Reaching the Ones God Misses the Most

Luke 15:1 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them! 3 So Jesus told them this story…

1. Acceptance precedes reformation.

15:20 …“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. 15:25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house,

Dr. Richard Leahy, a prominent psychologist and anxiety specialist, was quoted as saying, “The average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s.” It turns out the problem wasn’t limited to an age group. In 2007, The New York Times reported that three in ten American women confess to taking sleeping pills before bed most nights. Tchividjian, Tullian One Way Love: Inexhaustible Grace for an Exhausted World

Perfomancism

The gospel is not that God makes a bad person good The gospel is not that God makes a bad person good. It's that he makes a dead person live.

How much “lost-ness” are you comfortable with?

2. You can’t force people into your church, but you can be ready when they come.

15:20 “So he returned home to his father 15:20 “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him... 22 “But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. 23 And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast,

1. Excellence 2. Intentionality

Excellence honors God and inspires people.

“If a church is open and only church people are attending I question the validity of it remaining in existence”. Williams, Zach (2013-12-04). Transitioning the Church: Leading the Established Church to Reach the Unchurched (Kindle Location 730). Rainer Publishing. Kindle Edition.  

3. Treat antagonists with respect, but don’t stop the party.

15:25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working 15:25 “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, 26 and he asked one of the servants what was going on. 27 ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

Don’t let antagonists determine the direction

1. Have a compelling vision.

2. Have the guts to lead. Pr. Myron Edmunds says: “It is impossible to lead the church to the next level without attrition”.

3. Bring alignment to the vision. There can’t be competing visions.