Just the other day, I was driving home from work and heard this song on the radio. It has been around for a while but it has a message that really caught my attention. The song is “Does Anybody Hear Her?” from Casting Crowns.
Here are some of the lyrics from that song, pay close attention to the last two paragraphs of this clip…
She is running
A hundred miles an hour in the wrong direction
She is trying
But the canyon’s ever widening
In the depths of her cold heart
So she sets out on another misadventure just to find
She’s another two years older
And she’s three more steps behind
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
Or does anybody even know she’s going down today
Under the shadow of our steeple
With all the lost and lonely people
Searching for the hope that’s tucked away in you and me
Does anybody hear her? Can anybody see?
If judgment looms under every steeple
If lofty glances from lofty people
Can’t see past her scarlet letter
And we’ve never even met her
What do you think this song is saying about the Church?
What is your opinion on the Church and its interaction with those “outside” its congregation in today’s culture?
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August 31, 2007 at 08:11
I think the song is really teaching us not to discriminate. I think this tendency is particularly touchy in the area of evangelism. Do we readily evangelize to that homeless and weary old man sitting outside your church? Do we think twice whether to share with a friend who seems too “punk” for you? Do we hesitate to reach out to people of different race and culture?
Jesus died for all the world, therefore all the world deserves to hear of His love.
August 31, 2007 at 09:08
I’ve seen this video a number of times now as it’s on a WOW disc that my son keeps on loop…
and every time i see it, I think that for the church to really not be so almost actively discriminatory and judgmental… it would require an enormous change in thought and function.
Not to be crass… but if you’re ministering to the people in the song… your church is likely small, poorer, and filled with social programs. You’re likely not the smiling, happy, well-dressed, wealthy, folks from the Hillsong videos. (Not a Hillsong shot whatsoever BTW)
Frankly… I don’t like either of those models. I just think the church needs to get off our high horses and stop thinking of ourselves as superior. Just be normal, real, people.
August 31, 2007 at 11:06
When I listen to this song, it says to me that “we”, whether Christian or non-Christian, as human beings have this very bad habit of being very selfish. We never look past our own needs to look at the needs of others. If you look at Jesus Christ HE did not ever think of Himself, He was willing to take the sins of all of us upon the cross to reconcile us back to our Father. Just because we appear okay on the outside does not mean we are okay on the inside. We must look beyond our needs and wants and look and listen closely to those around us. We are not the judge and jury, there is only one judge! So judge me not and love me, listen to me, look at me! I am crying out for help and no one cares, yet there is someone and HE LIVES. He lives in us those who are born again in Christ Jesus, so be the ambassador you are meant to be.
God Bless you all and know that OUR SAVOIR LIVES and we serve an AWESOME GOD!
August 31, 2007 at 11:55
I am learning more and more, that you have to treat Christians differently than others. For instance, if a fellow Christian is engaged in premarital sex, you should confront them and show in scripture what God intended for us. However, doing that to a non Christian will come across as judgement (they won’t see that it is God’s judgement instead of ours), and most likely they will run, in search of people that ‘accept’ them. I see that we are to be a light to non-Christians and show them the love of Jesus. Assuming she is pregnant, we should bring her in, care for her and older women share how to deal with pregnancy and raise a child.
I have seen single mothers raise wonderful children with the help of the body of Christ (the church), though statistically they will be unhappy or unsuccessful.
Sadly, many of our churches are broken. Some have turned into country clubs for members.
It can be extremely difficult to make decisions for the good of people in the community instead of for the good of the congregation. I try to ask myself if a particular decision either 1. Glorifies Christ, 2. introduces a non-beleiver to Jesus, 3. serves the community, or 4. encourages christians. The latter being the trickiest to do without discriminating against non-believers.
August 31, 2007 at 17:34
That song has always struck a chord with me. I have been to churches where I have felt like an outsider because I was not a member, because I was alone or because the church felt too cliquish.
