the church is not here for us

The church is not here to meet our needs. We are the church here to meet the needs of the world http://twitter.com/erwinmcmanus

i think this is a great reminder for the church. too often we get lost in our own desires and forget there is a world around us that needs JESUS. i know we start out with good intentions, yet at some point, too many churches eventually lose sight of our mission which is to go into the world and share the good news of CHRIST. instead we start focusing on the trivial things that consider first our comforts and desires. we say we're going to reach out to our community, but before we realize it, we've become inward focused. we get bogged down in programs and budgets and committees. those plans to make a difference in our community fade away. we still think we are involved in the community, but we're not going out there. we begin to shift our perspective and act as if the community should come to us.

we must fight this. we must go. we must not lose our mission. we must not lose our focus. we are the church. we are here for the world.