"Let's not do church, let's be the church." That was the message this afternoon from speaker Christine Caine at Catalyst East 2010 in Duluth, Ga.'s Gwinnett Center. Caine, part of the leadership at Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia, told of her worldwide missions work, and the need she sees for churches to reach out and help the lost and forgotten.
Caine notes a "passion deficiency syndrome" across the church. And yet, she reminded attendees that God is consumed with helping the lost. "We're here to save that which is lost," she said, calling the members of God's church "his spiritual GPS system." Her message, forget boring religious obligation and act out of passion for what God is passionate about -- helping others.
"We have a world where a lot of people are preoccupied," Caine shared. "They're trying to cope with this thing called life. And they end up being lost."
Catalyst attendees learned about a passion of Caine's: reaching out with the message of God to women and children lost to the world of human sex trafficking. There are 23 million slaves on the earth, she reported. A stat that, at first, she thought couldn't be true. So she researched for herself and learned the truth, along with a new direction for her actions in ministry. "The church thinks because we cry that we're being compassionate. But compassion starts when you cross the street, walk over, and get involved," Caine said. What can the church do, collectively? The answer is clear to Caine -- stop making excuses and get involved.
