Hey you! Out of the pew!

The church should be much more than it has become. Why aren't our leaders showing us how to really be the church Jesus designed? Jesus came here to demonstrate a better way to live, a way that includes justice for everybody - especially for those who have not experienced it: the poor, the aliens, the sick, those in prison. And He appointed the church to lead the way toward bringing justice to our neighborhoods and to the poorest countries in the world.

But who will lead the church? "Prostitutes, Tax Collectors, and You" says you will. Church leadership is not about titles or official appointments. Neither is it about plans or committees or budgets or fundraisers. It is about people who see clearly what the church should be doing. And it is about those people just doing what needs to be done: feeding the hungry, sitting with the sick, visiting those in prison, comforting the bereaved and those whose mental state keeps them confused and worried, helping troubled people through relationship problems, and a host of other Christian things to do. Because, you see, Christian things to do are the things that demonstrate that we love God and love our neighbor.

And who is our neighbor? He or she is the person who needs help. Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan not just to say we need to help each other out of a tough spot. Samaritans were the most hated of all the people in Jesus day and country. But Jesus made him the hero of the story, wanting to wake up His listeners to the fact that He was not going to save the world through the religious establishment. It was the religious establishment that was too busy or too afraid to help the man who had been robbed and left for dead.

Who did Jesus use to change the world the first time? As He traveled around the countryside He said over and over to different people, "Follow me." And many of them did, but look at who they were. They were fishermen, hated government contractors (Roman sympathizers), insurrectionists, and a reformed religious leader or two. Those who chose not to follow were usually rich. They opted out because He kept wanting them to sell what they had spent a long time collecting and give the proceeds to the poor.

Why should you be leading the church? To understand that, you need to understand what church leadership is. It is about helping people who need help and about inviting others to join you just like Jesus did. If someone would lead the church today, just like in the beginning, they need to be a person of integrity. And you should be such a person. As you establish your integrity, you are half way there. The other half is about doing what the church should be doing and inviting others along. It really is that simple.

"Prostitutes, Tax Collectors, and You" answers questions like these:

1. Why me? Why you?
2. What does a leader need to understand about the church?
3. What does a leader need to understand about the world?
4. Who should be leading the church?
5. But what about the existing church hierarchy?
6. Lead the church where?

And it gives some real life examples from the author's own experience and from the Bible.

The book is a quick, easy read, and is relatively inexpensive. It has challenging discussion questions for each chapter. I hope you enjoy it, but more than that, I hope it changes your life and the future of your church.