Don't Outsource Your Obedience: Keeping the Agape in Front of Us
Sermon from Sunday, May 31, 2026 on Matthew 9:35-38
Are we outsourcing our obedience?
“Outsourcing is often used as a business practice whereby a third party outside of the company is hired to carry out services or manufacture goods that were previously performed in-house by the company’s own staff and employees.”
The reason many do this is to either (1) reduce labor costs, or (2) to outsource certain areas to help the institution focus on core matters.
Two things here: first, we have outsourced some of our work to the Rocky Mountain Foundation’s Accounting Hub as well as the custodial work to City Wide. Much of this used to be done in-house but these services help us in a number of ways to free up our folks to do what needs to be done.
Now, here’s the second thing. In that article on outsourcing, one of the reasons some businesses do this is to “enable the business to concentrate its energies and attention on its core aspects.” For the church, we have to be careful not to outsource our core aspects. Permit me to give you some examples:
Some people and churches may say, “We are a missions-minded church.” Yet, what does this mean? Usually, it means we contribute financially to state, national, or international missions through various offerings, but we ourselves do not share the gospel with anyone nor engage in missions personally. Rather, we outsource it to other missionaries.
Growing up in my home church, I would overhear some who, after the pastor preached on everyone’s responsibility to share their faith, would say to the effect, “Isn’t that what we pay him to do?” They are outsourcing their obedience to the pastor.
We can do this with other material matters and face lifts that are intended to do the work that we are to be doing in the first place.
This morning, we pick up where we left off with Romans 12 about the agape love--that selfless, sacrificial love, both for those inside the church and outside. Romans 12 comes in the trail of Matthew 9:35-38. How we view “the harvest” will often determine whether we will outsource our obedience or embrace it for the cause of Christ.