One of the most influential people in my ministry was a man named George who used to be in the Hells Angels. They used to call him “Doc” because he dealt the drugs for the group, but now he has a doctorate of divinity, so obviously, God has done a great work in his life. Church is not always the friendliest place for people who are coming in from a hard life, though, and George experienced some church hurt.
He tells this story. Somebody had invited him to church, so he rode over on his motorcycle. Sitting on the little hill overlooking the church, he paused and prayed, “God, I’m going to walk into this church, and if one person looks at my leather jacket and tattoos and beard and they judge me and sneer at me, I’ll walk out and never be back.”
So he walked in, and it was a really small, country church, and there’s these older ladies who give him hugs and welcome him in. He says, “The work that this moment did to heal me was supernatural.”
Good preaching and good doctrine are important; no one is denying that, but ultimately, the call of believers is to love God and love other people. That’s what gives our words real power when we share the gospel. In the earliest moments of the church, we see Peter get up on the day of Pentecost and give his sermon, and thousands of people were saved. That’s great, but we might forget what came next.
“All who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved” (Acts 2:44-47, ESV).
They had healthy community where people loved each other and took care of each other. That caught the attention of a Roman and Greek world that couldn’t care less about some Jewish teacher who claimed to be the Savior of the world. The sacrificial love of the church was and still is what will make a dying world sit up and pay attention.
John Bailey is the Vice President of World Challenge Inc. and the Founding Pastor of The Springs Church in Jacksonville, Florida. John has been serving the Lord in pastoral ministry for 35 years, ministering the gospel in over 50 nations, particularly as a pastor and evangelist in Cork, Ireland.