Conversations between competitive duck hunters can be very revealing. Two old friends met eachother at the parking lot of a local public shooting ground. The first hunter ask his friend, “How’d ya’ll do today?” To which the friend replied, “We spanked ‘em.” “How many did ya’ kill” the first hunter asked. “All we could bring out”, the second man answered. “Must have been in the right place”, said the first man. “No”, said the second, “it’s this call around my neck. It works magic.” To which the first retorted, “Well, let’s switch places tomorrow. You set-up here in the parking lot and I’ll get in your place and lets see how good that magic is.”

Hunters are notorious for touting their skills. Duck hunters and turkey hunters are especiallly egotistical about the level of expertise they have on their instrument of choice; their call. The truth is, though, that if you aren’t where the game are want to be then you won’t get a chance at harvesting anything. The world champion duck caller cannot call down a flock of mallards in any Wal Mart parking lot that I know of and the best turkey caller in the land won’t bag a bird by the dumpster at Home Depot. There’s a reason for that; the game that they seek does not live in such places.

Why is it that we don’t see more people accept Jesus as Savior? Why don’t we see more visitors in our worship and more newcomers in our Sunday Schools? Why, do you suppose, is it that we have such a hard time finding people interested in hearing the truth about how their lives can be radically better, more fulfilling, than they could ever imagine? Could it be that we are looking in the wrong places for these folks?

Where would folks like that live? What kind of people need hope and love and care? Who is it that is really looking for forgiveness and grace? Who needs a church home that will give them love and acceptance.

How about prisoners in jail? How about folks that are really poor? How about couples that have interracial marriages; especially in the south. Maybe people who’ve committed public sins and been humiliated for them? People who aren’t pretty and who aren’t popular. Then again, the rich are shunned as badly as the poor in some places. Where in the world would we find those people?

Wal Mart, K Mart, Stuff Mart; any mall on any given day. The local deli. Your work place. Public schools. Walking down the street. Playing with their kids at the park. Anywhere you find crowds you’ll find them.

So, don’t hunt turkey in the parking lot of the church. Don’t duck hunt in the cemetary. Don’t attempt to do evangelism exclusively from the pulpit. If you want to find the folks who need Jesus you’ll have to go looking for them. Don’t worry, you won’t have to look far.

Don’t look for me to set my decoy spread by the port-a-potty in the parking lot at Cut-Off Creek, WMA. I’ll be around one of the northern food plots because that’s where the ducks are. Sometimes.

Good hunting.