I attempted to do some fishing today, except I forgot to bring something rather important along: bait.

I had plans to dig up some worms to put at the end of my hook with a bobber, but I realized I had forgotten to gather some worms after I was already on the little paddle boat, headed to a spot on the lake that had some cover nearby.

So, I figured I would just use some lure from my tackle box. Here’s the problem though: I don’t really know how to fish using lures. I mean, you just cast it out and reel it back in, right? How hard can that be? But alas, no bites, no nibbles, no fish. (It doesn’t really help that no one has shown me, or taught me how to do it…)

Earlier this week, when I took my kids out fishing, I looked like an expert to them, with my worms and a bobber. We all had fun pulling in some sunfish off the White Bear Lake fishing pier. None of them were keepers, but we all had a good time.

In Matthew 4:18-20, Jesus calls the first disciples. Scripture says, “While walking by the Sea of Galilee, he [Jesus] saw two brothers, Simon (who is called Peter) and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ Immediately they left their nets and followed him.”

These first disciples were expert fishermen, who specialized in net fishing, verses rod and reel fishing. Yet, they were ill-equipped at “catching people.” And it took them years of following Jesus to learn just what to do: to be shown, taught, and to put into practice all that Jesus directed.

And I think people today might feel similar. They, too, feel ill-equipped to be fishers of men. They might try and try, only to have no results. They, too, need training, and practice, and failure, and community, and (most importantly) the words of Jesus directing them.

But being a fisher of men also requires realness, and honesty, and rawness, and authenticity. Perhaps that’s why I can’t catch fish using a lure. It’s not “real.”

Instead, to be fishers of men, we need true food for the soul. We need to share how Jesus has fed us with His Word–his promise, his love, his forgiveness– to share with others. God will handle making the fish hungry. He will create a desire in their hearts to long for the Gospel.

In the meantime, we will faithfully continue casting our line out, hoping that God gives us the privilege to bring this fish into God’s boat–the church.