Working Out... Reach

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
It is the nature of families and other groups to turn  inward toward familiarity, comfort, sanctuary, and safety. There is nothing inherently wrong about this; mostly, it’s just inevitable. In fact, what we find most rewarding in relationships is being deeply known and loved.

    But from the beginning, Jesus commanded his followers to complement the natural human tendency to turn inward, with a God-spurred, grace-filled reflex to turn outward: outward toward the stranger, outward toward the lonely and the wounded, outward the bewildered and the lost. The disciples were to share the Good News so others could enter God’s warm, welcoming embrace, and so are we.

    I’m training for one leg of a Mother’s Day Triathlon in Knoxville. Bambi will do the 10k walk, Whitney will do the 1.2 mile swim, and I’m to do the 25 mile bike ride. The point of this exercise is to raise money for the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center, a clinic that has been instrumental in the recovery of Whitney’s sister-in-law, Caroline, from a traumatic brain injury. While I enjoy running, I haven’t biked in years, but I’m moving out of my comfort zone to support a good cause and develop some atrophied muscles. Indeed, one of the benefits of cycling for runners, is that it develops the opposing muscles of the upper legs. Doing so contributes to leg strength and injury prevention.

    Churches that have overgrown outreach muscles, tend to be shallow and superficial. Churches that have overgrown inreach muscles tend to be sickly and declining. Churches that have strong and complementary muscles of inreach and outreach tend to be both deep and wide, thoughtful and passionate, warm and welcoming, in short, a lot like Jesus.

    With Easter almost upon us, now is a great time to give your outreach muscles a workout. Here’s some suggested exercises:

•    Invite a neighborhood child or family to join you for the Easter Egg hunt this Sunday

•    Make a special effort to bring an unchurched family member or friend to worship on Easter Sunday.

•    Circle something in this newsletter of interest to someone you know and pass it on to him or her (or forward the emailed version).

•    Tell someone going through a divorce about the help to be found in the Divorce Recovery Group starting Sunday, April 11 at 6:00 p.m. (see next page)

•    Share some java and good times with a coworker who needs a faith home at the Side Door Coffee House on Sunday Night April 11

    Again, building and celebrating community is essential to a living faith. But for an Easter people, the nesting instinct must always be balanced against the centrifugal force of love.