RISK

I got a little unsafe this morning. Yeah, that's me up on a balance beam trying to deliver part of the message today. RISK.

Remember when you were a kid and - because your parents really LOVED you and had gone to some great lengths to HAVE you - and they didn’t want you DAMAGED - that they had all these HOUSE RULES so you wouldn’t hurt yourself?

SAFETY RULE #1 - ‘Don’t jump on your bed - you might fall off and crack your skull.’

SAFETY RULE #2 - ‘Don’t go swimming until 30 minutes after you eat or you might get a cramp and drown.’

SAFETY RULE #3 - ‘Don’t run with scissors. You could trip and poke an eye out.’

SAFETY RULE #4 - ‘Don’t run in the street or a car might come along and hit you.’

SAFETY RULE #5 - ‘Don’t play with your belly button or it might unravel and you’ll fly away like a balloon.’

There are safety rules in the church, too. Maybe they’re not taught formally, but they're practiced nonetheless:

SAFETY RULE #1 - ‘Church should be comfortable. Meet my needs, play it safe, and don’t get too risky with anything.’

SAFETY RULE #2 - ‘Don’t talk about CONTROVERSIAL issues. Don’t offend or upset anyone or make anybody mad.‘

SAFETY RULE #3 - ‘Don’t CHANGE anything. If it was good enough for our grandparents, it’s good enough for us.’

But when I look at the New Testament, there isn’t anything safe about that church. And maybe you’re saying right now, ‘Yeah ... a risky church ... that sounds awesome. I WANT that.’ But before you SAY that, know that there is an unseen side to being a risky church.

One of the unseen sides is that there is some pain involved sometimes. A lot of people come to God hoping to eliminate pain. But it’s a false illusion that if you come to Christ, everything’s going to be perfect 24/7. Jesus didn’t die on the cross just so we could have it comfy.

Another unseen side to the church is that it involves some loss. There are a lot of people at KFA who have said: ‘I miss some of the more traditional elements like we had at my former church - or like we used to have here years ago; I wish you had those here’ - or - ‘I wish we had those BACK.’

And actually - I know what you mean. I grew up in church and sometimes I feel the same. But there are some things I’m personally giving up because they don’t work quite as well in our present culture as they once did, even though I personally like some of those things ... even though I personally miss some of those things ... even though some of those things are still my preferences. I’m wiling to give them up for something I love even more ... and that is people far from God. It’s my loss for others' gain.

The Kingdom is about a little loss - it's about a little pain - it's about some self-sacrifice - it's about risk.

And be blessed.