It All Began on Christmas...

[Here’s some Advent meat and vegetables to go with the sugar cookies.]

We may sing, “All is calm, all is bright,” to celebrate Christmas, but Christmas is really D-day… the day the rescue mission of God launched into the created world.  Christmas marks the day God got Himself born into our created world.  Bethlehem was His beachhead.  By getting Himself born as a baby, He got Himself into the reality of the created world… and with a purpose.

On one level a baby being born and placed in a manger is calming and beautiful. But to the forces of hell, it was a strategic strike marking the beginning of their end.  They knew it was coming.  It had been foretold from of old.  They just couldn’t stop it.  God was rescuing the world.

And He invites us to join Him.

You see, while it all began on Christmas, and was established as an irrevocable conclusion at the cross and empty tomb, the rescue mission of God is still very much in play right now.  The yeast is still spreading throughout the loaf.  The Good News of God is still making its way deeper into the neighborhoods of the world.  It has started.  But it is not done.

Have you noticed the unrest in Syria, Ferguson, your own community, your own family?  They are all signals that the rescue mission of God is still pressing forward and that the forces of hell are still pressing back… hard.  But it won’t work.

Why? [At this point you will expect the answer to be, “Because of Jesus.” And that is the first and biggest part of the answer.  But the full answer for why the forces of hell won’t win in places as widespread as Syria or St. Louis or your own home is because of people of God like you.  Read on.]

God is rescuing the world… through people.  God began rescuing the world through a person… Jesus.  He continues rescuing the world through people… people like us who now have Jesus living in us.

Wherever the forces of hell still press back, the people of God are invited to be counter-forces of love, joy, peace and Good News.  We are not only beneficiaries of God’s rescue mission, we are agents of it.  We don’t get rescued and then sent to the sideline to wait for Heaven.  We are not only saved from sin, death and the devil; but we are savedfor joining the rescue mission of God.

Wherever peace will prevail, wherever love and joy will reemerge, wherever forgiveness begins to trump vengeance, know this, men or women of God are somewhere in the middle of it joining Jesus.

It began at Christmas… but it continues today.

What will you be in the middle of today with Jesus?

Joining Jesus

“The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood,” (John 1:14, MSG)

Jesus is on a mission.

He is on a grand adventure to redeem and restore human lives to the kingdom of his Father. This is nothing new. Ever since he broke out of the tomb on Easter Sunday, Jesus has been on the loose, pursuing his redemptive mission, messing with people, ripening people, preparing people to be drawn back to the Father he loves. It’s what he does.

And he’s on the move in your neighborhood, too.

The concept of “neighborhood” is very important for the missional lifestyle. So let’s take a moment to define it. “Neighborhood” is all about relationships, or the potential relationships we could have with just a little intentionality.  For our purposes a “neighborhood” is defined as any network of relationships (or potential relationships) to which we have regular access. We may not know the people yet or know them well, but for a variety of reasons these people are regularly within our reach. What are some examples of these relational networks we call “neighborhoods?”

Obviously the “neighborhoods” where we live qualify, and so do the “neighborhoods” of our workplaces and schools. We are regularly within reach of the same people. But there are many other “neighborhoods” in which we regularly find ourselves. For instance, some of us have access to recreation leagues, yoga classes or craft beer clubs. Some of us are band parents, soccer moms or routinely wait with other dads as our daughters finish up dance classes. Some of us volunteer with community revitalization groups or social service agencies. Some of us are Chamber members or Rotary Club members. Some of us are at country clubs, community centers or the Y. All of these are examples of “neighborhoods” in which we may find ourselves. Take a moment to list the “neighborhoods” to which you have access.

Now, here’s some important news: Jesus is on the loose in all of them.

How do I know? Because Jesus is on a mission to redeem and restore all people. Jesus reminds Nicodemus of this when he spoke the well-known words, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son …” (John 3:16). God sent his Son for the world. His goal is not to save some and leave others out. Paul underscores this in 1 Timothy 2:4 when he says that God our Savior wants all people to be saved. Will everyone respond? Will everyone believe God? No. But that does not change the goal and desire of God in sending his Son. As if to emphasize that very point, God speaks of why he is sending his Son in Isaiah 49:6, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”

So wherever you go, whether to the ends of the earth or just to work, if there are people there, you can be sure Jesus is up to something redemptively. His purpose is to redeem. His goal is full restoration. This is what Jesus does. He doesn’t get distracted. He doesn’t veer off course. His timing is always precise because his redemptive mission is always what he’s up to. Different people. Different timing. Different stories and pathways. Sure. But this is what he is up to all the time.

There is, of course, much mystery in how Jesus works out his plan in each person’s life. Some people are resisting, some are ignoring, some are oblivious, and some are almost ready. But Jesus is in the redemptive process of uniquely preparing each of them to receive what the Father would freely give them: forgiveness of sins and a new life with him forever.

That is Jesus’ mission.

And he invites us to join him.

This is an important change in mindset for most U.S. church members: Jesus is inviting me to join him on his mission. He does not give me a mission to do FOR him. Jesus is on a mission and he invites me to come WITH him.

The first time I realized Jesus was inviting me to come WITH him and not go FOR him was a great relief.  If I go FOR Jesus, I am doing the work and seeing the results of what I can accomplish. When I go WITH Jesus, he is doing the work and I am seeing the results of what Jesus can accomplish. One is hard the other is fun. One is exhausting the other is energizing. One causes me to worry (“Did I do everything correctly?”) the other causes me to be at peace (“Let’s see what Jesus does next.”). One tempts me to force things with people the other invites me to keep loving people.

So, for years, when I thought of myself as being in mission, I had it in my head that Jesus was sending me off FOR him … on my own … to do the best I could … which I knew would not be very good at all. I was afraid people would reject me or I wouldn’t know what to say or, worse, I would say something and botch the whole deal for Jesus. What a burden! Can you relate? But I had it precisely backwards. Jesus wasn’t sending me out to do his work FOR him, he was inviting me to come WITH him and join the work he was already doing.

What a relief! You see, only Jesus can do Jesus-work. So let him. Someone once told me, “I can’t. Jesus can. Think I’ll let him.” Our job isn’t to try and do Jesus’ work FOR him. Our job is to watch for, recognize and then respond to the work Jesus is already doing in the lives of people around us and JOIN him.