I sense that the songwriter is asking us to remember the lone attender, the attendee who doesn’t look like someone we’d normally think of as a “christian”. We shouldn’t discriminate or love only those who seem to conform to our idea of what a church goer looks like. We are the body of Christ, it is up to us to love and include everyone.
September 1, 2007 at 06:39
I am a divorced single Dad. As, such I was the one with the “Scarlet Letter”; dispised by the “holy” folk in the church where I had lived, worshipped and served for over 5 years.
The beginning of my freedom came in finding a church that would take me in when no one else would. (one famous author said that the definition of home is the place where they have to take you in.) The beginning of my healing began when I was told that divorce is NOWHERE listed as a sin in the bible. The very Bible that I had been bludgeoned with in my old congregation.
As a church, our churchianity often gets in the way of our Christianity. Jesus met people right where they were (followers, scoffers, and questioners alike). We should take a lesson.
September 1, 2007 at 20:41
Too many congregations have circled the wagons against what they see as the ever deepening darkness of postmodern culture. In doing so they’ve alienated the very people the great commission calls on this generation to reach for Christ. Often the church mistakes embracing technology or style as something that makes us more “seeker” friendly when, really, the love of Christ, His inclusive attitude and open heart is the substance that pre-Christians long to experience.
September 7, 2007 at 13:14
I’m finding out about a “Jesus” here that I don’t see anywhere in the Gospels. The LORD of the Bible speaks about sin, righteousness, and judgment. I take it that a few here don’t think we ought to pay attention to those things at all, yet the Jesus of the Gospels said that we’re given the Holy Spirit to speak of them (Jn 16:8).
You go to church to have someone else tell you what is in the Holy Bible? Why aren’t you reading it for yourself, Christian brother? You might find out that you haven’t been given the whole truth. Have ye not read that the priests in the temple profane the sabbath? The church is full of sinners! You speak as if you know nothing about salvation.
The church is weak on sin today, because that is the way too many want it to be. I agree that we need to love the lost. Doing that means we should become invested in them, serving their basic physical and spiritual needs. God teaches us to love people rightly when we serve them while standing firmly on His truth. It’s called having a testimony.
No, too many churches are invested to programs that appeal to worldly lusts. They’re more interested in what the Jesus Seminar boys say than the are interested in what the Bible says. How is it that so many think that all they have to do is say a few pious things about love, and that makes them Christian? If we judged ourselves as we’re told to do, then it would be a different story.
September 8, 2007 at 23:00
This song makes me think about the truth that we only look at the outside of people and make a judgement on whether we want to get to know them or not. The scarlet letter is not the most important piece of this song for me, it’s the fact that no one hears and no one sees her. No one is reaching out to this person, trying to help her find her way. The truth is, we’re often spiritually immature and selfish. I’m no exception. That’s why I need Jesus, but I also need to remember to look around me and see who he’s asking me to lead to him while I’m running towards him.
September 9, 2007 at 08:16
Hi everyone
REB: “Speak the truth in love.” (A lesson that i continually learn graciously from my Heavenly Father.)
You said, “The church is full of sinners!” i say, “Exactly!” So please do not make the mistake of casting the first stone. We can be firm in our convictions based on God’s standards of perfection (“Be perfect as He is perfect”!) but always remembering that we cannot be perfect apart from His work in us. “While we were still sinners [God loved us] and Christ died for us.”
With all due respect, i sense a lot of judgement and not much grace in your words. God is both just and merciful; and like what Christie Siganos wrote, “there is only one judge!” We cannot and must not judge others; while as God’s ambassadors to the rest of the world, we have to share both His righteousness/justice, AND His love, that “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from”.
This is the same “Jesus” “in the Gospels” and the same “LORD of the Bible”. We have the responsibility to report the complete story and share about all the attributes of God; especially since the one defining moment in history is when Christ died for us undeserving, unworthy, sinful creatures.
September 9, 2007 at 13:25
True, but our LORD also said that salt having lost it’s savor is to be cast out and trampled on. Perhaps you find me a little too salty?
