Bystander Syndrome in the Church - Why We're Failing the Great Commission
It was a typical, busy Saturday afternoon at the mall. You know the scene—the smell of auntie anne's pretzels wafting through the air, the distant hum of hundreds of conversations, and the rhythmic clicking of shopping bags. Our friend Tom was walking by the food court when he noticed a man sitting all by himself, staring intensely down into his lukewarm coffee. Something deep inside Tom—that still, small voice of the Holy Spirit—said, "You should go talk to him." Tom kept walking, but the thought nagged at him like a pebble in his shoe. I should share Jesus with that man, he thought. But then, the "what-ifs" started screaming. What if he gets offended? What if I say the wrong thing and look like a total fool? As the internal debate raged, the man sat alone just twenty feet away, a soul in need hanging in the balance. Tom froze, paralyzed by uncertainty, and eventually, he just kept walking. Does that sound familiar? If we are being honest, we’ve all been in...