Monday's FAITH Focus: The Hard Way

"Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in here the poor, maimed, blind and lame!" "Master," the slave said, "what you ordered has been done, and there's still room." Luke 14:21b-22 (HCSB)

This weekend Meredith and I rented a stack of movies and killed some time. It was great. One of the films we watched was Jerry Bruckheimer's "Glory Road." It was the true story of the 1966 Texas Western University basketball team. Coach Don Haskins started a team of African-American players against Rupp's Kentucky Wildcats. They won and the victory was historic.

Haskins met his team at the beginning of the season with these words, "We are going to play basketball my way - my way is hard." When I heard those words I sensed the Holy Spirit wanted to speak to my heart. It was like He was saying to me, "don't do it the easy way - the hard path is the only one worth taking." Most of my favorite people have taken the hard path. One of those was William Carey.

As a young pastor in England Carey was rebuked by an Anglican minister for "stealing sheep" for his church at Harvey Lane. In response to the rebuke Carey said, "I had rather be the instrument of converting a scavenger that sweeps the streets, than of merely proselyting the richest and best characters in other men's congregations."

I wonder if us good Southern Christians have the same desire. Let's not get caught up in shuffling church folks around. Instead, let's join Carey in the streets and become instruments of conversion.

See Ya'll Tonight