Reality Check

Part 1:

I was just reading Mark 9:38-41 (look it up), and that got me thinking. How sad is it where Christianity has come? Sure, there are lots of good and wonderful things Christians are doing throughout the world, but as a corporate body- we have fallen far short of the goal! I have no idea how many "denominations" exist in Christianity, and I'm not really sure I want to. Even within the title "Baptist" there are a ton of subgroups: Missionary Baptist, Northern Baptist, Southern Baptist, Berean Baptist... and I began thinking about what caused all of these rifts.

I haven't gotten a chance to look at the history books to see where these Christian subgroups divided, but I'm almost positive I've got the answer: SELFISHNESS!

That word/idea/mindset/lifestyle is the destructor of Christianity. Within selfishness, we find the root of church splits, spiritual barrenness, and "fill-in-the-blank". We've all seen and experienced selfishness, whether it's coming from the outside or in. Recently, I've seen people at my church struggle, well- you might be able to say "flourish" instead, with the sin of selfishness. And honestly, there have been times where I have been battling selfishness.

This week, I've seen where Christianity needs to head. Right to where my students' hearts are! My college students were given several opportunities this week to drive this selfish attitude into the ground. We began this week's activities with two prayer walks around Bolivar, and closed yesterday with a service-based scavenger hunt. And I tell ya- my students are on fire!!! Our intent for this week has been to open the eyes of our college students to the huge need in Bolivar. We wanted to be very intentional in how we presented Bolivar to the students, and it has payed off! Our eyes have been opened to the need right around the corner, and we are preparing the students to take the message out on their own- without our prodding! We have seen the need in Bolivar, and are ready to address those needs.