1 Corinthians 9:16-23
“Meeting People Where They Are”
By: Rev. Kenneth Emerson Sauer, Pastor of Parkview United Methodist Church, Newport News, VA
In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tells us: “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”
He doesn’t tell us to preach the good news only to those who have the same color skin that we have...
...He doesn’t tell us to preach the good news only to those with the same socio-economic backgrounds as we have...
...He doesn’t tell us to preach the good news only to those we feel comfortable around...
...He tells us to “Go into all the world”...
...and as we know, this world is a melting pot of different nationalities, different languages, different
backgrounds, different worldviews, different mental capabilities, different hurts and different sensitivities...
...and we are called---as we bring this good news of Jesus Christ to all people---to be sensitive to these
differences.
In our Scripture Lesson for this morning we see that the apostle Paul was more than willing to give up his
personal privileges, social and religious rights--when dealing with different kinds of people.
“I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”
Now, when Paul says that he became all things to all people, this does not mean that he compromised his
convictions...nor does it mean that he was trying to trick others into thinking he was something he was not.
What it does mean is that Paul got next to other people, he gained their confidence and trust, he did not
judge them, he met them where they were.
And he did this “all for the sake of the gospel.”
And as United Methodists, we come from a long heritage of those who were willing to meet people
where they were so as “to win as many as possible.”
Our founder, John Wesley was an ordained priest in the Church of England. He was a brilliant scholar
who had been highly educated.
Ten years after Wesley had been ordained a priest he had his conversion or born again experience, and he
went on to share the good news that he had experienced with as many people as possible.
Wesley’s message is our message: Salvation is for everyone and can be found only through Jesus
Christ.
A new life awaits anyone who loves Christ, repents of their sins, believes in God’s saving grace and follows
Christ’s example.
The problem came when many churches refused to let Wesley preach his emotional message of
salvation through Christ....but that didn’t stop Wesley...he became all things to all people.
During Wesley’s time, New factories in England were drawing thousands of poor people from the
countryside into the overcrowded cities.
And these people were brutalized by the harsh working conditions and pitiful living environments.
So Wesley took his message into the open fields...where these people were...and the crowds grew rapidly.
He faced lots of opposition and even mob violence, but his sincerity shone through and even the most
hostile of people were often converted.
John Wesely gained a great following, and he and his followers continued to reach out to the poor and
the oppressed.
Many local Methodist societies sponsored schools, and Wesley himself operated a school for orphans.
In England, the penalty for many minor crimes was long imprisonment or even death, and so Methodists
worked for the humane treatment of prisoners and for reforms within the prison systems.
And Wesley set up and ran places in several cities where medical supplies were distributed to those who
could not afford them.
He even wrote and published a handbook for medical home care which went through dozens of editions.
Wesley saw where people’s needs were...and he met people where they were in order to save as many
as possible.
In America, outcasts who fled persecution in other countries were brought the message of salvation
through circuit riding Methodist preachers...and thus, these people found a home in America and a home in
Christ.
The heart of the Christian faith is Christ’s ministry of outreaching love.
Sometimes United Methodists are called “the church of the warm heart” because we have a history of
caring about and working with all people.
Christ has led Methodists to build almost as many schools as churches.
We were among the first to create institutions of learning for settlers, women, and newly freed slaves.
And there are now 120 United Methodist institutions, including schools outside of the United States.
Today, we as United Methodists comprise the second largest Protestant denomination in the United
States....and worldwide The United Methodist Church has over 10 million members.
John Wesley lived the message that he preached, by experiencing Christ’s love in his heart, and
conforming his life to Christ’s will....
....By sharing the message of salvation....
.... by meeting people where they were...
....by bringing Christ into people’s social and economic problems...
...And by believing in Jesus Christ fully and turning this inner faith into positive action.
And we can follow his example right here, right now in the 21st Century...in Newport News, Virginia!
We have a rich heritage of being all things to all people...for the sake of winning others to Christ....
...there is a reason why we live under the banner of “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.”
The apostle Peter speaks to all of us...to all Christains when he writes: “You are a chosen people, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of
darkness into his wonderful light.”
This is the call on all of our lives.
We are all called to make Christ known to all people.
Paul writes in our Lesson for this morning, “I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the
gospel.”
The Lord had laid on Paul the necessity of preaching the gospel...and He has laid this necessity on us as
well....
