Before Monday...

Andy really hits the head on the nail at the end of Chapter 13. No, you read that right. If Andy would have hit the nail on the head he would have written one more chapter (you will see that in Monday's post). He really puts things in the correct order and it's opposite of what we normally think...

For instance, we think the churches job is to correct the ills of our society, but it isn't. We think that if "my people would humble and pray", yet, that didn't work for the early church. They prayed, and Stephen still died of a crushed body from stones hurled at him. And beyond the written history of the church found in scripture, the early believers prayed and were still they were dipped in tar and set on fire to light the dark night by Nero, the Roman emperor in the mid 60's A.D. (This is recorded by a Roman historian Tacituus, who was not a believer.) That is before the Apostle John wrote his letters and the book of the Revelation.

We also see that didn't always come about in the Old Testament saints either. In the book of Hebrews speaking of those who are listed in the "Hall of Fame of Faith" we read, "These all died in faith, not having received the things promised." Read it again, all the prayers they said and faith they had and "NO PROMISE RECEIVED."

Please read this carefully, even take a deep breath before you do.... The church will not cure the world of ills, and because there will be times when it seems that God is done with his people, we may get weary... BUT God isn't done! HE KNOWS that not everyone buys into the reality of grace, it still doesn't stop him from giving it every time someone asks for it!

So, with that said, I share one of the most profound paragraphs in the entire book...

The church is God's medium for exporting, illustrating, and modeling the grace of God in the world. The church is the steward of his grace. The church has been assigned the task of exposing our neighborhoods, communities, cities, states, and the world to the grace of God. This is our mission. This is our responsibility. There is no Plan B. We are it. And we've got to get it right.

Why? Why should every local church reinvent itself around the message and offer of grace? Because, as Ruben Morgan and Ben Fielding (Hillsong, Mighty To Save) so eloquently put it...

Everyone needs compassion,

Love that's never failing...

Everyone needs forgiveness,

The kindness of a Savior;

The hope of nations

What are you known for? Grace or Law?

Do your speech, actions and attitudes reflect what you have received?

If it was given to you freely, would it not benefit you to give it away, freely?

Don't forget, make sure you read the "end of the book" to read as Andy shares what I believe to be the ultimate story of grace.

Comment away!