Over the past century, churches in the USA often have existed with two invisible but real walls of separation:

Wall 1: Evangelism vs. social concern: Some churches focus on calling people to personal faith in Jesus while others focus on showing the compassion of Jesus.

Wall 2: Global outreach vs. community involvement: Some emphasize the eternal life available through faith in Christ alone while others insist on caring for the needs of those whose paths cross our own.

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In my reading of the Bible, both of these walls have been erected by people and not by God. Regarding the first wall, God’s Word calls us to tell people that “salvation is found in no one else [than Jesus], for there is no other name under heaven given to us by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). And, when the Apostle Paul asked permission to take the Gospel to the world, the church leaders insisted that “we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do” (Gal. 2:20). Regarding the second wall, Jesus’ last words to his followers before ascending to the Father were crystal clear. We are to be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the world” (Acts 1:8).

Over the next three weeks at LAC, we will seek to build connections through those walls so that we might further our Lord’s mission in our community and world and be the kind of wall-free church our Father has said we should be. By God’s grace, we will be His church here AND there.

To His glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor