Go to the Gentiles

"Paul was occupied with proclaiming the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus.  When they opposed and reviled him, in protest he shook the dust from his clothes and said to them, 'Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles'" Acts. 18:5-6.

The established, institutional church (e.g. First United Methodist Church) today is the "Jews" of Jesus' and Paul's day.  Those religious folk who have a culturally motivated, in-group sense of what it means to be on God's team.  Thats the kind of person I grew up being.  I'm the Jew in this story.  The gentiles are those folks outside the religious institution.  The people who do not follow the cultural expectations and social club etiquette that the established church requires of its "members".  Gentiles are those outside the church's notion of what it means to be on God's team.  Paul was committed to giving the Jews a shot.  After all, they are God's chosen people! He preached the gospel to them first.  He preached it clearly, boldly and without apology.  He did not try and make it easier to swallow, follow, or accept.  He certainly did not mold its message to fit into the Jew's cultural worldview.  It seemed that each new town Paul went to, the Jews of the area were opposed to his message.  Probably because it required them to change their ideas, behaviors, and attitudes.  They were just fine as they were, they had the truth already, why did that need something else? Paul finally had enough of this.  He shook the dust from his clothes and said "From now on I will go to the Gentiles".  I'll go to those outside of the walls, those outside of Christian culture, those outside "church folk".  Thank God Paul did that.  Otherwise, there may be no church today.  The church has been, for 99% of its existence, a Gentile church.  The problem is, we've returned to a religious life that looks a lot like the "Jews" of that time.  And the gospel message - when it is preached clearly, boldly, and without apology is opposed and reviled by many church people.  We want a message that strokes our egos and makes us feel entitled, not one that causes us to question our priorities and calls us to repentance.  And at some point, God will call the Apostolic Spirit to move beyond this kind of church and reach out to the Gentiles of todays world: those who've rejected Christianity, those who Christians have rejected, and those who couldn't give two flips about the church.  Perhaps that is where the next revival will take place.  That is, of course, unless the established church today decides to receive the one true gospel and allow it to transform their lives with the fullness of its power.

"Oh God, you established the church just as you chose the Jewish people long ago.  But we are prone to wander far from your truth.  We become so busy building up our temples and churches and finding the right kind of people to put in them that we forget about your call on our lives.  We are more concerned with maintaining our little world than going out into the big world you commissioned us to serve.   Lord, I hope it is not too late for your church.  Help us to hear and receive the gospel so you don't move on to more unexpected, but willing people who know they are in need.  In Jesus name, Amen."