History
Posted by Collin Box
I have a story to tell.my heart is with salem - not because there are so many things to do here or because there are so many people here - but because there are people here.
my heart is in salem - not because i want to be here or because i have to be here - but because i feel like i’m supposed to be here.
my heart burns for salem - not because i have a sensitive heart or because i have great compassion - but because i have seen the hurt, the hopelessness, the pain on my friend’s faces here in salem. they all have the same need, and i have the one thing that i know can meet that need. would you willingly hold back the cure to a worldwide epidemic - lack of purpose, lack of hope, lack of meaning?
the pains of the world are everywhere…no one is exempt. whether you follow a certain belief system, come from a wealthy family, have amazing talents, or enjoy a multitude of friends.
the universal remedy for the pains of this world is not money, security, fame, or religion.
the answer to the world’s question is Jesus.
the cure for salem’s problems is Jesus.
the vision is JESUS
since i was a sophomore in high school, i have felt this great burden for my city. i know its not the greatest city by any means, but i can’t help myself from feeling this deep pain for the lost ones in my hometown.
i once met a man who began to weep when speaking about those who would be lost forever. do i have that same passion for my friends who need to know the one who can save them?
i hate saying that i’m religious. i hate saying that i am a christian. i hate talking about “sharing the gospel” or “witnessing” or “evangelism.” these terms have been tainted by the pharisees of this age. Jesus said to those pharisees 2,000 years ago, “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law-justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.”
what i am is a christ-follower. i am a world changer. i am a part of the glorious story of redemption. i am an administer of love, justice, mercy, and faith.
God has given me a mandate - he has told me to go and proclaim to a hurting, dirty, empty, and dying world that there is hope, joy, mercy, and peace found in his Son. Jesus reconciled the world to himself becuase he loved us too much to let us destroy ourselves. do we love the world enough to get out and offer new life to those around us?
i want to quit this Christian life. i don’t want to be a good, clean person any longer. i am not satisfied with mediocrity or comfortability. i want to push myself further than today’s church has ever gone - into the slums and the problems of a hurting generation. that is why i am part of this “change the world campaign.” i’ve decided that its better to fail while reaching for the impossible rather than succeed settling for less. i’m ready to fail.
will you join me?