The Dead Sea is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. The sea has a number of water sources flowing into it, primarily the Jordan River and a number of perennial springs under and around it. However, there are no outlet streams. Therefore, the body of water simply sits and receives but never flows outward. The Dead Sea is called "dead" because the resultant high salinity prevents macroscopic aquatic organisms, such as fish and aquatic plants, from living in it.

The Dead Sea is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. The sea has a number of water sources flowing into it, primarily the Jordan River and a number of perennial springs under and around it. However, there are no outlet streams. Therefore, the body of water simply sits and receives but never flows outward. The Dead Sea is called "dead" because the resultant high salinity prevents macroscopic aquatic organisms, such as fish and aquatic plants, from living in it.

I have often thought that the Dead Sea is a parable for us as followers of Jesus and for the church as a whole. We must receive input—Bible teaching, corporate worship, fellowship, prayer support—to survive, but when the church is made up of people who are only receiving input, it will soon become a stagnant church. Individually, we will become lifeless believers. You see, no matter how much sound teaching we hear, no matter how much warm fellowship we enjoy, no matter how many theological books we read, if all of that knowledge does not flow out into Christian witness to the world at large, we will die.

So, let me tell you a lesson I've learned about killing a church. I know how to do it. All you have to do is fix the whole of the boards' and the members' focus on internal matters. It doesn't seem to matter what the object of that internal center of attention is: which kinds of hymns or songs should be sung, whether a new building program should be launched, or even how the constitution and by laws might be amended. All of those things are important. However, if we become internally focused to the point that we are not reaching out with the message and love of Jesus, like the Dead Sea, we will become a dead church. The Bible consistently tells us that the church of Jesus Christ was not made to live in isolation from the world but to give witness to the world. Jesus called us to be called "salt and light" out in the world. But salt must be spread out or we will only parch one another's throats. Lights must shine outward or we will only blind each other. When a church starts focusing only on internal matters, within a generation—or at the most, two—we will find a church that has become stagnant.

For this reason, we regularly take a few weeks at LAC to make sure that we hear God's Word calling us to flow out into the world and be God's agents of reconciliation to the world. Over the next few weeks, we will look anew at what we call "breathing out" into the world with the compassion of Christ. We will start by considering afresh what difference we are called to make in our own local community. And we will end with considering the blessed privilege we have to be involved in our Father's global mission. Throughout all of the weeks, please read 2 Corinthians 5:9–6:2 and meditate particularly on these words:

To His Glory,

Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor

Teaching Series Schedule

• Breathing Out to Our Community

  Week 1■Apr. 30 - May 1

  1 Corinthians 11:17-28

  Speaker: Albert Tate, Pastor of Intergenerational Ministries

• Why We Must Breathe Out

  Week 2■May 7 - 8

  2 Corinthians 5:9-6:2

  Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor

• Breathing Our to the World (World Focus Weekend)

  Week 3■May 14-15

  Psalm 46:1-7

  Speaker: Scott White, Pastor of Global Outreach and Randy (Last Name withheld), LAC International Staff