This is our new missional mindset.

We can do this.

Over the next few weeks, we'll find out how.

How's Jesus Messing with You?

As I travel around the country with Dwelling 1:14, a ministry I founded dedicated to discipling neighborhood missionaries, I have the opportunity to meet pastors and people from all types of congregations and communities. During our conversations I often pose a question designed to make them stop and think. I ask them, “How’s Jesus been messing with you lately?” The most common response? A knowing smile.

I’m finding that Jesus is messing with a lot of us.

People struggle to put it into words, but we’re sensing that Jesus is up to something, showing us something new, inviting us to perceive what he is doing next.  It seems to be right there in front of us and yet still just outside our ability to see clearly or articulate fully. We are like the blind man in Mark 8:22 who is beginning to see but cannot quite make out what he is seeing. It is frustrating and exhilarating all at the same time! We know we are beginning to perceive new things (exhilarating!) but we do not yet have the perception we need to clarify what we are seeing (frustrating!).

Can you relate? You are not alone.

There is a growing sense among the U.S. Christians I am talking with that Jesus is on the move, that he’s messing with our presumptions, calling us to something more than what we have settled for. He is giving many of us a holy discontent with the status quo so that we will look up from what we are doing, pay attention to him and start to wrestle with what he is currently showing us and asking of us. I hear it as I talk with twenty-somethings in places like Houston, New York City and Portland. I hear it as I talk with retirees in the Midwest and the Deep South. I hear it as I talk with the white pastor in Minneapolis; the Native American pastor in Alaska and the black pastor in New Orleans.  I hear it as I talk with congregational leaders from small towns and big cities, from new churches and 150 year old churches.

Something is coming to a close and something new is coming upon us.  And Jesus wants us paying attention.

It’s unsettling and uncomfortable.  And yet, I think because we sense it is from Jesus, people are also stirred, excited, like an adventure is about to begin. And an adventure is about to begin – the adventure of joining Jesus on his redemptive mission to our own community. That’s why Jesus is messing with us. He’s getting our attention. We get so focused on what we are already doing and what we are already struggling to maintain, we have little capacity to look up and focus on what Jesus is showing us next.

So, in his grace, Jesus has started messing with us.

If we’re going to be able to follow Jesus into his next adventure, he needs us paying attention to him. Jesus messes with us so that we stop and look around. He wants us to take note of what he is already doing around us. He wants us to look up from our routines and notice that the world is changing and he is already on the move in response.

And why does Jesus need our attention for that? Because he intends for us to join him.

In a remarkably short amount of time, the U.S. has become one of the largest mission fields on the planet. The odds are very good that right now, wherever you live in the U.S., the people in your neighborhood and workplace are largely unconnected to a local congregation and may not be connected to Jesus at all. We are no longer a church who is servicing a community filled with a variety of Christians. We are now a church who finds itself needing to be a missionary in a mission field.

And we weren’t trained for that.

Our congregations’ mindset and practices are perfectly calibrated for a U.S. culture that is essentially already gone. The church I grew up in in the 1960’s and 1970’s was well suited for the largely churched culture that existed in the U.S. at that time. However, in the ensuing decades the U.S. has dramatically shifted from a “churched culture” (where most people go to church or at least know they should go to church) to a “mission field” (where the majority of people do not go to church or feel an obligation to do so).  The trouble, of course, is that most churches and church-goers continue to think and operate as if the U.S. culture is still essentially churched and looking for a church home.

And they aren’t.

Uh, oh.

This is why so many churches across the country are struggling. The good news is that Jesus isn’t struggling and he knows exactly what to do next. In fact, he is already showing us and leading us into his response.  And that is his invitation to you, to see what he is already showing you and follow where he is already leading.

In the midst of our unsettled and uncertain world, Jesus is not wringing his hands in worry. He is not confused or discouraged. He is God. And while some of our churchy presumptions and programs may be in trouble, his Church is not. Jesus is very clever. He is using these shifting times to wake us up and get us ready to re-join him on his redemptive mission to our neighborhoods, workplaces and schools. Not everyone will pay attention and even fewer will respond. But Jesus is moving out on his mission to redeem and restore all people to his Father’s kingdom. And he invites us to join him.

“Come, follow me.”

Joining Jesus on his redemptive mission is what I mean by the term “missional living.” “Missional living” is simply living each day as if it were a mission trip. The difference, of course, is that instead of being on a mission trip to a foreign land, we are on a mission trip to our own community. We are Neighborhood Missionaries. The word “missional” is simply a descriptive word indicating that each part of our daily lives can now be seen as part of Jesus’ redemptive mission in our community. Going out to get the mail, going to the store for a gallon of milk or going to the school to pick up our kids now has mission potential.

But don’t worry. Joining Jesus on his mission is easier than we think and a lot more fun! Joining Jesus is not another layer of busyness on top of an already insane schedule. Instead, joining Jesus results in less stress, more life, more laughter and more fruit than what many of us are currently seeing. Living missionally simply requires a new “missional” mindset – in other words, we begin to think of ourselves as Neighborhood Missionaries – and to put some new “missional” practices into play along the way, which I will describe in upcoming blogs.

And congregational leaders, be of good cheer!  Joining Jesus on his mission does not require your church to change its worship style (again), or its mission statement or its current constitution. You don’t have to switch from an organ to a band or from a band to an organ. Joining Jesus’ mission doesn’t require installing a whole new layer of programming. It doesn’t even require a congregational vote. We don’t need to add more staff, build another building, or launch a capital campaign.

Joining Jesus’ mission is not so much about changing the whole church as it is about changing our own mindset and practices and inviting a few friends to come with us. Think of a “pinch of yeast” as it gradually spreads through “the loaf” of your congregation. We don’t try to convince the whole congregation to be “missional,” all at once, on the count of three. We start with the few who are ready and willing to come along with us and put the mindset and practices of a Neighborhood Missionary into play as part of their everyday lives. Joining Jesus’ mission is not about changing what we do when we go to church on Sunday mornings. It is about changing what we do when we go out as Church into our neighborhoods, workplaces and schools on Monday mornings. 

Like my good friend Gary Faith often says, “If we always do what we’ve always done, we’ll always get what we’ve always gotten.” If there was a day when that was acceptable for the U.S. church, it is now gone. Instead, it is time for Jesus’ Church to take up the mindset of a missionary with a few missional practices so that, by God’s grace, we will get new mission-results.

