“The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout…”He isn’t fit to live!”(Acts 22.22).

What did he say?  You’d think he dropped some profanity.  Nope.

You’d think he denounced Jesus.  Not that either.

What did he say?  The word was “Gentiles”.  He simply announced that he was going to work with people outside the boundaries of the existing church.  He was taking the Gospel to outsiders.  To the Gentiles, people who had never had access to Jesus before.

That made the insiders furious. They saw it as scandalous that Paul would actually work with people who didn’t fit their category of righteousness.  The text electrified me when I read it earlier this month because I’m not that sure it’s different today.

What do you think? I believe if you are going to reach outsider, you’re going to offend insiders.  Not that you would set out to offend them.  But if you’re really doing meaningful ministry, you will.

Sometimes the very idea of inviting outsiders in is scandalous (what are people with that kind of past doing in church?) Sometimes the methods are scandalous (why would you play that music in church, preach in that manner, or not cater just to my wants as a Christian?).  But bottom line, it is and likely will be scandalous.

Could it be that if you are not offending insiders from time to time, you’re likely not actually reaching outsiders?  Could it be that if you are not offending insiders, you’ve lost your mission?

What do you think?  What’s your experience and what’s your perspective?