How to Save a Life

The Fray has a great song called "How to Save a Life." The song was written by Isaac Slade who worked as a mentor at a camp for troubled teens. He felt the frustration of how to communicate hope and life to distraught young people.

For thousands of years, the Church has been in the life-saving business and for thousands of years the Church has struggled with the best way to do it. Unfortunately, the Church has become such a complicated organization with all of its doctrines, rituals, traditions, and dogma that it has forgotten the basics of how to share the life changing message of the Gospel. In fact, I ranted about this a little last Sunday at TNC.

When it comes to the Church, I believe that we have complicated what should be a pretty simple organization. I didn't say it should be easy, but simple. In his book, The Connecting Church, Randy Frazee states that, "The key for the 21st century church will not be in buildings, programs, or great sermons or worship services, and not even in small groups as we have known them." Frazee goes on to say that, "The church's relevance and growth will largely depend on her ability to authentically connect people to the experience of doing life deeply together."

The message of Christ is transmitted best through genuine relationships, not meetings, programs, or events. Instead of focusing our ministry on doing church and learning all the ins and outs and do's and don'ts, we need to focus on how to do life with Christ. Instead of spending all of our time at various meetings, classes, and functions of the Church, we need to focus on spending time with those who need to hear the message. When Jesus is your focus, people will see the difference. At the right time, they will wonder how to get what you have and when you answer they will discover the greatest treasure known to man. That's how to save a life.