Rescue Society Vs. Yacht Club...

Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.

Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. The Lord's hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts. He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

(Acts 11:19-24, NIV)

The church of Acts got it.

They weren't concerned about music.
They didn't argue about what to wear.
They didn't watch the clock hoping for the pastor to finish.
They didn't focus on programming, hoping to make the presentation as "shiny" as possible.

They just did it. They told people about God's love, acceptance, and forgiveness. They encouraged each other. They took care of those less fortunate then they were.

Seems simple...but we are so bad at putting this into practice. I think too often we look at church as something for us...an hour to enjoy and be encouraged. That's not terrible, but it's so missing the point. Ed Young talked about the church at "Story", and he made a great analogy. The church in Acts was a "rescue society", a group who's sole focus was to reach the lost with the good news of Jesus Christ. Over time, we've lost that direction and have become a "yacht club", a group just content to stay on shore and enjoy themselves while the whole world is drowning around them.

Understand when I say this, I'm guilty, too. It's too easy to focus on myself and turn a blind eye to those close to me going down under the crashing waves for the last time. Here's hoping I drop my membership in the "yacht club" and get back into the "rescue society".