We Need a Doctor

We need a doctor

“Is there a doctor anywhere? Please, we need a doctor! Someone is not breathing!” These are not words anyone wants to hear. I was seated in an airport waiting for my assigned boarding time to arrive when chaos erupted. I began to pray while the walkway quickly congested with onlookers who watched him lay there. Thankfully someone arrived to administer CPR but 15 minutes later the chest compressions were still ongoing while they found a way to transport him to an ambulance.

In those chaotic moments a few things caught my attention. 

• While my wife is trained in CPR, I am not. I was not equipped or trained to respond.
• Employees at the airport were wondering where the AED machine was located and none of them knew where to find the tool to save the mans life.
• Some people stood to watch what was happening but didn't know what to personally do.
• Some people walked by as though nothing was happening at all.

In those chaotic moments a few church parallels caught my attention.

• Leaders of the church don’t always know what to do. This is a reality that often makes laypeople nervous. Leaders have a responsibility to discover solutions to problems that face the organizations they lead.
• Leaders of the church don’t always know where to find the tools that will help them to help the congregations they lead. They may desperately want to know what to do and how to do it but their good intentions are left unresolved. If this problem perpetuates then the organization will suffer. Time must be given to developing resources and relationships that will help us work through the challenges that face our organization.
• The number of people who are watching the church in America struggle is large. Most choose to stand around and wait for other people to do something about it. “We will see if this thing our pastor is doing will work.” I can assure you that if the people stand around to wait and see if a thing will work, it will not work. We need an active laity who refuses sit and watch on the sidelines of congregational life. They need trained to know which activities will best impact the church they love.
• Some people keep doing the same thing and keep on walking as though nothing is ever wrong around them. We need to pray that these folks see the world as it is, not as they hope it to be. Research has been done by Thom Rainer on how people who have been part of a dying community really struggle to notice how bad things are. In order to gain new vision in dying places we will need the help of the Holy Spirit.

I am thrilled that Jesus is known as the Great Physician. He has come to transform those who are sick and in need. Today, more than ever before, we need men and women who refuse to sit by and watch the sick remain so. We need passionate people who care about Jesus and care about those Jesus came to save. 

We need pastors who are mentored by pastors. We need pastors to mentor pastors. We need to celebrate the discovery of tools and point each other to where those tools can be found. We need to share our resources with others so we can prove we really do care about Jesus and those He came to save.