Luke 15:3-4

Luke 15:3-4 (ESV)

[3] So he told them this parable: [4] “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

Reading this parable, I began to wonder how many of our church programs; how much of our church energies and resources are directed toward keeping the ninety-nine fed rather than seeking the lost one. It is easy to become inward focused. As pastors and church leaders we work hard to understand and explain the scriptures. We work with others to coordinate events and programs. But how many of those are actually inward focused instead of outward focused. How much of what we call outreach is actually outreach? One church told me that their outreach was AWANA. After watching for two years and realizing that no kids from the community actually came to AWANA, I challenged them, “Is this really an outreach?” Don’t get me wrong. AWANA is a great program, but for them it was not an outreach. How many of our outreach programs actually reach outward?

Keeping the flock fed is important but so is seeking the lost sheep. It would do us well to regularly evaluate what we are doing as a church. Have we lost our passion for the lost? Are we more concerned about keeping the flock happy than seeking the one lost lamb? Are we even praying for the lost? Have we become so inward focused that we have lost our passion to look outward?