Here's a tragic story about how NOT to be the church in your community. Medric Cecil Mills Jr., a 77-year-old retired District park worker from Washington D.C., suffered a heart attack next door to the Northeast Washington firehouse. Three times people, including Mills' daughter Marie, banged on the firehouse door seeking help for Mills. But Marie Mills was told that the firefighters couldn't respond unless someone called 911.

Finally, after 15 to 20 minutes a D.C. police officer flagged down a passing ambulance to offer aid to the heart attack victim. Authorities later reported that a firetruck from another station had also responded to a 911 call to help Mills. But both the ambulance and the firetruck were too late. The deputy mayor for public safety in D.C. apologized to the Mills family and said, "[Firefighters] don't have to wait to be called. We should have responded to the incident."

Possible Preaching Angle:

Christians, too, don't have to wait to be called because we've already been called.