Here are some practical steps:

1. Pray for God to increase your passion for the lost. Ask Him to break your heart for what breaks His.

2. Identify one person in your life who is far from God. Commit to praying for them daily.

3. Don't just invite that person to church - offer to pick them up, sit with them, and take them to lunch afterward.

4. Look for opportunities to serve the "messy" people in your community - the ones others might avoid.

5. Be willing to try new, even unconventional methods of outreach. Don't be afraid to ruffle some religious feathers if it means reaching someone for Christ.

Remember, "To reach people that no one is reaching, we will do things that no one else is doing." Let's be that kind of church. Let's get our hands dirty for Jesus.

-PK
WBCC Lead Pastor