Old mindset, old practices, old results. New mindset, new practices, new results.

Makes sense.

Are you ready to take up the missional mindset and practices that will put you into position to join Jesus on his redemptive mission every day? By God’s grace, as we work our way through these next blogs, we will go from uncertainty to understanding and from anxiety to excitement about living as a missionary. We will discern a simple plan and take the first steps of joining Jesus on his redemptive mission in the places we already live, work and go to school.

It’s why he’s been messing with us.

So now that he has our attention …

“Come, follow me.”

Let the adventure begin.

The Missional Cross

"From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Matthew 16:21

The question as we approach Holy Week is, "Why?"

Why the cross?  Why "must" He go?

Hebrews 12:2 gives us a hint, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, ...who for the joy set before Him endured the cross..."

For Jesus there was something beyond the cross, that meant going through the cross, that was worth enduring the cross.  "For the joy set before Him" He endured the cross.

What was "the joy" that made the cross worth it?

If we're going to understand the cross we need to understand the mission of Jesus.  The cross was a means to accomplishing Jesus' mission.  The path to "the joy set before Him" went through the cross.  Understand what Jesus came for (His mission) and we will understand the cross (and why we are then invited to also take up our own cross).

We commonly think of Jesus' mission as making disciples (Matthew 28) or seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19) or saving us from our sins (1 Timothy 1:15).

But to what end?

Why are we forgiven?

What are we saved for?

Why did Jesus take away our sins by dying on the cross and rising again?  To what end?

The answer to that question is the mission of Jesus.  The answer to that question is why Jesus went to the cross.

So what's the answer?

"For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Jesus, and through Jesus to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through Jesus' blood, shed on the cross."  Colossians 1:20

The mission of Jesus was to redeem and restore (reconcile) human beings to the Kingdom of His Father.

"For the Father has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14.

That was "the joy set before Him". Rescuing us from the darkness we had chosen. Restoring everything to rightness. Redeeming all that is ruined.  Resurrecting all that is dead... beginning with human beings and extending out to all creation.  That is what the cross unleashed.  That is what happens when sin is forgiven and taken away:  Redemption.  Restoration.  Reconciliation.  Renewal.

"Behold, I am making everything new!"  Revelation 21:5

"I have come that they may have life (again), and have it to abundance!" John 10:10

Can't you just see the big smile spreading across Jesus' face?

For Jesus that made suffering "many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law" worth it.  That made being killed worth it.  That made enduring the cross worth it... for the joy He would have seeing you and me and all creation restored to His Father and His abundant life... to see everything made new again.

That's why the cross.

Easter in Your Neighborhood

About a year ago, I told you our story about the sunrise Easter gathering that sprung up in our neighborhood. As a reminder, I have included a portion of that blog post below.

In that post I wrote: "Last Sunay was Easter. It was a big deal for Christians around the world. And rightly so!  It is the day Jesus rose from the dead and unleashed His life and hope and powerful truth that is redeeming the world still today.  Christians gather in churches everywhere for Easter services.

"For my family, Easter Sunday started a little differently this year.  Instead of starting Easter in a church we started in an open green space by our home with about 55 neighbors from all over Westover Park (our subdivision down here in League City, Texas).

"Just before sunrise, we set up our lawn chairs facing East.  As the first streaks of sunrise started painting the sky, we began a time of quiet worship with the words of the angel at the empty tomb (Matthew 28).  We thanked Jesus for what He did and for what He is doing for us still today.  We sang and prayed and blessed each other.  We had the little children present their "resurrection eggs" (plastic eggs with a little item in it that helps retell the events of Holy Week).  We then had a brief message reminding us that Jesus is alive and on the loose in Westover Park and that we, as neighbors, can encourage each other to live in the reality of that good news... especially when life gets hard and hectic. The whole thing took about 30 minutes.  It was interesting to see how much excitement and reverence there was among the neighbors who gathered.

"Afterwards, about half of the neighbors then went to their own church services.  But for the other half of the neighbors, this was "church".  They had no other church services to go to on Easter.  I realized afterwards that if they had not come to the neighborhood gathering, they would have missed Easter and the good news that it brings.  We even had a couple people who were out for their morning exercise come by and join in!

"The sunrise was spectacular and God granted the miracle of keeping the mosquitos away.  But what struck me the most was how eager people were to do this... to connect with neighbors in this setting... to cross this line together... to gather for more than food and fun, although that is always a good time too.

So a year from last Sunday, what would it take for you to have a similar Easter gathering in your neighborhood?  Easter 2013 is March 31.  What can you do starting now to be ready to have a gathering of neighbors remembering and giving thanks for the death, resurrection and ongoing activity of Jesus in your neighborhood?"

As you know, a year has nearly passed since last Easter. March 31 is now a little less than a month away. How might you invite your neighbors to come togehter for a simple gathering?

Here are a couple of tips:

1) Keep it simple: the point of the gathering is not to imitate the big celebrations of your local congregation but to invite neighbors to come together to be reminded of what happened on the first Easter and give thanks to Jesus.

2) Keep it small: we didn't intend to have so many people. Word just spread. We invited a few who invited a few, etc.Start with a few invitations and see what God does.

3) Keep it short: brief is better than long. Better to have a brief devotional gathering and a longer time of hanging out and conversation afterwards. Wouldn't you rather have them talking about how cool this was than how long it was?

3) The format is not as important as the gathering: inviting people to come together to ackowledge the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is the big win. Whether you have a devotion, a Bible reading, a song, a prayer, use Resurrection Eggs (see the link below) or all of the above, remember the most important thing happening is the gathering of friends around the empty tomb.

4) See if other neighbors want to help: Don't be a Lone Ranger. Invite others to help with the gathering.

So, it's not too late to do this. Last year, our gathering happened when a neighbor brought it up to us on the Tuesday evening of Holy Week!

Pray, knock out a simple plan and start getting the word out: Your place, Easter morning.

Conctact me if you have any questions I can help sort out with you. finkeonthemove@aol.com

 If you are interested in finding out more about Resurrection Eggs, you can go to this link, http://shop.familylife.com/p-1717-resurrection-eggs.aspx

Missional Grace

I have a good friend here in Houston named Jim Spivey who is always saying important things. He's not trying to be profound. In fact, he usually has a silly grin on his face. It's just that he has been undone by God's grace. And with that grace has come a radical rethinking of... everything.

