Time

Why do we hate that things take time? This angst that has set into our hearts to get things done before they are ready to be done has become epidemic in our nation and in the Church. No longer content to cook, clean, prepare, travel or even form relationships the way they used to be done. We now nuke, dispose of, purchase, jet and social network our way through life.

I like fast just as much as anyone, but I have learned that slow and steady really does win the race. There are delicious meals that simply can't be made up to par without tedious and time consuming preparation and attention to detail. There is a quality that is completely lost when dining on paper or plastic. Missionaries used to get over half of their culture shock on the boat ride. Today, they have second and third manifestations of culture shock for years because they had an instant transition to the foreign culture.

The opposition may counter that we reach more for the gospel now and we accomplish such a great deal more in volume than before.

First, I'm not convinced that we are so far ahead of our ancestors in our accomplishments and I am discovering that we may even be doing ourselves a great disservice.

This week I'm with my youth group and we are planning a VBS for a local town near by and we went out to pass out fliers. It was a small town and it took several hours. We may get a nice bunch of kids, but I really don't think we will be seeing a rural transformation over night. The method for ministry for the Church for so long now has been to go to where the crowds are. I know that the motivation we claim is that we are reaching large numbers, but I tend to believe that in actuality, we are just wanting credit for large numbers without the huge effort and the enormous time commitment it takes to actually reach those masses.

We could continue doing rural outreaches for a long time and still only minister to a few hundred over the years. But why would we want to lose out on the Glory God has in these people just because we can get a bigger number quicker somewhere else? I even contend that the end result of our get big quick schemes are a shadow of what transpires in time consuming ministry to others.

Paul traveled far and wide to reach just a few for the Lord. It changed the world in time. It changed the world because it was deeper, stronger and more solid than what passes as evangelism today.

Let us not be afraid to take time.