RIFLEMAN FIRST

One of the inevitable truths about the “behind the scenes” of every church is that they’re all broken. Yes, yours is broken too. This isn’t a slam. It’s simply a fact that will remain unwavering until Jesus returns.

Congregants and congregations that deny this fact are quite simply delusional. They are the ones who end up drinking fruit punch kool-aid because their logic, reason and common sense are willingly surrendered to a charismatic nutjob. They have nothing in common with either the men of Issachar “who understood the times and knew what Israel should do” (1 Chron 12:32) or the Berean Jews who “examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).

There are some factors that unquestionably contribute to this malady. Some of these can be avoided or at least minimized when we are proactive and make ourselves aware.

One of these is what I refer to as the “Rifleman First” mentality. This is simply an analogy, so try not to get hung up on the reference to the United States Marine Corps or the concept of soldiers. Even Jesus taught using analogies referring to soldiers, so I feel like I’m in good company here.

General Alfred M. Gray, 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, said, “Every Marine is, first and foremost, a rifleman. All other conditions are secondary.”

The point is that within churches today there is no “Rifleman First” mentality. Our church pastors, staff, and employees are not ambassadors of the gospel and evangelists “first and foremost,” with all other conditions being secondary. Instead, our churches are riddled with insecure attention-seeking youth pastors, dynamic egomaniac preachers, executive CEO-type pastors, and worship arts pastors. We’re busy balancing budgets, crunching numbers, creating spreadsheets, sending emails...

But when is the last time someone set foot in the door of your church because the senior pastor, youth pastor, or worship pastor invited them? Better yet, when is the last time one of the pastors of your church set out to invest in someone outside the church that wasn’t part of a program or project?

We are only a “big deal” in our own minds - to the home crowd, the regulars, the givers, and those spiritually stagnant zombies we’re marketing to, begging to get involved, and carefully extracting a tithe from.

If your church closed the doors today - would anyone in the community even notice? I’m not talking about the regulars who have become tragically comfortable with their feeding tubes. I’m talking about the kind of people that Jesus sought out on a daily basis - the lost, the hurting, the broken, the marginalized, the ignored and the invisible.

Are those the kind of people who need an appointment to see the senior pastor? Are those the kind of people who get turfed off to volunteers and interns because he’s got a sermon to prepare for? A nice clean and dynamic sermon prepared from the sterility of his office or personal library and delivered from the pristine pulpit - completely disconnected from the lepers, prostitutes, junkies, atheists and the lost sheep of the community.

Rifleman First: A lover of the enemies of God because they have never -EVER- lost touch with this raw reality: that’s who they were before Jesus’ grace rushed in.

Rifleman First: A courageous ambassador of Jesus Christ because in light of the gospel everything else is counted as refuse and loss in comparison.

Rifleman First: A broken hearted relentless prayer warrior who still has family and friends who don’t know Jesus.

Sadly, today we’re not looking for Riflemen First. Instead, churches are full of some crazy specialized titles:

Director of Children’s Music

Pastor of Family Ministries

Technical Arts Director

Pastoral Care Pastor

Pastor of Assimilation

Keep your fancy titles for church-hopping staff members who are constantly looking to move ahead and make a little more bank.

Instead, give me a group of men and women who are Riflemen First. Give me a team of relentless ambassadors of Christ and outrageously unashamed evangelists. And by the power and presence of God Almighty - we’ll transform any community, any city, any continent and bring the love, grace, and truth of Jesus Christ to ends of the earth and straight to Hell’s front door!

Knock! Knock!

Who's there?

I’m a Rifleman First.

What are you?

Blessings,

-Kevin M. Kelley

aMostUnlikelyDisicple.com