All that to say, I really appreciate Jim's perspective.

His perspective has been redone by the reality Jesus speaks of when He says, "Whoever loses his life for Me will find it." It is only through our authentic death that we break into life that is authentically new. That process is not simply a theological statement Jim believes to be true. Jesus actually has done that to Jim. Has broken Jim. Killed Jim. And now Jim lives in a whole new reality of God's grace. That's why Jim KNOWS it is true. That's how Jim can trust the power grace has so completely. In the end he has found it is the ONLY thing that really works.

And now he has dedicated his life to helping others discover and live in this grace, too. Not just the theologically accurate grace we often (and should) proclaim from our pulpits. Not just the grace that gets us forgiven and gets us to Heaven. Grace starts with forgiveness and salvation. But it offers more.Grace when allowed to have its full permeation into us offers transformation. It heals. It restores. It reconciles. This grace is hard, though. It is freely given. But it is hard to receive and believe this deeply because we are so used to shielding ourselves from how much and how deeply we still need grace. That's why grace goes this deep only as we are broken down. It is as we die to ourselves, as we come to the end of ourselves, that we eagerly drink deeply of who Jesus really is and what He is really offering us... and through us what He is offering to everyone.

And isn't that our mission? Graced to be Grace to others.

Saving grace, yes. But grace that, by the Spirit's power, continues to press in. Grace that is powerful not just because of what we say, but because of who we now have become through Him and His grace.

Safe Christians who are nicely churched seem to have less capacity for this. We want order. We want things to be behaved and neat. We get angry or worried if this is not happening. When the true nature of humanity rears up, we respond by wanting to "fix" people or pass laws to control people. But, in the end, BEING grace is the only thing that really works.

Imagine what would happen if each person of grace became grace to the people who need grace around them.

So, why do I choose to focus on the unique power of grace today?

Because the events of Newtown, Connecticut show how screwed up the world is and how far it is from grace.

That brings us back to Jim.

A couple days ago Jim shared a text conversation he had with a friend. It went like this:

Friend: "The world is on fire, people are divided and hateful, and it seems that we have fully succeeded in doing any terrorist group's mission to ourselves and one another. It is a pain- and fear-filled space in which there is little room for love."

Jim: "Untrue. Love prevails, always. I am evidence of that, and here I am."

Friend: "No argument there."

Jim: "And because of the persistence of the problem, you can notice and ask a new question. Instead of 'Why is the world so messed up?', while unconsciously being the answer to that question, you can ask, 'Where is there evidence of love?', and more consciously and consistently BE the answer."

Jim finished up by saying, "When we endlessly complain (or worry) about things, while doing nothing to make the world any different, we totally reveal ourselves and can often poison innocent others. And when we desperately try to "fix" things, we frustrate ourselves and can often hurt innocent others. By simply "being" the difference we want to see - boldly, consistently, and out in the open - and leaving others alone, free to make their own choices, we frequently inspire others and stand for them as encouragement and hope, calling forth their best."

Hmmmm...

See what I mean?

A profound understanding of the real power of grace vs. the power of our anger, worry or desire to "fix" people.

Be the change you seek.

Be grace.

In the end, it is the only thing that really works.

This is our mission.

P.S. Some of us who want to BE grace, will hesitate because we want do something important for others and, truth be told, do it perfectly. This quickly paralyzes us and inaction is the result. Here are a couple of quotes I have picked up over the years that may help you:

“It’s better to do something imperfectly than to do nothing flawlessly.”

“All the beautiful sentiments in the world weigh less than a single lovely action."

“What you wish you could do for many do for one.”

The 5 Practices: Ministering through Prayer

Prayer.

We try to understand it.  Control it.  "Do it right."

We analyze it.  Read books about it.  But still feel inadequate in it.

We hear other people's stories.  We read God's promises.  In fact, we could teach a Bible class on it.

We pray regularly in church and in our private devotions.

But ask most of us to pray out loud for someone and we still feel like rookies... searching for the right words, afraid we will sound dumb... thankful when we get to "Amen."

So it is likely that even the idea of "ministering through prayer" would strike some fear in you.

When I ask groups I am training how many of them look for opportunities to pray with people during the course of their days, the number is often zero.

I get pointed looks from the group that when translated into the vernacular mean, "Are you crazy??"

But there are two things that can make the practice of praying with people not only normal for you but a way by which the Kingdom of God is routinely brought into play in the lives of the people you are with.  (And not because you suddenly become an extroverted religious zealot.)

1) The first thing is to actually listen to what Jesus tells us about praying for people.

Turns out Jesus says less about "how to get it right" than He does about "just doing it."

Prayer is not to be controlled or "gotten right".  Prayer is to be unleashed.  It is not our words or our eloquence (or lack thereof) that gets put into play when we pray.  It is the Kingdom of God.  It is not our prayers that are powerful and effective but our King.  When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray (Luke 11:1), He didn't go into all kinds of theology.  He said that in order to learn how to pray start to pray.  Keep it simple.  Focus on the Father.  Ask for His Kingdom to come and His will to be done right here where we are standing as it is done in Heaven.  Just straight-out ask Him.  He also says the more we ask, seek and knock the more we will receive, find and have the door opened (Matthew 7:7).  "Freely you have received [of the Kingdom] freely give [of the Kingdom]," Matthew 10:8.

I personally see more remarkable answers to my prayers not because I pray so well but because I pray so often.  I don't pray for people on rare occasions, I pray as soon as they ask me to (more on that next).  Because I pray for more people I see the Kingdom more often.  Just like Jesus said I would.

2) Listen for when people actually ask you to pray for them.

That sounds preposterous, doesn't it?  Do people ever ask you to pray for them (besides church people or your family)?

Yes.

People are asking you to pray for them all the time.  They just don't know it and neither do you.

However, as we begin to more routinely put the 5 Practices into play in our daily lives, we will find ourselves having deeper conversations with people.  That's what happens when you start noticing people and having time for them.  They talk with you about what's weighing on their lives.  They need someone to talk to.  The Lord brought them you.

