Jesus must live in the suburbs because that's where we are building all the churches!!

I was sitting down talking to a friend this morning when the discussion of the church came up. I mentioned that we always seem to be building new churches in the areas where affluent people seem to be settling. Everywhere there is a new housing development in the suburbs there seems to be a new start-up church soon to become a mega-church popping up. What has me absolutely bewildered is the complete abandonment of the churches that are in neighborhoods that we think of as in decay. I am amazed and a little confused at what people think the church is. We seem to be a little too willing to move where the money is and a little more than reluctant to stay where it isn’t. I think that if we were acting like the Church that Christ had in mind in the end of Matthew and beginning of Acts we would be excited at the possibilities in these less than desirable neighborhoods. I see the blessing of the church in the hard hit areas of our cities and rural countryside. It would seem that the design that God had set out for us was to build in these areas where, in the 40’s and 50’s were thriving neighborhoods, so that we would be ready to really be the church when they turn to troubled areas. I mean shouldn’t we be excited that we now have churches scattered throughout the troubled areas of our cities and rural countryside that are paid for? Shouldn’t we be waiting like a real Church for the wave of the “least of these” to come to our doors? Shouldn’t we be standing at the doors waiting to clothe those without clothing? Feed those who are hungry? House those who are homeless? Instead we are acting too much like the world, looking toward the suburbs instead of the timed coming toward our doors from the inner city! Shame on us! Shame on us for turning our back on the great commission! All that comes to mind when I think of this is Matthew 25 where Jesus says this:

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. "Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' "Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' "They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Where will you and your church be when Jesus comes to you?