The Ohio Independent Baptist, April 1968

e ristian by Dorothy Shollenbe rger Norwalk, O hio ~L ha ntf, l1t1 t reach i,ng out with the hcarl ! Ancf 111osl of ,1IJ , it n1cans hcing c1 1c)ti()naJJy ,tn<.l spiritu a ll y jnvoJve(I! 1 have worked with t he aged and sick, an,d have een the tr agedy of un-involvement in their lives. Many of the e f oJk even came from Chris– tian f amilie . When illness and senility overtook ohe e o nce active, productive li ve , they were placed in the care 0 1[ trangers as the fami lies, hri t ian or un aved, found being involved 111eant more than they wanted to give. The security of Jove, under tan,ding and great patience, eemingly they had forgotten . At one t ime t he e s ick and aging oul h ad given them the This article first appeared i ,i the c/11,rc/1 bulleti,z of tlie Ca/var)' Bap– tist Cl1t1rch, Norwalk, 0/1io. Pastor <>/ this cl,urcli is o tir brotl1er, R ev. David Lt,nney. Mrs. Dorothy Sholle11hi1rge·r, author of tl1e article, is a lzousewife and at1 active me111ber of the Norwalk clzurch. She has written several ar- o tic/es fo r the Calvary Baptist Bulletin. Pastor Lunney writes ... ''Mrs. Shol– lenburger seeks to carry out the things ,nentioned in her article by being an 'INVOLVED CHRISTIAN.''' These word , "Un-Involved Chri - ti an," make an unplea ant 1 ound r. when repeated aloud. But unpleasant as they are, rthey are fast becoming everyday reality! The w1ords are creeping 1nto Bible believing and teaching churches to– day, as insidiou ly as the once un– heard word, "Modernism ," worked , itself into the majority of Pro,te tant churches, and has all but taken over completely. What Is Meant What do I mean by "Un-Invo]ved Chri stians?" The an wer is quite simple, but can be answered many ways. The mo t ti,mely one 1be ing Chri stians who fail ,to show or ex- press genuine Christian love; real af– fection, consideration and thought– fuJness for their bro thers and sjster in Christ ; failure to rreach out from the heart to those who perhaps ,need a real friend or a "helping hand' ' due to illness, finances, or myriads of other troubles, which we a11 fall heir to, at o ne time o r an,other. I John , 3: 17 says, ' 'But whoso hath ,thi world's goods and seet.h his brother have need a nd shu tteth up his bowel of compassion from him, how dwell– eth the love of God in him?'' Thu , when we fail to reach out to others and become involved when they h ave any need, we are really hindering the work of the Ho]y Spirit! Many hristians use the excuse that they are ,too shy or backward to ap– proach rthe person with problemc;. This could be partial ly itrue, but it must be remembered, the Lord h~ the power to give u tihe wi dom and tinderstanding needed to becon1e in– volved with these souls. There is also another version f the Un-involved hrist1an, particu1ar- THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST ly no,ted in our church es today . These can be found an1ong both th·e o lder n1e,n1ber and the younger. ln many ca e group 1 o r cliches .6orm from the lack of under ,landing. The oJder membe rs rebel agai11S1t beco1n1j ng j n– volved with the younger o ne dread – ing the adop ti o n of n ew idea . T,hi , in turn, pl ace ithe c hurch in two camp , one again t the other , ife ult– ing in lo of inte re t and enthusia m among young me,mbers, and in some ca e a "fallin 1 g away' ' in attendance and partic ipation by the o lder. The re ult - a piritual famine! Mrs. H ow much simpler the problem, if each group would Jir t pray for guida nce and .then a llow the Loird to lead in involving each with tihe other, m aiking use of the year of piritual experiences ,of ithe older member and the vital new ideas of t he younger. From my own experience as a nur e, t·he word un-involved m ade a las ting impre ion on me. While in training we were told .to remain emo– tionally uninvolved with our patient . If o ne is a Chri tian, this should be an impo ibility. Whether the fellow- hip of our church , or tihe bed ide of the sick, we mu t be involved, and to do o means, not just reaching ot1t ame coimforts, which now, they were ~e Jfi hly withholding. A Practical Suggestion Yet, thi j 1 only one example of " un-invo lvement. " When we look aibou t u , there may be a neighbor carrying a burden we ,might hare, or illne s, where a he lp,ing hand could be u ed. Or an aged person nearby, hut-in and lonely, w ho would ap– preciate having omeone drop in to chat. Arm you rself with ome fruit , ome coo,kie or magazines, and go get involved with them, remembering Matthew 25: 40, ' 'Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of t he least of tihe e my brethren, ye h ave do ne it unto me" and Galat ian 5: 14, "For all the law i fulfilled in o ne word, even in thi : Thou shalt Jove th y ne ighbour a thyself." Reme mber too , no matter what age how sick or how alo ne the e per on may be, your involvement with them will return to you, a real piritual ble ing. And your involvement may ailso ,give you the 0 1 pportuniity to pre- ent the Lord to the e folk, o that, n 1 0 lo nger would ithey feel 1one1y and unwan,ted and the ick would find new hope. If we f ind at this point that we cla i[y a "Un-i nvolved Chri 'tian , ,. we hould reca·ll Galati an 6: 10, "A we h ave therefore opportt1nity, let u do good unto all n1en, e peciall .. t1nto then1 who are of the hou ehold f [ .th j, o a1 . WANTED: .1000 Ckurclws tlwl care ahout thR Ba.ptist Builders'ClulJ and the aid which It extends to other small . struggling GARB churches . Want to have a share 111 the eternal re– wards? Join the Baptist Builders' Club and place 1t on your m1ss1orary budget. I 800 O a kt on B ou I cvard Des P la i nes . ll l1no1s 6 0 0 18 --------~-----~--- \\' e c are' St•nd further information ro : Past or _______________ Churc h_______________ Addre ss_______________ Zip Co de!! APRIL, 1968 PAGE 11