Sorry Not Sorryናሙና

PEOPLE, not PREFERENCE.

Churches, over time, have the tendency to become self-gratifying. In fact, all of humans have a default to making sure that their needs are taken care of, that they get the things that they want, and that they look out for number one. Just look at any baby who's ever been born - their natural inclination is not to make sure that their parents get enough sleep, that they have what they need, and that mom and dad are happy. They're looking out for one person: themselves.

Christ has called us to something radically different.

In the passages we'll read, Jesus makes some bold statements about the Kingdom of God and how different it is from the world. The least are the greatest, the most powerful are servants, and humility is foundation to all else. This often gets lost in the church, and the practicality of these teachings falls to the wayside. What it looks like today is that church ought to be a place where methods and stylistic preferences all come second to a mission to reach people far from Christ.

When deciding what music to play, the conversation is about what will reach people, not what we prefer. When deciding where to spend church time and resources, the preferences of those inside the church take a backseat to the potential of influencing those unaware of God's love for them. Would a women's group be nice to have at church? Maybe. But will putting time and energy into that group take away from what we can invest in people on Sunday mornings? Yes. Every conversation and thought is about people far from Christ. Why? Because we've been changed by Christ and we can't help but tell others.

Sorry not sorry, but we need to be about PEOPLE, not PREFERENCE.