....and if we do not do what we are called to do....our Christian walk will be stunted, many will perish without
hearing the good news, and we will not experience the fullness of life that Jesus has offered us.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote: “If I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name, his word is
in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed I cannot.”
Can any of us relate to this statement?
Is the good news which is living inside of us so alive...so moving...that we cannot keep it in?
Let’s pray that it is.
So, how do we go about spreading the saving message of Christ?
Well, since the incarnation--or God made flesh in Jesus Christ is the message of our witness...
...it is also the model for our faith-sharing.
God has entered our world...God became one of us.
God met us where we are.
And we are called to enter the lives of those around us.
We are called to empathize with people.
Now this is much more than simply feeling sorry for people...
...it means that we are to attempt to feel and see the world from other persons’ perspectives.
We are to try and imagine what it would be like to be in the other person’s shoes.
Jesus met people at their point of need....
...to a woman who was thirsty, He offered living water...
...to a person racked with guilt, He offered forgiveness...
...to a person who was alienated from his family and society because of his business activities, He offered a visit
to his home and salvation to his entire household.
Jesus entered the world of other people and used this experience to offer them the good news!
Research tells us that more than 75 percent of the people who are active in church today got their start as
Christians and church members through the witness of friends, relatives, neighbors, or colleagues at work.
It is through the life of others that we first see and hear the story of God’s redeeming grace.
There was a little girl who had a brief line in a Sunday school program.
All she had to say was, “I am the light of the world.”
She rehearsed it.
She practiced it again and again with her mother.
And she learned it very well.
The program came and the little girl was confident, but the mother was nervous.
When the little girl saw all the people, she forgot her line.
She twisted and turned.
Her eyes looked at the ceiling.
Her mother tried to prompt her...
...carefully and slowly the mother’s lips formed the words, “I am the light of the world.”
The little girl straightened and with a deep breath and a loud voice announced, “My mother is the light
of the world.”
It is indeed through people that the communication of the gospel takes place.
The very Word of God is shared from person to person and from people to people.
In a very real sense, we are the hands, the feet, and the tongue of the living Christ!!!
As Christians, each of us are unique, and each of our stories are unique...and their is a good reason for
that.
The Bible tells us that each of us have been given gifts...
...The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church tells us that “All Christians are called to ministry.”
And according to 1st Peter, all Christians are both a “priestly people” and a “missionary people.”
We do have a story to tell the nations!!!
And this means that we must be all things to all people....Jesus Christ has abolished all barriers of race,
nationality, class, status and privilege!
Research tells us that the average church member can identify at least six to eight unchurched friends,
family members, and associates who live within a reasonable distance from their local church.
How many can we identify?
Let’s think about it.
Let’s pray about it.
So, how do we meet them where they are?
Well, in the beginning, we become involved in these people’s lives because we love them...not because we
are trying to change them.
God brings the change.
Our initial responsibility is to love the other person just as we have been loved by God.
We are to meet others where their needs are...we are to extend the hand of healing and love...and we
are to speak about our faith as well.
Some of us may say, “I am not a good talker.”
But when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ there are no “good talkers.”
As Christians, we are to dare to tell others what God is doing in our lives.
The focus is not what we are doing for God...
...it is to witness to the grace of God in our lives.
Each of our experiences as Christians with God are unique and valid.
Therefore, we are entrusted by God to speak in the first person and share our faith.
We are to dare to say: “Christ has done this in my life.”
Sometimes sharing our faith means that we share our entire pilgrimage.
At other times it means that we point out some specific experience when God’s grace was at work in our
lives.
Through our network of neighbors, coworkers, families, classmates, colleagues, and even strangers we
are called to share our faith.
Each of us have been called to be a witness.
And each of us has a unique story to tell.
Sharing our faith should be as natural and normal as inviting someone to our home for dinner.
A missionary came to speak in a chapel service at a seminary.
As that missionary spoke, he had a globe placed on the table beside him.
He talked about the needs of the whole world, and he talked about each person’s responsibility.
Then, the missionary started to talk about the millions of people in the world who couldn’t read.
He asked, “What can one person do?”
Then he proceeded to tell how each person can teach another person how to read.
He set in motion a dream and a program.
Today there are literally millions of people around the world who can read because of this
missionary’s vision.
He taught one person to read who simply promised him that he would teach another.
What a difference one person makes!
The witness of each Christian is so important!
Each of us are called to spread the gospel by our words and our lives...so that by all possible means we
might save some.
Are we meeting people where they are?
How are we fulfilling our calling?
