I’m on vacation – doing VBS at the beach-close church and then beach in the afternoon. For a week’s worth of devotions that I will pre-release on my blog page – free up my mornings for jumping right into VBS…  Have a great week!

Seven of John Wesley’s Practices Can Change Hearts Today – an article by Roger Ross: Tactics that John Wesley used to get the Word of God out… The author of this blog reminds us to use these tactics ourselves! Seven practices emerged as characteristic of the early Methodist movement.

NUMBER 2 – Go Where the People Are

“When the love of Jesus Christ gripped Wesley’s heart, he knew he couldn’t keep it to himself. There had to be some way to reach the vast masses of people who would never darken a church door. Initially, Wesley was convinced the gospel could only be preached in the stained-glass setting of a church building. But with so few people attending church services, he was forced to consider other options. Reluctantly, Wesley began preaching in the open air. He would find a high spot on the edge of a city and speak to whoever would listen. Crowds of three, five, even ten thousand people would gather. Many of them were touched by the spirit of God and awakened to their spiritual state. A revival in England was born largely because Wesley was willing to take the gospel where the people were.”

 http://www.churchleadership.com/leadingideas/leaddocs/2016/160330_article.html

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

AMEN – I can’t imagine this not to never be a choice we have to make – we should ALWAYS get out to the people because more and more our thoughts of revival are to be out with the people and not people at our door… I imagine the multitudes who need God and God wants them – and when I would go to church with 20 people and then later step into a busy store like Panera, and there would be double that in one store across this state this country this world – well, God can’t afford to have us JUST in a church – we HAVE to be out into the world. Fitting for VBS – I am a willing volunteer but there are fewer and fewer VBS events and kids – we have to make the convenience amenable to the people potentially who come – not just convenient to us… We have to make the welcoming open and not “hey they don’t go to our church” which is exactly what I heard 10-15 years ago. Well, no, but how would you welcome a new person to church if you didn’t welcome their kids. Well, God knows right well that the welcoming of HIS KID, Jesus, was not convenient nor expected to those who didn’t know Jesus was coming TO earth – and we similarly don’t remember that Jesus is coming back. We need to be out to meet the people like He did – that does not change our truth or His Way – but modifies our logistics and our tactics – modifies our sense of going with the world’s flow instead of His flow and glow. We need to follow Jesus – and Jesus is walking EVERYWHERE!!! 

AMEN