Day 7-  Do you remember the song from Michael W. Smith entitled, “Friends?”  Today I am thankful for all my friends not just the ones that are in my church family.

As Christians, we all need friends that are not a part of our “holy huddles.”  Most of the time Christians are so wrapped in a church that the only friends they have are other Christian friends.  It’s good to have Christian friends, but if all you have is Christian friends how do you fulfill the Great Commission?  Sure you could make better disciples of those that already are disciples and that’s a good thing.  But, I think that Jesus wasn’t talking about going to people that already know the gospel.  He was talking about people that don’t know the gospel.  People that have never heard or at least have not seriously thought about the good news.  Those are the people that Jesus commissioned us, as His followers, to “Go To.”

We all need friends inside and outside of the church.  That’s is how I came to Jesus.  I came through a friend.  I had a friend that I like to spend the night with on Friday and sometimes Saturday nights.  When I stayed on Friday nights in the fall, we would go watch his brother play football.  After the game, we would grab a bite to eat that the local McDonalds or Godfather’s Pizza; the after game hangouts for high school students.  Then we would head over to their house and watch a movie before turning in for the night.

On Saturday morning, my friend and I would take his brother back to the high school to watch “films” of the game.  When “films” were done we would find something to do and there would be times I would find myself at their place on Saturday night as well.

I was there so much that my friends’ parents started calling me, “son,” (I am still considered his adopted son to this day) and I would call him “dad.”  “Dad” had one rule that was kept by all that stayed the night on Saturdays.  You went to church with them the next morning.  At first, I thought okay I guess that’s not a problem.  I can go so that I can spend the night.  Then after a while, I spend the night on Saturdays not only to be with my friends but so that I could go to church.  One thing leads to another and 25 years later I sit at my desk in my church office typing this blog post.  All because I had a friend inside the church when I was outside the church.

Questions:  Do you have friends outside the church?  No?  What could you do to make some friends that are “outside” of the church?  You know one of the main reasons why people don’t share their faith?  Fear!  You know what breaks the bondage of fear?  Friendship.  I want to encourage you today to have friends outside the church.