How is it that you accuse me of casting stones? I speak of spiritual wickedness in high places. Jesus said that birds are going to lodge in the mustard tree. I’m not interested in individual birds so much as I am interested in their fowl works. Please don’t confuse pointing out fowl works with casting stones.
By focusing on my comments alone, you present a lopsided view yourself. I can assure you, that if I saw people over emphasizing judgment, then I would try to balance it out by speaking of the other part.
It’s funny that people who refuse to acknowledge sin in their lives are being drawn into heresies to hear about grace and love. Look closely sister, and you’ll find that grace and love is the only thing being preached in the universalist churches. You’ll find many mainline denominational churches that are telling people that sin is not sin. Don’t forget that Christ said that the world would hate the Church, because the world hates Him. So I don’t mind speaking to people about the part that isn’t popular.
Over emphasizing grace and love and ignoring sin and judgment is a favorite tactic of fowl workers. Let’s be sure and talk about the full Gospel.
September 9, 2007 at 17:25
From REB: “By focusing on my comments alone, you present a lopsided view yourself. I can assure you, that if I saw people over emphasizing judgment, then I would try to balance it out by speaking of the other part.”
So we’re both “balance” people?
(That’s what i’m trying to learn nowadays…)
i don’t think it’s lopsided to remind people of the full Gospel that we’re both mentioning.
But this post is talking about those outside the Church who have not yet experienced God’s grace (or haven’t realized it yet), as opposed to those in the Church who are not preaching God’s judgement. (So we do agree after all! Because it’s the complete Gospel! 
)
In the same way that we must judge ourselves as you said (or constantly ask God to reveal to us specific areas where we need improvement), and reflect as a Church on whether we have lost our saltiness already….we need to reflect on why should the world turn to us anyway. Like what Clay wrote, “Jesus met people where they were”: He drew people to Himself, as they were, but without ever condoning their sin. (Tough act to follow!) But again, we must test our saltiness in dispensing God’s righteous judgment and God’s loving grace. But note that judgment has different incarnations in other religions and in the secular world, while grace is scandalous, ridiculous, and found nowhere outside the Bible.
Jesus’ teachings are full of grace because the people in His time (and everyone else) already knows about judgment and is all too ready to give it.
We don’t have to ignore sin and judgment of course. Actually, i’ve heard some say that for people to appreciate the Good News of the Gospel (grace!), they need to learn about the Bad News first (judgment!). Makes sense! Also, grace would not make sense if there’s nothing to forgive—- Jesus told the adulteress that He is not condemning her, yet His last words were “Go and sin no more,” an honest assessment of her past combined with an incredibly empowering goal for her future. In reaching out to people mentioned in the blog post (the people we used to be! people who are as sinful and imperfect as we are!), we need to get back to Jesus’ way.
i agree with you, i’ve heard of a lot of churches and movements that suddenly say is ok and so on, overriding the Bible’s explicit statements that is sin. And it’s alarming because naturally, people who do/have would of course go to grace-only-but-unBiblical “churches” instead of grace-with-judgement-as-the-Bible-says ones. i worry, but we know God will back up those who preach Him and not their own ideas
September 11, 2007 at 16:28
Tecigurl, REB, I agree that we must speak the truth in love as Christians.
Vance Havner once said, “We don’t let the prodigal come to his senses any more – we rush out to embrace him while he’s still in the pigsty!” And some denominations remind me of that with their rejection of Bible truth regarding sin.
But this song asks, how do we church members, who are wicked, ungodly, former enemies of God saved by the matchless grace and compassionate love of the Lord Jesus, actually minister to those lost in sin? I think all too often we glory in the knowledge that someone is definitely committing sin according to the Bible rather than glorying that God’s unconditional love & amazing grace made the difference for us and sure can for everyone else, too!
When I give it more thought, I wonder if it is humanly possible for us formerly dead sinners to over emphasize the Lord Jesus’ love and grace. I honestly don’t think we can.