He just wanted to meet these kids before they came across his ER table with 4 bullet holes in their chest.

I was having coffee with a guy recently at my favorite local coffee shop. He and his wife have relatively recently joined our church and we were just spending some time hanging out, getting to know each other a bit. So there we were, just talking, when I was reminded again that the gospel calls us not simply to transformation in our personal lives but to action in our culture. It is amazing as a pastor that I actually have to be reminded of these things, but along with being a pastor I am also slightly (or more) mentally and spiritually challenged, so I guess it figures.

Through the course of the conversation, I learned that Ted (not his real name) was going through the process of adopting a “little brother” through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Program. I was intrigued. As the conversation continued, he shared that he was tired of seeing kids cross his path due to gang related violence. You see, Ted is an ER doctor at a local hospital in downtown Birmingham. In effect he said that one of the reasons he was so interested in doing this is that he wanted to meet some of these kids before they ended up on a table in front of him with four bullet holes in their chest. Wow!

Ted is a believer. That’s great. The South is seemingly full of believers. But what makes him so unique is not just that he has walked an aisle or even belongs to our church. (Although don’t hear me minimizing either of those things.) No, what makes Ted unique is that here is a guy whose life and outlook have been so transformed by the power of the gospel that he is no longer content to soak up spiritual knowledge and do nothing. Here is a guy who is convinced that the grace he has been shown compels him to walk forward into life and, through using the power only the Holy Spirit has on tap, attempt to make changes in the midst of a seemingly hopeless situation.

This is it! This is what we are called to as followers of Christ. This is the power of the gospel moving us out of ourselves and into mission in God’s world. Now I cannot say that every follower of Christ at Oak Mountain Church is called to adopt a little bother or a little sister. But I can say with a pretty high probability that some of us are. It really is a great program. And I can categorically say with no hesitation at all that none of us have been called out of darkness and into light, out of death and into life so that we can sit and soak up all of the spiritual goodies on the smorgasbord before us and then go forth and do nothing.

You see, the gospel just doesn’t work that way. What we are talking about is not just a “special” calling of a select few “super” Christians like Ted. What we are talking about is a lifestyle that is the normal Christian life. Men and women, transformed by the power of the gospel and moving in an outward direction, in and through culture, with a mission of pushing back the kingdom of darkness, proclaiming the gospel with boldness both to ourselves and to those we come into contact with. We are talking about adopting little brothers and sisters, serving meals to the hungry, planting gardens, inviting neighbors into our homes, going out to eat with work associates, painting houses, cutting grass, crying with the hurting, rejoicing with the joyful and binding up the wounded. This is missio dei, the mission of God.

(If you are interested in adopting a little brother or sister from Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham, please contact Jason at jtucker@ompc.org)