Whose In First? (Luke 5)

In today’s reading (Luke 5) we see Jesus calling His first disciples and then calling a tax collector named Levi, who proceeded to have a party to introduce all his friends who were far from God to Jesus.

My friend John Burke says that the first 100 people in a new church will set the course for the future of that church. Want to know what the people in your church will be like in thirty years? Look at the first 100 people you have. That’s what they’ll be like.

Assuming this is true (and I do assume it is), I wonder if Jesus was thinking about it when the first disciples he called were ordinary, messed-up people. And I wonder if part of the reason Jesus later connected with people like prostitutes and a chief tax collector was because of the original people in His group.

And … if you’re starting a church, who are your first 100? And what do they say about what the people in your church will be like in thirty years? Here’s one guess: If you gather together a bunch of Christians who do life together and pray that someday we’ll reach people who are far from God, I predict that you’ll probably always be a church full of Christians who do life together and pray that someday we’ll reach people who are far from God.