When they have shared something real, something heavy going on in their lives, that is when they are essentially asking, "Will you pray for me?"  They certainly aren't using those exact words.  They have no idea that's even a possibility it is so out of the ordinary.  But the fact is, when they share what's going on in their lives, they are wishing there could be some hope.  They are wishing there could be some good news.  They just don't know where to go.  They have no idea you are a person of God and a person of prayer standing right in front of them.

But God does and so do you.

So, the next time that happens, and you have just listened to someone tell you something real and heavy, instead of saying something like, "Wow.  Good luck with that," try saying, "Wow... that's a lot to carry.  Would you mind if I prayed with you?"

I know you are looking at me with that, "Are you crazy??" look.  But that's only because you haven't tried it yet.

Wait for their invitation: their invitation for hope; their invitation for good news.  Wait for that moment when you either say, "Good luck," or, "Would you like me to pray with you about that?"

And choose prayer.

It's not about getting your words right, it's about inviting your King in.

The 5 Practices: Doing Good

My wife Susan and I have a disgusting habit.

Every morning we go for an exercise-paced walk (that's not the disgusting part... we actually really enjoy the time together).  The disgusting part is that we bring two plastic grocery bags with us and pick up trash along our route through the neighborhood.  There's fast food trash and beer cans and lots of cigarette butts (in our neighborhood Marlboro Gold's are by far the favored brand that people throw out of their car windows).

We do this because it needs to be done.

We do this because it is within our reach to do it.

We do this because we would literally have to walk right by the same trash every day if we didn't.

It's nothing huge.  We just pick up some trash along our way.  But it's some good we can do for our neighbors and our neighborhood.

What we didn't realize is that people were noticing.  We became familiar faces to people as we walked along picking up the trash along the way.  People started stopping their cars and thanking us.  People walking their dogs or jogging would stop and talk with us. We were told that we had sparked several conversations between neighbors about doing good just for the sake of blessing the community. We now see others carrying bags on their walks, too.  Believe it or not, because of this small act of goodness, we have even had substantial faith conversations with people about what we are doing and why.

Neighbors meeting neighbors because of trash being picked up?  Neighbors talking with neighbors about blessing the community?  Faith conversation? All because we pick up some trash along the way?  Yep.  We didn't mean to.  But God did.

This is the practice of doing good. You just never know.  Picking up trash is still disgusting, but God is using it.

What good can you do along your way today?

I have a pastor friend in Chicago that Dwelling 1:14 has been working with.  He has been trying to reach out in friendship to a neighbor.  The neighbor knows he's a pastor and wants nothing to do with him.  The neighbor doesn't want religion and he figures that's what the pastor-neighbor is really after.

Until one day the neighbor unexpectedly shows up at the pastor's door.  "Can we talk?"  "Sure.  Come in."  The neighbor then proceeds to tell the pastor about what happened the night before at a National Honor Society induction ceremony he had attended.  At the ceremony, he heard a speech by a young lady who was being inducted into the NHS.  It was a special occasion because this young lady is autistic.  However, in spite of her challenges she had achieved this honor and had been invited to give the speech telling a little of her story.

As it turned out, a good deal of her story revolved around Ben, the pastor's son, who also attended the young lady's high school.  Ben was a senior.  He is a big football player. A lineman.  But every day Ben had made sure he came up to this autistic young lady, looked her in the eye, smiled, and told her good morning.

A simple act of goodness.

Well within his reach on a daily basis.

He walked by the young lady every day anyway.

What Ben couldn't have realized was the hope his simple act of goodness inspired in this young lady.  You see, every day, Ben's one act of kindness came in opposition to a whole load of unkind acts and insults that made life at the high school very, very hard for this young autistic lady.  In her speech, she said she often struggled in the morning just to summon up enough courage to face another day of school.  But because of Ben and his simple acts of goodness, she would take courage and head to school for another day of classes.  And tonight she wanted to thank Ben and let him know what a big difference his goodness had made to her.

There wasn't a dry eye in the place.  And the neighbor wanted to come to the pastor-neighbor and let him know.

Somehow, this simple act of daily goodness shown to an autistic young lady not only blessed the young lady but slipped past this man's shield he had built against religion. There was no baptism that Saturday morning in the pastor's home, but there was a new opportunity for conversation and friendship between two neighbors.

All this because a young man took up the practice of doing good.  You just never know.  Smiling and saying good morning to someone who really needs it is simple, but God was using it.

What good can you do along your way today?

Proverbs 3:27 says, "Do not withhold good when it is in your power to act."

Why?

Because our simple acts of goodness are seed.

God sprouts redemptive stuff from our simple seed of goodness.

Who could guess how far and deep a simple act of goodness could go.  Certainly not us.  But certainly God.

We can't know what a simple act of goodness might be used by God to redeem.  But we can put that goodness into play and see what God does.

You just never know.

So along the way today, what good can you do?  The simple kind.  The kind that is within our reach.  The kind that is along the way you are already going.  Cast the seed.  Watch for God.

This is the practice of doing good.

The 5 Practices: Talking with People

The gap.

It is the space that exists between me and any other person I do not know.

It is the gap of anonymity.

I could be standing right next to someone in the line at Starbuck's, but if I do not know the person, the gap separates us as effectively as any canyon.

This gap keeps me from knowing the person's name, their story, what matter's to them.  It keeps me from knowng what Jesus is up to in their life.  It keeps me from being any use to Jesus in His redemptive mission because the gap is keeping me out.

As long as the gap remains, we remain separated.

Once you become aware of the gap, you can almost feel it there.  It is like an invisible force field.  You can almost hear it hum.  I am literally 24 inches from this other person, but the gap has astonishing power to keep us separated.  Ignoring each other.  Acting like the other doesn't exist. No animosity.  Only anonymity.

However, as effective as the gap is in keeping people apart, it is also weak.  It can be easily breached. The 24 inches can be spanned.  Breakthrough is easily accomplished.

I learned this several years ago when I overheard a conversation between my youngest daughter, who had just started preschool, and my eldest daughter, who was nervous about her first day of High School.  The eldest daughter was afraid she wouldn't know anyone.  That she wouldn't have any friends.  She knew about the gap.

The youngest heard her concern and met it with this sage advice.  "Making friends is easy. All you have to do is walk up to someone, say, 'Hi! My name's Ellen.  What's your name?'  When they tell you their name, then you're friends."

