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Life is Too Short and Hell is Too Hot…
Orginally published on Monday, November 05, 2007 at 5:32 PM
by Todd Rhoades
Hey, I'm on the road today at the Externally Focused Conference at North Coast Church in San Diego. (That's why there was no MMI newsletter or updates here today). I'm listening to Pastor Larry Osborne teach right now, and he just had a great quote that I thought I'd share with you quickly. I think it'd make a great motto for church leaders this week. See what you think.
Here’s the quote:
“Life is too short, and hell is too hot to just play church”.
Until later!
Todd
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There are 9 Comments:
Hi... I'm Todd Rhoades. I'm a Christ-follower, husband, father and I love to connect leaders with other leaders. Hopefully you'll find something here at MMI you like and will return often. If you want, you can find out more about me or follow my every step on Twitter.
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Monday, November 05, 2007 at 6:56 PM
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Post Your Comments:Thanks Todd!
Great Quote.
Welcome to Pacific Time! Have fun regulating your appetite and sleep schedule, with daylight savings time in there to boot!
Actually, I really appreciate Larry Osborne, but that quote bothers me. Perhaps I need to hear it in context. I know my response sounds very “emergent,” but I feel that it’s time to stop inviting people to sign on so they can escape hell after they die, and begin inviting people to follow Jesus while they live, so that they can be part of ushering in His kingdom. Not that I don’t believe in hell, I just don’t think that Jesus ever sought out “escape hell” followers. Hell is a real consequence of deciding not to follow Jesus, but as a decision motivator, it’s not likely prompt selfless sacrifice on behalf of the least, last and lost.
Wendi
understood, Wendi… I think Larry’s comments, in context of his talk on ‘externally focused’ churches, was more like: our mission is too important and too critical to just play around doing it.
I realize it’s always not a great thing to take one line out of an hour talk to present; but I still like the quote.
Thanks!
Todd
Yea, I know that neither Larry or the externally focused church movement advocate a fire and brimstone mission.
In the spirit of externally focused mission work, I like your version of the quote Todd, or perhaps “life is too short and people are too broken for us to get off mission,” or “we have all that broken people need, but our opportunities to offer it could be gone tomorrow, so we’d better stay after it with dedication and seriousness.”
Anxious to hear more from the conference.
Wendi
I feel that urgency, Todd. There are just so many lost and am I seriously trying to reach them? or is it about doing church?
And when I am with my secular friends, (I work in the arts) am I know that I have a heart for seeing them come to Christ, but am I letting the social norms around me, hold me back from sharing? While I know that any day now, they could die and spend eternity in hell?
Thanks for the quote. Wish I were there too!
You have to admit, even if you’re not a hellfire and brimstone church, the belief that God condemns those who’ve never heard of him to everlasting conscious torment does something to your worldview…
I’d argue that it does something bad to your worldview (and that it also prevents you from properly reading Jesus’ warning of the fire of gehenna--not ‘hell’).
Why not say something like “life is too short and the world is too messed up to just play church”? I think that would express the same (worthwhile) thought, without the post-biblical metaphysical baggage…
My two cents.
-Daniel-
I have to say I really do like & agree with this quote. There are many people who “play church”.
On one side you have people who do not have a true relationship with Christ, they have a religion. Many people sitting in the pews of churches will be left behind when Christ returns.
Then on one side you have people who do have a relationship with Christ but don’t ever grow spiritually. They “play church” but don’t put forth any real effort to help the kindgom of Christ grow.
The quote sounds to me a bit like a paraphrase from Jude 1:23. Both the quote and the verse are written to believers as a challenge to go out and rescue the lost because it is urgent and the consequences eternal, not a bat to hit unbelievers or the backslidden over the head with.
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