Hired Guns

I watched an old western today. The wealthy rancher hired three gunmen to run the smaller ranchers out of town so he could steal their land away from them. Of course, the rancher didn't foresee all the smaller ranchers banding together and running the hired guns (and the wealthy rancher) out of town in disgrace....the theme of 80% of all westerns. Classic.

Well, I think it is time to run our hired guns out of town. You know, the ones we hired to do all evangelism and ministry work for us. Its not that they aren't good at their jobs, its that we have dropped the ball and have stopped being productive workers. We outsourced our hospital visitation, missionary work, and preaching. We have left all that to the professionals so we could get on with bigger and better things (like working too much and buying stuff). But its time to take it back so we (as laity) can begin to grow spiritually again. Listening to sermons doesn't cause us to grow, but preaching it ourselves does. Listening to a great spiritual musical production doesn't cause us to grow as much as doing it ourselves. It's time to take back prayer, ministry and all the other dirty work of the church. Ok, maybe not literally run them outta town, but we need to take a look at what they can (should) do for us and what we can (should) do for ourselves.

If Walmart was as successful at growth as the American Protestant church is, they would have never made it out of Bentonville (and we wouldn't have to stand in lines to buy cheap Chinese products, but that is a whole different post). Walmart would have gone bankrupt if it were as "successful" as our churches. No expansion, no profits and no SUPER CENTERS. If the Dallas Cowboys were only as successful as our churches, there would've been no "early nineties three peat" no SUPER Stadium in Arlington, no Jerry Jones (OK, so that wouldn't be all bad). But I digress.

The point is, I must become personally responsible for the gospel God placed in my heart. I, as untrained para-professional, need to talk up Jesus, do the right thing, heal the sick and pray for the broken-hearted. I need to take the initiative for my own salvation. I need to run the hired guns out of town and do the dirty work myself.