The Calling of Matthew (Levi)

¹³Then Jesus went out to the lakeshore again and taught the crowds that were coming to him. ¹⁴ As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at his tax collector’s booth. “Follow me and be my disciple,” Jesus said to him. So Levi got up and followed him. ¹⁵ Later, Levi invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests, along with many tax collectors and other disreputable sinners. (There were many people of this kind among Jesus’ followers.) ¹⁶ But when the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees saw him eating with tax collectors and other sinners, they asked his disciples, “Why does he eat with such scum?” ¹⁷ When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” – Mark 2:13-17 (NLT)

Jesus is, indeed, the Great Physician (note scripture above)! But, he has also called us to be caretakers (physician’s assistants, if you will) of His Body—the Church. And so we will all be learning to do this, as we intentionally work to grow in our faith together during this school/ministry year…

As most of you know, I’ve recently begun a professional coaching experience with the Rev. Nelson Searcy and his Senior Pastor’s Tele-Coaching Network (Leadership Insights). Under his guidance, I’ll be learning more and more about the ‘systems’ of the Body [of Christ] that need to be healthy, in order for the whole Body [Church] to be healthy. I’ve been through a couple of coaching sessions already. The first was an overview of all of the systems that I’ll be studying—good Lord willing—for the next 3 years or more. During the last coaching session, we launched into the first of the systems that we need to learn—The Assimilation System.

Now, don’t get too excited about the name of this first system. Basically, it’s all about biblical hospitality. And, to put it in a nutshell, the practical reason this is important is so that we can ‘shut the back door’ for those who visit our church so that they will want to come back and be a part of what God is doing here! I’m thankful that we did not wait until I started into this coaching network to begin working on this ‘system,’ or way we do hospitality. We’ve been at it for a few years now, through our Connections Ministry. And my hat goes off to both Beth Schlueter and Tammy Leiser (Did you know they were sisters?) for ‘getting all of this’—understanding the importance of this—before I did. God has sent us some amazing ‘caretakers of the Body.’ Now, with my increased knowledge of this system, we’ll go deeper into how we welcome those who God sends to us—a real gift, if you think about it…

For further study on this system (since we are all called to be ‘caretakers of the Body’), check out Searcy’s book called, “Fusion: Turning First-Time Guests into Fully-Engaged Members of Your Church.” It’s an eye-opener. And next month, we’ll move on to talk briefly about the second ‘system’ of the Body that I’ll be learning—The Stewardship System. It’s all about discipleship, folks, and this includes all of us—no exceptions!

See you on the path to biblical hospitality, Pastor Rom