What do you leave behind?

With my schedule and two small children, I don’t get to watch a lot of television. As a result, I only have a few shows that I truly enjoy. I’ll watch football most any time, I like Deal or No Deal, and I love CSI.

CSI is one of the top rated shows on television. With sister shows like CSI Miami, Las Vegas, and New York, it may live forever in syndication when the new episodes are long gone. The show is all about investigators who use science to solve crimes. It focuses on the evidence found at the crime scene. One of the ideas you gather from the show is that there is always evidence left behind. They may be able to deduce where the perpetrator lives based on a soil sample from dirt left behind from his shoe.

As modern as this may seem, it is not a new concept. In 1910, Frenchman Edmund Locard founded a small police laboratory in Lyons, France, dedicated to forensic science. Locard was the first to put forward the theory that a criminal almost always leaves behind a physical clue at the scene of a crime­: a fiber, a fingerprint, a bullet, all of which are vital pointers to the criminal's identity. Locard was the Sherlock Holmes of France. Locard founded a theory that is the foundation for CSI today. Locard’s Exchange Principle states “with contact between two items, there will be an exchange.” In other words, you always leave something and take something whenever you encounter any setting.

This is true of people also. This is generally thought of as an impression. I knew a woman in Greenville, SC who was a wonderful person. She was helpful, fun, and enjoyable to be around. She also had bad breath. I don’t mean she just needed to brush, I mean all the Crest and Listerine you could find wouldn’t help. So as a result, I tried to avoid any conversation with her that required me being closer than 10 feet away.

So what do you leave behind? Each time you encounter someone, you leave an impression. I was talking with someone who was thinking of joining our church about a year or more ago. This person said they knew some of our members, but also said that some of them had left a bad impression because of their foul language. I’m sure whomever the person was speaking of had no idea that his choice of colorful language would one day have an effect on someone who might be attending church here, but it did. That was the impression left behind.

Jonah was running from God. He did not want to preach to the people of Nineveh even though God instructed him to do just that. He thought God should wipe them from the planet, so he chartered a boat and headed for another country. It didn’t take long for the crew of the ship to realize something was wrong. A storm arose, and was just before killing them all, when Jonah finally admitted to running from God. He told them to throw him overboard and they would be safe. When they did, the seas and winds calmed.

Here’s the point. Jonah 1:16 says, “At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.” Jonah had unwittingly left a witness behind. They realized the power of God when they saw the results of Jonah’s reluctance to follow Him. From this they were all saved.

So what do you leave behind? Do you leave Christ and His love with those you meet day to day or is that reserved for Sunday morning? Do you leave the forgiveness and mercy that Jesus has shown you to others or is that only given to those who forgive you? Let Christ show through in your life and you will never leave a bad impression.

You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (Matthew 5:14-16 The Message)

Preferences

One balmy day in the South Pacific, a navy ship spied smoke coming from one of three huts on an uncharted island. Upon arriving at the shore, they were met by a shipwreck survivor. He said, "I'm so glad you're here! I've been alone on this island for more than five years!"
The captain replied, "If you're all alone on the island why do I see three huts."
The survivor said, "Oh. Well, I live in one, and go to church in another."
"What about the third hut?" asked the captain.
"That's where I USED TO go to church."

Aren’t we that petty about church sometimes? We somehow, along the way, got the idea that church is supposed to be just what we want, and we assume everyone else thinks and worships like us. If we experience God in a quiet reserved way, we do not understand why others could possibly find Jesus amongst electric guitars and a full set of drums.

I believe I am one of the fortunate people who has had a well rounded experience in worship settings. I have been able to find God in the tradition, awe and reverence of a Roman Catholic cathedral during Easter Mass. I have experienced the Holy Spirit in a small, wood-framed Pentecostal Holiness church in the mountains of North Carolina, where all fifteen people there were worshiping God with all their hearts. I have felt the power of the Almighty at a church in Anderson, SC where the music is very rock, and the preaching by the pastor is very “in-your-face”, “matter of fact”, and filled with a passion for the unsaved and unchurched.

My point is, no matter where you are, or what the worship experience is like, we all have personal preferences. Does every style of worship speak to every type of person? No. However, the message needs to be the same.

Let me put it this way. There is an ad that I see regularly on the inside cover of Biblical Archaeology Review magazine. It shows a photo of a young man on a farm with a box of computer software under his arm. The software is RosettaStone, a language learning program. The ad copy reads “He was a hardworking farm boy. She was an Italian supermodel. He knew he would have just one chance to impress her.” They, of course, go on to suggest that with their language program he could learn her language and have a chance at love.

To the outside world, we are like the farm boy. We speak a different language sometimes. The words “saved”, “lost”, “grace”, and “sin” have very different connotations to others. If we are going to have a chance to tell them about Jesus, we are going to have to learn their language or at least make an attempt to communicate in a way they understand.

The world is like the Italian supermodel. They have no reason to slow down enough to speak to us unless we give them a reason. I was talking with a friend a few days ago who attends Newspring Church, that I mentioned earlier. He said last Sunday he looked around at the people and guessed that there were probably at least a thousand out of the several thousand in attendance, who would not be hearing about Christ if it wasn’t for the way they worship.

We are in a period of transition at First Baptist. We have started a new contemporary service with good response, we are searching for an associate pastor of music and worship, our youth are creating a place for themselves to meet and have fun, our preschool is thriving and expands more each year, and those are only a few examples of areas where there is change and growth. There are many more where God is moving and wants to show us what He can do. However, if we let our pettiness and personal preferences get in the way of seeing God and His plan for our church and our lives then we will miss out on His blessings every time.

Let’s embrace what God has in front of us, and use the tools He has given us to reach those who need Him the most.

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Acts 2:1-6