Headlines matter

• Anne Hathaway's boyfriend jailed for swindling millions...
• Greg Norman and Chris Evert wed in the Bahamas
• Madonna and Guy's wedding over?
• Matt Damon and wife, Luciana, are expecting a child.
• One of Nicole Richie's favorite tops can be purchased from Nation Ltd. for $97

These are just some of the news headlines in my most recent issue of People magazine. I am not a subscriber, but I do pick up a magazine such as this on an occasion.

Do these headlines matter? Well, to me not really. I have never been to concerned about the things going on in the lives of those famous, popular, etc. More and more, I am becoming interested in understanding what is happening in the entertainment industry.

What actors/actresses are doing. Who has the hottest new album. Who is dating who. Who wears what. These things, and many more are becoming more and more a priority for me to understand.

Why?

If we want to meet those who don't know Christ right where they are, then we need to understand their world. Some of you already do this very well, and I am sure I could be learning from you.

How can I begin to talk with someone about the things that matter to them, if I shelter myself from the World and what is happening in it? How can I understand someone's struggle to be like someone famous, when I don't know who it is they are talking about.

All to often, the church (as a whole, because some do a really good job of staying focused on the World when reaching people) creates for itself an inner world that creates two problems:

First, if we create our own inner world, it is hard for people to join it. Second, when we create the walls, then we can't see out of our inner world to see what the rest of the world is doing.

Each of these have there own problems that I don't want to address today. I want to simply say that, like Jesus, if we want to reach people we have to truly meet them where they are at. That means that we need to understand what is happening in their World.

There are many ways of doing this. We can immerse ourselves in this World, being a light. We can read/watch and learn about what is happening in this World. We can listen to those around us so that we can have a better understanding.

So, yes these headlines matter....because people matter.

We need to...

"Welcome Others, Just As Christ Welcomed Us!"