Going Out to the Sick and Wounded

My office window looks out over a hospital emergency room. Throughout each day, I have a remarkable view of ambulances coming in, bringing patients in need of medical attention. There is also a heli-pad, and at least twice a week I experience the dramatic scene of a LifeFlight helicopter bringing patients in for help. I'm always reminded to pray for those who are sick or injured, and then to thank God for things like ambulances and helicopters.

One day this got me to thinking, what if hospitals operated like most churches do? There would still be an ER, for sure, but it would be a lot different. It would be clearly marked with eye-catching signs and some sort of iconic, Apple-esque logo. Inside, it would be a lot less dreary and, well, hospital-ish. When you first came in the door, instead of a grumpy nurse near the end of her shift being there to greet you, you'd be greeted by some hip looking twenty-somethings behind a counter making designer coffee drinks. Instead of "The Price is Right" playing on the television mounted in the corner, you'd see plasma screen everywhere with slick videos that show what a difference the hospital is making in the community.

If a hospital operated like most churches, the emphasis would go into making the front entrance to the hospital more inviting, and less into making the less glamorous back-entrance more accessible. A lot of effort and money would go into letting the community know that the hospital is there and ready to help in time of need. They would have some really clever catch-phrase that communicated to the community, "We get you and are here to serve you!" The various media used to get the word out about the hospital would have very clear directions and even an easy-to-read map so that residents can get there quick if they ever have a need. Anyone in the area who was sick or injured would have no excuse for not knowing where to go for help and how to get there.

But not many in the community would actually make it to the hospital in their hour of greatest need, because many people who need to go to a hospital are probably not in the condition to get there themselves. You see, if hospitals operated like most churches, I don't think you'd observe many ambulances or helicopters bringing people in for help, because ambulances and helicopters have to go out to where the sick and wounded are to help them.

For me, an ambulance or a LifeFlight helicopter is a beautiful metaphor for a missional Christian. A missional Christian is the person who is willing to step outside the comforts of the church and go out to where the sick and wounded are. To care for their immediate needs on the spot, and then to bring them into the hospital of souls for more care.

One of the few things I can think of that is more dramatic than the LifeFlight helicopter swooping in over my office to the heli-pad with personnel rushing from the hospital to bring in the wounded is we saw a similar scene acted out more regularly in our churches.