Recently I felt exceptionally challenged by Hillsong Church New York’s Pastor, Carl Lentz when he said,
“You keep talking like church is a place to go, you keep thinking that church is an event you attend. What if God can use this pandemic right now to shake up our thinking that church was never supposed to be about going to a building. It was about going to where the need is, wherever the hurt are, wherever the lost are!”
Wow. Drop the microphone. That is a bold statement from a pastor who leads a church with over 6,000 weekly attenders. I feel more challenged than ever to reach deep within my soul to live this out. The bottom line is:
We are the church. The church must go to where the need is. Where the hurt are. Where the lost are!!
The crazy thing is that I think I have gotten to experience so much of this over the last 6 years serving in the city with GRDC. But can I be honest? The sacrifice is hard. It has asked more of me and taken me further than I ever imagined I would go. There are victories, but I have also experienced a lot of hurt and disappointments with people I love so much. I have never experienced a love like this before either. I guess I am learning love has a cost! The question that comes to my spirit from Carl Lentz’s statement is, “Have we lost the cost as the body of Christ?” We must find the cost again, because Jesus paid the cost for the lost. He paid the cost when we were lost! It’s worth it! However, we must stop believing the lie that it will be convenient and easy.
Will you make a fresh commitment to God to pursue the hurt, needy, and lost of this world? I am speaking bigger than GRDC. Will you commit to a group of people you are passionate about to lay down your life to redeem them no matter how messy it gets? You got this! My hope is that GRDC will continue to multiply this DNA not only for those we are serving in our city, but send out believers to their called people groups for redemption any and everywhere!
Greg Molchan
