Driving is a time that I use for reflection and for thought and I have been thinking a lot about ministry and connecting with the lost people around me. Many people in ministry have no idea what lost people around them go through and do not really know what it is like to live in non-ministry world. Future pastors usually go to school and later become disconnected from the reality of the harshness of life to those around them and I am as guilty of this as anyone.
So I guess the question I am posing is this: how are you (and myself) identifying with those around you? Are you failing to step into the world of people and see what they go through like marriage problems, emotional trauma, abuse, financial crises, debt, hunger, illness, and the list keeps going on.
Paul said, “…I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (1 Cor. 9:22-23). Paul knew how to reach people. He understood them and where they were at. Paul was not advocating sinning but it does seem that he was advocating understanding and connecting even at the expense of his convenience.
So, do you know what the people around you are going through? Do you take the time to understand and relate to the teens in your youth group? Do you understand the life of people outside of ministry and social class. Paul did everything “for the sake of the gospel”…do you?