Could it be that simple?

Ok, so maybe you're not instant, tight-nit friends, but Ellen was right.  This is the first step toward any friendship.  Pierce the gap.  Span the space.  The gap is real but it is easily breached.  Step 1: Acknowledge the other human being. "Hi!"  Step 2: Start to find out their story.  Begin with, "What's your name?"

We at Dwelling 1:14 call this the Practice of Talking with People.  It might seem self-evident or overly obvious.  But we find that at an astonishing rate very few people actually put it into practice.  The gap rules.  But here's the important part:  Once the gap is breached, you never know what God might do.

One thing I have learned.  God can do a whole lot more with two people who have started talking even at this rudimentary level than He can with two people studiously ignoring each other.

With a simple, "Hello!  What's your name?" we are in play.  The gap is gone and possibilities now emerge.

Does something redemptive happen every time we span the gap with a new person?  No.  But when something redemptive happens it is because the gap was first spanned.

A week ago, Susan and I went out on a date.  We went to a local Mexican restaurant and then to a movie.  At the restaurant, it went like it usually does when you first sit down at a restaurant.  A waiter came up to us and got thing rolling.  His name was Quinton.  (The gap was going.)  He looked a little bored, like he wasn't thrilled to be a waiter. Nothing rude.  Just a sense that there was a lot on his mind.  On his next pass, Susan asked him if he was in school around here.  "No, I just got out of the Marines."  (The gap was going.)  "Well, thank you for your service to our country.  Are you glad to be out?"  "No, I would have liked to re-enlist.  But my dad is sick."  (The gap was gone.)

Before we had even begun our meal, we found out Quinton's dad had a rare disease that is treatable, but will keep him dependent on infusions and too weak to work for the rest of his life.  His name is John.  Quinton isn't angry or resentful that his life has had to change to help his dad.  But he is a little confused.  And hoping for things to go better than they are now.  We said we knew Someone who could help.  We said we prayed every day anyway, and would be happy to pray for his dad.  Would he like that?

Yes.  Yes, he would.  (Would you join us in praying for the healing of John today, as well?)

The gap between Quinton and us could have kept us from this redemptive moment.   But the practice of talking with people, asking the next question, taking interest in them because you just never know who God has brought across your path, breached the gap and God got started.

Does it always work out this way?  No.

But it always starts out this way: Acknowledging that there is a real human being standing right in front of you and that the gap has got to go.

Jesus might be up to something.

The 5 Practices: Seeking the Kingdom

My wife, Susan, comes from a fairly large family. Susan is one of five children born to Art and Jane Oswald. Last week my wife’s extended family gathered to celebrate Art and Jane’s 65th wedding anniversary. 65 years! Wow!

One of Susan’s parents’ favorite places to spend a few days is Door County, Wisconsin. So off we went! All 29 of us!

Door County is a beautiful place. It is the thin peninsula off Wisconsin’s east shoreline that juts out into Lake Michigan. There are a series of small picturesque villages winding their way north through the peninsula with names like Fish Creek, Ephraim, and, where we were staying, Sister Bay.

So here is the question. How do you join Jesus on His mission in Sister Bay when you are only there three days and don’t know anyone who lives there?

My initial answer was, “You don’t.” Or at least, “I won’t bother… since I am on vacation and I don’t know anyone anyway.”

Which brings us to this important point: the only way anyone can join Jesus’ mission in Sister Bay (or anywhere else) is if we first begin seeking His Kingdom in Sister Bay.

Seeking the Kingdom of God is the first practice we advocate in Dwelling 1:14 for anyone who wants to join Jesus on His mission in a community. When Jesus talks about the “Kingdom of God” in the Gospels, He means the redemptive presence and activity of God in the realm of human beings. “Seeking” the Kingdom of God means looking for what God may already be doing in any given location. This means that wherever we go, we can begin watching and asking ourselves, “What is God up to around here?”

In Sister Bay I was trying to avoid that. In fact, I was doing a pretty good job of it. But my wife wasn’t.

She noticed that throughout the small community of Sister Bay people had put yard signs out with this simple message, “Go Bo!” I never even saw them. Susan saw them all over. (Was this the Kingdom in play?)

In one of the little shops along the main street, Susan then caught sight of a little bowl of bracelets on the checkout counter with the same message, “Go Bo!” (I had seen neither the yard signs nor the little bowl of bracelets.) Susan asked the lady at the counter what this was about.

She proceeded to tell us about a 13 year old boy who had recently contracted two different types of cancer. His life was in serious danger. His name was Bo. And the community was trying to show its love and support to this young boy and his family. The signs and the bracelets were reminders for everyone to pray and the money from selling the bracelets was going toward the extra expenses the family was facing.

So… where was God already working in Sister Bay? As it turns out, all we had to do was what Jesus told us to do. “Open your eyes and look.” As Susan looked, she saw. And as she talked to people along the way, they willingly told her. No one actually said, “Here is where God is working in this community.” But it was clear, nevertheless. If you want to join God where He is already working in Sister Bay, start praying for Bo.

In this case, I wasn’t seeking to join Jesus’ mission in Sister Bay. So He by-passed me and got my wife’s attention instead. And for several days now we have joined Jesus’ mission in Sister Bay by praying for a 13 year old boy we have never met named Bo.

This isn’t the only thing Jesus was doing in Sister Bay, but it was what He showed us and gave us opportunity to join.

Are you heading out for a July 4 vacation? Wherever you go, like me, you could ignore what Jesus is already doing in that place. Or you could watch for what He may be ready to show you.

“Open your eyes and look.” (Or at least listen to your wife.)

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Extra Insight: When we are seeking the Kingdom what are we looking for?

God “shows” us His Kingdom – the places of His redemptive presence and activity – in various ways. And sometimes what seems clear to us might be completely missed by others. However, when we are “seeking the Kingdom of God” what might that look like?

As we illustrated in today’s blog, it usually looks like a human need. As we look around a community or interact with individual people, eventually they will show us where God is working and inviting us (as His followers) to step in and join Him. People may not have the slightest clue that they are showing us that. However, because we know the heart of the Father is to meet the struggle of people redemptively, when people show us they somehow need redemption they are showing us where God is already at work in their lives.Without saying it, they are saying, “Here is where I need you to join God at work in my life.”

