Jacobs

today i had the great priveledge of eating lunch with chris jacobs. chris is a good friend and one of the most talented, unique people i've ever met. right now he's living in Boston and does marketing/managing in the music industry, along with a number of other extraordinary things. he had a layover in dallas so we spent the better part of 2 hours at a BBQ joint called Bartley's (it's no Joe Allens, but still good for here). it was great to see my friend and dive into each other's lives.

chris often brings a fresh and crisp outlook to our conversations on spirituality and faith. today we were talking about the SoulFest music festival that chris's company puts on in the northeast every year, and how it's one of the few christian music festivals that does not have an "alter call" or "invitation." the reason behind this is simple: the majority of the people at these festivals have heard and answered the call of the gospel in their life (let's say 70 percent of them, but probably more). but that's not all. some people might argue, "well what about the 30 percent who hasn't heard the gospel?" to which chris and his company would anwer, "that's the 70 percent's job." to engage those around them in conversations, to interact with kindness and gentleness, to sacrifice their comfort and time for the sake of obedience, to live out the gospel.

it got me thinking that too often we let put our responsibility as disciples of Christ fall to the guy in the pulpit on sundays. Christ calls us to live a life that testifies to the grace of God (acts 20:24). there are people we come in contact everyday who will never stumble into our sanctuaries on sunday morning. then how are they supposed to hear about the life-giving love of Christ one will ask? we show them, we tell them, and we love them. we don't hesitate, we don't wait for someone else to shoulder our task. we live like Christ, and share his life and love with all we meet. i think chris and the soulfest people are on to something here--just something to think about.