The ultimate rescue mission

Jon Taffer is on a mission. A Bar Rescue mission. Every Sunday night a new episode features a failing bar business begging for the help of Taffer and his team. In desperation, owners of failing bars write letters and send videos hoping to be chosen as the next bar rescued from the brink of the out-of-business disaster.

Once chosen the real work begins as Taffer and his team sweep in and take over. It starts with an assessment of the problems plaguing the business. Is it the menu, the customer service, the decor or the sub-par concoctions? Then Taffer does a complete establishment overhaul, from the ground up - literally. He breaks down walls if necessary. He fires employees and retrains the rest. He changes the name of the business and revamps the menu. He breaks down the budget and takes over the checkbook. He markets, he manages, he master plans. All in an attempt to save a bar. 

Or so you think.

For Mr. Taffer, Bar Rescue is about way more than providing alcoholic beverages and saving saloons. He believes he is on a mission to deliver families from the brink of bankruptcy, protect Dad's from losing their livelihoods and ensure that the house won't go to auction to pay off the debt of a business disaster. 

Taffer doesn't believe he's just saving bars. He believes he is saving people. 

This coming weekend Taffer will celebrate his one-hundreth episode. When asked what has made his show such a hit and the bars such a success, even years after he's gone, Taffer replied, "I'm passionate." With his whole heart Taffer went on to talk about the plight of the families behind the bars. He spoke with genuine care and concern for their futures. What would happen if the bar failed? Would the family lose their home? How many employees would lose their jobs? Taffer didn't see a bar when he saw the application videos and letters from candidates, he saw desperate and needy people crying out for help.

I wonder how many of us hear that cry from our fellow man as they struggle to find their ultimate salvation? Their calls for help often come quietly, without a video presentation or tear-soaked letter. Sometimes the calls come in the silence of depression. Others call with their sin and their wayward living. The desperate pleading is all around us. Do we hear it? Are we eager to sweep in with the message of redemption and hope that is only found in Jesus Christ? Are you and I committed to being part of the ultimate soul saving rescue mission?

The need of the perishing is more pressing than a failing business or struggling establishment. This is a matter of eternal life and eternal death. There is no great mission worthy of greater passion than the rescue mission to tell all the world that salvation has come and His name is Jesus Christ.