Think about what Jesus showed us in the Gospels as He manifested the presence and activity of the Kingdom of His Father. Wherever redemption was needed (hope, help, grace or truth) Jesus joined the Kingdom already coming, making invisible provision visible, making intangible grace tangible, making things promised for someday present today.

Jesus did this in a dizzying number of ways, in as many ways as people were struggling or in need. Wherever He went, the Kingdom was already coming; grace was already needed, the question was simply, “Who was ready and who would receive it?” A bite of food for the hungry. A bit of time for the outcast. A moment of fun for a child. A word of grace for the sinner. An intervention on behalf of the fallen.A word of truth for the self-sufficient. An announcement of healing for the sick. And good news for anyone who would turn and receive it.

I will leave you with Jesus’ story of the Good Samaritan. It is an over-the-top, obvious example of what we are talking about. A man is robbed, beaten and left for dead on the road to Jericho. Two religious men hurry by, making excuses why they needed to get on with their journey. Only the outcast Samaritan saw that the Kingdom of God had come right across his path. There was a man in need right in front of him. The Kingdom was inviting him to step-in not step-around. So he did.

At the end of that day, had someone asked those three men how they had “seen” the Kingdom of God, only the Samaritan would have had a story to tell. They all saw the man lying in the road. But only the Samaritan “saw” the Kingdom.

That is what the Kingdom looks like when we begin to open our eyes and look. It’s a person showing us his need. It’s right there inviting us to notice and step-in.

The 5 Practices: Hearing from Jesus

It's happening all over America.

Something is stirring.

As I am traveling across the country, I am finding regular, ordinary people who don't even remotely know each other reporting the same sense that something is up.  In places like Seattle, Chicago, Atlanta and Houston I am having the same conversation over and over again.

They have a "holy discontent."

A "disturbance" of their Christian status quo.

Jesus is messing with them.

Last week I was with my friend, Mike Ruhl (Executive Director of the Center for US Missions), in Columbia, Missouri.  The next day we were scheduled to have a missional living training for 24 church planters from all over the state of Missouri.  So we arrived the evening before to get settled and prepared for our 8:30 a.m. start time. Mike and I have known each other for years and when we get to work together we love to have a decent meal and then a decent cigar afterwards.  We had had our decent meal, so it was time to have that cigar.

Outside of our motel, there was a picnic bench that would serve our purposes well.  We had just started our cigars and our conversation, when out of nowhere a gentleman about our age comes around the corner with an already-lit cigar.  He asks if he can join us.  We say, "Of course!"

Truth be told, I don't really like cigars all that much.  They make me smell and they often make me green.  But the one thing I like about them is that you can't smoke them fast.  If you are lighting up a cigar it's because it's time to slow down and relax with a friend.

And so, as we sat there enjoying the cigar, we had nothing but time to sit and talk with this new friend.  I will save you all the details, but suffice it to say, after about 60 minutes of getting to know each other, it was clear Jesus was messing with him, as well!  A random guy, traveling around mid-America for a company, shows up with an already-lit cigar completely unaware that he just invited himself to sit down with a couple guys who Jesus is messing with, too.

As it turned out, he did the church-thing.  He tried to live his life as Jesus wanted.  He was even a confirmed member of his church.  But something was up. Something was missing. It wasn't that he was going to stop going to church, but...  Was there something else?  Something more?

We suggested, "Like actually following Jesus in daily life?"

"Yeah.  Yeah, I think that's getting at it.  But how do you follow Jesus once you leave the church service?"

And that's the crux of it.  People are stuck for how to actually follow Jesus once they get outside of their religious services and programming.

As I am meeting people across the country, it is as if Jesus is taking the same kind of walk He took in Mark 1.  "As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.  'Come, follow Me,' Jesus said, 'and I will make you fishers of men.' At once they left their nets and followed Him."

Today, Jesus is literally walking up alongside more and more people and inviting them to come with Him.  And, like my new friend in Missouri, we don't know how.  We don't know how to leave our nets and follow Jesus outside our religious services and programming.

We have been "discipled" to think that following Jesus is synonymous with studying Jesus or going to church and worshiping Jesus.  Both very important practices, indeed.

But clearly, when we look at how it actually happened in Mark 1, Jesus wasn't inviting those guys to study Him.  He was inviting them to come with Him.

"Join Me on My adventure."

The first disciples worshiped Jesus.  But they also went with Jesus.  They joined Jesus on His redemptive mission.

That brings us back to the 5 Practices. The 5 Practices help us follow Jesus in daily life. In this latest series of blogs, we have been identifying 5 simple practices that regular, ordinary people like us can put into play in our daily lives.  These 5 Practices position us to seek, recognize and respond to what Jesus is already doing, showing or asking of us in our daily lives.

In our last blog, we talked about the first practice, which is Seeking the Kingdom.  Today, we focus on the second practice, which is Hearing from Jesus.

If we are going to follow Jesus in daily life, we need to get to know Him better so that we can recognize Him out there. That's why the second practice is about re-engaging the Gospels so that we can put ourselves into position to hear from Jesus in fresh ways.  This practice centers on simply opening the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and joining the crowds following Jesus around.  We put ourselves into position to again begin listening to what Jesus actually says and to watch what He actually does.  We ask ourselves, "What if Jesus actually means this?  How does He want me to respond?"  We allow ourselves to wrestle with what He is telling us and showing us and inviting us into...

Because He is inviting us into something... each day.  Not just to think about, but to do.

Because while He invites us to gather for worship, He invites us to more than worship.

And, He is the only One who can show us what that is.

So, we take up the practices of daily watching for Him and hearing from Him so we can get up and take off after Him, too.

________________________________

Additional Insights:

When we come together for our Missional Community gatherings, the "Hearing from Jesus" practice is supported by the second question of the 5 Questions: "What has Jesus been teaching you in His Word?"  There are several ways we can ask that question:

• What does Jesus seem to be asking of you this week in His Word? (What are your first steps in response?)
• What is He inviting you into?
• How is He messing with you?
• What is He asking you to believe?
• What did He show you in His Word that you need to pay attention to this week?
• What did you find out about Jesus in His Word this week and how do you think He wants you to respond?

