On my way to church on a recent Sunday morning I saw a car pulled off the side of the road. It was obviously stalled. It was loaded down with Sunday additions of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It was filled to the brim! You couldn't have gotten another Sunday coupon in that car. There sat a car filled with newspapers, but unable to complete its mission of getting that news into the hands of the intended recipients.
That image reminded me of so many churches today. They have the "good news" to share. They have more than an ample supply of that good news. They have the means to distribute that news. But the news isn't being delivered to the people who need it. Why? Because the church is stalled, broken down on the side of the road. It is "stalled" by lack of vision which causes it to always be looking "inward" instead of "outward." It is "broken down" by internal apathy and indifference among the people. It is sidelined by paradigms of ministry that have long since lost their effectiveness in reaching lost people. They have more than enough news to share, they just aren't completing the delivery in a timely or effective manner!
I hope you are as excited as I am to be part of a church like Sugarloaf that realizes the importance of delivering the news and, in the process, changing lives for the better! Beginning in the next few weeks, we are going to take a part of our Sunday services to highlight some of the incredible things God is doing through our ministry. We're going to tell the story of how we as a church are delivering the "Good News" of Jesus Christ to people both inside and outside the church! I look forward to sharing in those worship opportunities with you!
Stuart
