Sometimes it takes someone from the outside to point out the obvious truth.
Several years ago, a church we attended had a guest speaker at our morning service. He was a former pro basketball player, in town to host a youth rally at our church.
He preached an incredible sermon that morning and shared a jaw-dropping testimony.
But none of that compared to how he ended his sermon.
He explained what the rally that night would be. He’d been visiting area schools that week as a motivational speaker, talking about his life as a basketball player. At the end of each of his talks, he’d tell the kids about the rally. Several hundred teenagers would be there, he said. Many would be kids that you’d never see in a church. And if it was like his other rallies, dozens would come to know Christ or want to know more.
Then he said something to our congregation of 2,000-plus people that I’ll never forget:
“They’ve announced this event in your services for the past several weeks. Each week, they’ve asked for volunteers. Do you know how many people have volunteered to help with this event?”
Silence.
He held up three fingers.
“Three of you.”
What a moment. He called us out publicly and none of us could hide — although we desperately wanted to. Our apparent apathy toward that event had caught up to us.
And it cut like a knife to hear it from someone on the outside.
Can you guess what happened?
There were more volunteers at that event than I’d seen at any other.
And our speaker was right. Dozens upon dozens of kids stepped forward that night, and there was an adult volunteer for every kid to pray with.
Sometimes it takes someone from the outside to point out the obvious truth.
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I read this and felt like you probably did. We always think someone else will do the task.We are experiencing that same situation for the ladies Auxiliary and I am one of the 4 people who always do the work. I really enjoy it but a few more hands could always help
It’s a common challenge. Sometimes it takes someone from the outside — or a well-respected individual on the inside — to call attention to the challenge and encourage others to step up.