- Sep 30, 2015
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 16, 2021
We live in the nicest home God's ever provided our family. But, it's an alley...tornado alley. In both 2011 and 2013, F-3 twisters devastated homes two streets from us! It's as as though the Devil programmed his hellish GPS with the coordinates of Mill Stone and Greystone neighborhoods! When the last debris landed in treetops and power lines, this is what the ground looked like!!
This property loss produced immeasurable heartache! Much thicker was the layer of grief in the families of the 22 who died or were injured! Nightly news on Thursday, January 31, 2013 told the country and they knew we had faced a Life-n-Death tragedy.
But, it wasn't until years had passed that I heard the Lord of my ministry analyze it! "THE GOSPEL IS WAY MORE LIFE-N-DEATH THAN A TORNADO!"
Jesus was an urgent Leader! He and His Spirit spurred the Early Church to be urgent with the Gospel!
1. "Go! Tell them this: 'God's kingdom is now very near!" (Matthew 10:7, ERV)
2. "People will say, 'We have peace and we are safe.' At that time destruction will come to them quickly!" (1 Thessalonians 5:3, ERV)
I'm an Adventist minister! The prophecies scream, "Salvation is time-sensitive!" Sure, people feel like they have all the time in the World. But, my Calling is to tell them, "All the time in the World is HARDLY ANY!"
1. While I'm resetting the Chapel chairs in a more creative pattern, who's tutoring Youth Leaders to lovingly express the call of Jesus to that girl who visited Youth class last week? Chairs or tutoring? Which is leading like Jesus?--with urgency!
2. After 3 hours of fruitless struggle with our live-stream's no-audio no-full-screen isssues, has another week passed since that email arrived from the parent whose child said he wants to be baptized? Am I leading like Jesus? Do I have His Gospel urgency?
3. I just caved, giving 50 phone minutes to that same complaining member consumed with the faults of a leader whose church role they crave? Where's my Gospel urgency as I people-pampered instead of assigning them a Bible Study lead card?
Ten years ago, New Orleans body-recovery police boats trolled the Ninth Ward stopping where spray paint on porches bawled, "One Dead in Atttic"! Today, I took my camera phone two blocks away to see if "X's" still mark the full street of houses declared unfit for habitation. Here's what I found...
Driveways lead to empty foundations. Calling the dog, feeding the baby, Disney movies on the couch are gone! Busy, happy families are gone!...Lost! And, I heard the Master mentoring: "LEAD MY WAY! THE GOSPEL IS WAY MORE LIFE-N-DEATH THAN A TORNADO!"
What about the street with "X's" on every door? It was just like the shorthand in my Bible margins where an "X" stands for the whole word, "Kpristos." Every single family who received the Christ mark had allowed their foundation to be reset and the debris to be cleared! Mini-vans were being packed for outings, toddler squeals came from back yards, lovemaking and mailbox infant ribbons have replaced wreckage, disaster, and death! Truly, the Savior has given us what to say to them through all the variations of ministry we can use...
"I am offering you life or death, blessings or curses. Now, choose life! Then you and your children may live! (Deuteronomy 30:19, ICB)
Jesus was urgent. When busy-work and "pastoral candy" (our favorite stuff) take over my ministry, the Lord's no-fail method is bypassed and failure guaranteed! Jesus' leadership is Gospel urgent! He calls ministers to lead like Him! The Devil's hellish GPS is programmed with the coordinates of EVERY neighborhood and...THE GOSPEL IS WAY MORE LIFE-N-DEATH THAN A TORNADO!
1. How far outside Palestine would the Gospel of Jesus Christ have expanded by now without the Life-n-Death urgency of Jesus?
2. What works well for you in leading your ministry with Gospel urgency?
3. Which distractions sap Gospel urgency from you and how do you defend against them?
Worth thinking about,
Dave