“Following Jesus is Tough”

My bro Caleb Hickerson, (a member of Revolution Church’s infamous “World’s Most Dangerous Praise Band” and a pimp recording artist with a new EP out), posted on his Facebook page the other night that “following Jesus is tough.” 

A young homeless woman who we regularly feed at the Father’s Table, (a ministry for the homeless and food insecure), stopped in at Revolution last Sunday night.  She is pleasant but mentally disabled and emotionally imbalanced.  She cackled through much of the sermon, made outlandish statements most of the night, etc.

Yet, Caleb and a couple other Rev members took her out to dinner after Revolution and tried to find a place for her to stay. Later that evening he posted the quote on Facebook.  I’ve yet to get all the details from him but I can only imagine (proud of all you guys, by the way!).

Revolution Church is preparing to invest a large portion of our budget into reaching out to those like the young homeless woman who nearly caused chaos at our worship service.  We are preparing to buy a house in the worst neighborhood of our area to lauch a 24-7 ministry to meth prostitutes and crack addicts.  Only the Lord knows what mayhem awaits us.

I’m not trying to brag on our church or sound self-righteous.  In fact, let me confess something–I don’t want to do it. 

I am 38-years old.  I have been married for 12 years, have a 7-year old son and a house in a pleasant rural area.  I have a bachelors, a masters and a law degree.  I like great coffee, good scotch, fine cigars, chess, Mad Men and reading American history.  I don’t want to reach out to drug addicts and HIV positive hookers.

I was cruising the streets of my narcotic infested town late Friday night with another pastor from out-of-town and he stated, “I don’t know why there aren’t more Christians out here with us.”  I thought to myself, “I do! They don’t want to be here and I don’t either!”

But, come January, it will be 14 years since God saved this miserable, selfish former political hack.  He saved me and I love him. 

Yes, following Jesus is tough but living apart from him is hell and sometimes out King leads us into really dark places. 

Lord willing, I’m sure there will be many more Friday nights on the streets when I long to be home sipping wine with my wife on the couch and will have to remind myself of the line from the poem that D.A. Carson often quotes, “one day we will look at the wounds in his hands and in his side and think only one thing, ‘I wish I’d done more.'”  Either that line or “come soon Jesus…come soon!”