Luke 14:21-23 “So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, 'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.' And the servant said, 'Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.' And the master said to the servant, 'Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.”
On this date in 1829, William Booth, Founder of the Salvation Army was born in Nottingham England.
According to churchhistorytimeline.com, “Working first as a Methodist minister and evangelist, Booth and his able wife Catherine began tackling social evils at the same time engaging in direct evangelism. In 1865 Booth began a Christian mission in east London. By 1878 the mission and its work had evolved into the full grown organization of the Salvation Army. By the time of his death, Booth had traveled five million miles, preached 60,000 sermons and had drawn some 16,000 enlisted soldiers into his Army. At that time the Salvation Army was working in 58 countries in 34 languages.”
While I deeply regret the abandonment of sound doctrine and the ever encroaching liberalism within the Salvation Army, I am thankful that they have stayed faithful to their foundational calling of caring for the poorest of the poor and the down and out in society around the world.
One of the saddest things that have happened to our own Denomination over the years is that we have become more and more, “Upper Middle Class” in the demographic of our church members. Of course, we need to reach everyone including those who are, “Upper Middle Class” but, we (as a Denomination) have almost abandoned our efforts at reaching those who are most needy among us.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the fact that there are so few SBC Churches located in the inner cities of America. Even the very popular, “Center City” movement among Church Planters seems to be almost exclusively targeted at “Upper Middle to Upper Class” people in the cities!
Several years ago, I had the joy of preaching a week-long City-wide Crusade for the Salvation Army in Richmond, Virginia. It remains a happy memory for me. I found that two kinds of people were usually present in the services and ministries of the Salvation Army: those who were down and out, and those who were dedicated to ministering to them.
The right answer is, of course, to take the gospel to everyone, everywhere! We ought not tailor our services or ministries to reach a “certain segment” of the Community. Beloved Ones, let us, “'Go out quickly to the streets and lanes… and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.” And, everyone else!
Prayer: “Lord of the Harvest, use us to bring into Your Kingdom those who are outside. Let us not care about their social standing, but let us care about their spiritual standing before You. Use us, O God, to reach from among every race the young and old, men and women, boys and girls, poor, wealthy, and everywhere in-between. May our Church truly be a House for All People.”
Application: The Great Commission is geographically, not demographically structured! What are we doing to make sure that everyone feels welcome and wanted in our life and in our Church?
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