All posts tagged Ed Young

• A lot of believers are parked in the marina and not out in the deep water rescuing people who are drowning.
• Too many of us have a marina mentality, we’re tied up, smiling and waving, and smacking each other on the but while people are drowning and sinking into a Christless eternity.
• The guy who was drowning was just far enough away that they couldn’t see what was going on.
• There are people just out of reach who are dying without Christ.
• The Bible is a story of the Great Rescue.
• The Old Testament is about the rescue… Moses, Abraham, David, Disciple.
• In the Bible it says “the thing is the ring.”
• If you stop and consider what happened…
• Humanity was drowning, trying to use poor flotation devices [pleasure, possessions, etc] and God tossed “the ring” [Jesus] to us, giving us an opportunity to let go of what we are holding to and cling to Jesus.
• The Bible from cover to cover is a story of the Divine Rescue.
• The life ring symbolizes what Jesus did for us, Jesus came from the top to the bottom to bring us from the bottom to the top.
• The radically rescued should be rescuing radically.
• Are you in the rescuing business?
• Yacht clubs originally started as rescue societies.
• Some of the people in the rescue societies got tired and got more comfortable in the marina.
• The Church is not a yacht club; the Church is a rescue society.

• The thing is Jesus.
• If you want your life to soar, your church to hit on all cylinders, you’ve got to figure out the thing is the ring.
• Everybody wants to reach people until you start reaching people.
• Once you start introducing change, creativity and innovation, a lot of people get tired of it.
• Is the ring the thing in your life?

The hope is the rope.

• Can you imagine tossing a life ring without a rope?
• God had the rope [ the Church, the House, the boat, fellowship ] tied to the ring  [ Jesus ].
• When we’re rowing the boat together we don’t have time to sit and rock the boat.
• If you have people complaining on your boat, remind them you are a rescue society.
• Don’t be shy to release people.
• It’s healthy for people to leave.
• Don’t chase the leavers.
• When you get serious about the rescue mission, all of heaven and hell will open up around you.
• Church work is brutal-ful.
• It’s hard, but seeing the beauty of God at work around you is like nothing else.
• You’ve got to be called to it.

You better pull so the boat will be full.

• What’s the main thing in Church? Souls, Rescue. The Ring.
• Every single person in the church is part of the pull.
• I would rather a church have volunteers as much as small groups.
• You can have both, but I’d rather have volunteering.
• To get people off of the their rears and up on the bow of the boat, tossing the rings, pulling, so the house will be full… there’s nothing like it.
• We need everyone pulling so the house will be full.
• It’s not about church style or programs, it’s about reaching people.

The question that always messes me up is, “Who are you reaching?”

• We don’t like to address that question.
• It’s not who’s coming, it’s who you are reaching.

The other question is, “What are you doing?”

• In the Church world, chaos is your friend.
• Chaos is good.
• Some of the churches that boast great attendance, when asked who they are reaching, get very quiet.
• How many people, for example, are actually baptizing adults? That’s the public confession of someone’s faith! How many people are you liquidating? J
• We have to fight to keep the ring as the thing.
• We want people to be forced to delegate and get people involved in the pull.
• Usually staff members want to hire people to do their jobs.
• What would happen if we depended on a volunteer basis?

Rescuses [excuses] People Have…

• The Devil wants us to be members of the marina mentality yacht club.
• We have to come up with a great rationale for disobedience.
• Get your AS in gear! AS you go… make sure the thing is the ring,

1 – The “sheeple”

• Are we reaching  new people or pulling other sheep from other churches?
• If we’re not careful, Christian culture can create a faux faith.
• They’ve never reached people from other churhces.

2 – The Safety Excuse

• We just stay safe…
• Change – Conflict – Growth
• Most people resist change because of the resistance to change.

3 – The Depth Excuse

• “I’m looking for something deeper…”
• All rescues happen in the deep water, not in the shallows.
• If you want to get deep, you begin to rescue.
• Do you not understand the depth and complexity of the local church?
• Be active in sharing YOUR faith.
• Oftentimes when we think we’re being deep we’re really muddy.

4 – The “God in the box” Excuse

• We think we’ve got God figured out
• We think the “ring” will go and find people.
• We use election as an excuse to not evangelize.
• We don’t know where election begins and choice ends…
• But we do know Jesus told us GO.
• No matter where you are, TOSS THE RING.
• The knowledge excuse keeps a lot of people in the acht club.
• Encourage people to share their rescue story.
• Get the radically rescued, radically rescuing.

5 – The “Past” Excuse

• “You don’t know what I’ve been through….”

6 – The “Not Far Way from God Friends” Excuse

• Oftentimes the more involved we get in church, the further away we get from people who aren’t Christians.
• What’s your passion?
• Do it with a  passion.
• Leverage your passion with a purpose.

7 – The “We Need to Pray About It” Excuse