In Nantucket, Massachusetts, there’s a museum devoted to this old volunteer organization formed several 100 years ago when shipwrecks along the coastline were quite common. At that time, a group of to a group of people formed a volunteer Life-Saving Society. To try to save people and ships going down, they built little shelters along the shore called huts of refuge. They kept small boats, equipment, food, and medicine ready. They would watch for ships in danger along the coastline day and night. 

And when one went down, the word would go out, and they would go out to the sea and risk their own lives to save every life they could. Their motto was, “you have to go out, but you don’t have to come back.” It’s not a great recruiting pitch. 

I’m not sure how many people would sign up. But here’s the thing, people signed up, people flocked to serve. You know, it worked. All these people signed up thinking, I want to be part of something like that. And they didn’t get any money, and there wasn’t any real recognition. They just thought other people were worth dying for. 

But over time, something happened. The US Coast Guard was formed, and people thought, “we should just let the professionals do it. They’re better trained, more well equipped, heck, they’re getting paid for it.” 

So eventually, the volunteers stopped manning their huts. And they stopped going out. And they stopped searching the coastline. And they stopped risking their lives. But you know, it’s interesting what happened. They kept meeting together. They kept their gatherings. They kept coming together for food and fellowship and friendship for dinners. They enjoy each other’s company. They even give out Community Service Award. They just weren’t in the life-saving business anymore. 

The sad reality is that the same pattern can happen in churches too. Over time, people can start to forget why in the world this whole thing started. Or we assume the mission is best left to all the professionals. But we’ll still meet and come together for food or friendship will gather for each other’s company will have services and programs. We’re just not in the life-saving business anymore. Because life is busy and there are bills to pay, ladders to climb, and stuff to buy. And we start to forget that the world is filled with hungry people, poor people, in need, people who don’t have a clue that there’s a God who loves them.