By asking these kinds of questions, we give people a very important opportunity to articulate what Jesus is doing in their life through His Word.  By articulating what is going on in their life, they will come to the clarity and conviction they need to take action on how they believe Jesus is inviting them to respond and what they are learning as they respond.  This is the "how" of actually "leaving their nets and following Jesus."

I am often asked by Pastors (or Bible Study teachers) something like, "How does Bible study fit in?"  During the Missional Community gathering, as people are given the opportunity to tell their Kingdom stories (which is what the 5 Questions are intended to do), Pastors (and traditional Bible Study leaders) find that there is not enough time to study Scripture with the people in the manner the leader is used to.  I hear things like, "We don't have time to study the Scriptures people bring up because we want to hear from everyone."  Correct.

We need to remember, the Missional Community is not the place we "study" Scripture, per se.  Dwelling 1:14 advocates that traditional "Bible Study" happen when the congregation regularly gathers for worship and Bible Classes lead by gifted, educated teachers. A Missional Community is the place where we have the opportunity to tell our story of what we have learned when we have put Scripture into practice in our daily lives.  Think of it this way:  In the Sunday morning Bible Study (or the sermon), a gifted, educated teacher unpacks for us what we do not yet know about the Scripture passages we are studying.  They give us correct insights and accurate interpretations. On the other hand, in the Missional Community, we have the opportunity to talk about the Scriptures we DO understand and how Jesus is asking us to respond to it.

Why the Cross?

"From that time on Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Matthew 16:21

The question for this Holy Week is, "Why?"

Why the cross?  Why "must" He go?

Hebrews 12:2 gives us a hint, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, ...who for the joy set before Him endured the cross..."

For Jesus there was something beyond the cross, that meant going through the cross, that was worth enduring the cross.  "For the joy set before Him" He endured the cross.

What was "the joy" that made the cross worth it?

If we're going to understand the cross we need to understand the mission of Jesus.  The cross was a means to accomplishing Jesus' mission.  The path to "the joy set before Him" went through the cross.  Understand what Jesus came for (His mission) and we will understand the cross (and why we are then invited to also take up our own cross).

We commonly think of Jesus' mission as making disciples (Matthew 28) or seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19) or saving us from our sins (1 Timothy 1:15).

But to what end?

Why are we forgiven?

What are we saved for?

Why did Jesus take away our sins by dying on the cross and rising again?  To what end?

The answer to that question is the mission of Jesus.  The answer to that question is why Jesus went to the cross.

So what's the answer?

"For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Jesus, and through Jesus to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through Jesus' blood, shed on the cross."  Colossians 1:20

The mission of Jesus was to redeem and restore (reconcile) human beings to the Kingdom of His Father.

"For the Father has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:13-14.

That was "the joy set before Him". Rescuing us from the darkness we had chosen. Restoring everything to rightness. Redeeming all that is ruined.  Resurrecting all that is dead... beginning with human beings and extending out to all creation.  That is what the cross unleashed.  That is what happens when sin is forgiven and taken away:  Redemption.  Restoration.  Reconciliation.  Renewal.

"Behold, I am making everything new!"  Revelation 21:5

"I have come that they may have life (again), and have it to abundance!" John 10:10

Can't you just see the big smile spreading across Jesus' face?

For Jesus that made suffering "many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law" worth it.  That made being killed worth it.  That made enduring the cross worth it... for the joy He would have seeing you and me and all creation restored to His Father and His abundant life... to see everything made new again.

That's why the cross.

What Are You Doing Today?

What are you doing today?

Some of us are going to work.

Some of us are managing the household.

Some of us are going to school.

Some of us are taking a day off to relax or go on a trip or catch up.

Some of us are going to the hospital or undergoing a treatment.

Some of us are retired but volunteering or engaging our daily routines.

Some of us are unemployed or underemployed and wondering what we are doing.

What are you doing today?

Whatever you are doing today; in the midst of the usual or unusual; whether it is clear or uncertain; in, with and under what is already happening around you...

seek the Kingdom of God.

Watch for the activity of God.

Look for what Jesus is already up to.

Seek to see what is already happening around the edges... the hints, the glimpses, the nudges.

Be attentive because He is out there... on the loose... showing us stuff that we can perceive and recognize...

if we watch.

Be assured of this: He is on His mission even while we are distracted.  He is fulfilling His purpose even when we aren't paying attention.  He is messing with people even though we misinterpret and think they are just irritating. He is staying on time and true to His word.  This is what He is doing today.

And He invites us to join Him. 

"The Kingdom is near... believe the good news.  Seek and you will find.  You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.  Seek first the Kingdom and all these things will be given to you as well. Come follow Me."

Whatever you are doing today, in the middle of the routine or the rush, watch for what is already happening.

Seek the Kingdom of God in the midst of it.  And join Him.

What are you doing today?

We Still Have Much to Learn...

Leaders of the American missional movement, we still have much to learn...

If we are to understand the mission of Jesus we need to understand Jesus.

And if we are to understand Jesus we need to understand what He meant by "the Kingdom of God" or "the Kingdom of Heaven," for that is what He came to proclaim and display.

And the very first thing Jesus teaches about the Kingdom of Heaven is this: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven."  Matthew 5:3.

Before we can really understand the mission of Jesus we need to understand the message of Jesus.

In this short seven minute video (click on the link below), without referencing Matthew 5:3, Jean Vanier gives us insight to its message and therefore our mission as followers of Jesus.

http://vimeo.com/28306506

Note: the video is entitled, "Become Weaker."  Jean Vanier is a Canadian Catholic philosopher and founder of L'Arche, an international organization which creates communities where people with developmental disabilities and those who assist them share life together.

Sunday-Centric Christianity?

Have we become Sunday-centric Christians?

In other words, would we know how to follow Jesus if our Sunday morning worship service was taken away?

Have we somehow reduced Christianity down to going to a worship service on Sunday, or - if we are pastors or church leaders - down to preparing and performing the worship service on Sunday?

Before you decide, take a few minutes to watch the story of Ed Dobson, who had to step down from being the senior pastor of a mega-church because of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease.  The segment is about nine minutes long but worth every minute. (There is a brief commercial before the segment begins.)

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/living/2012/02/11/eds-story-my-garden.cnn

A Glutton and Drunkard

Jesus was known as a glutton and a drunkard.

"The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners,"'" Matthew 11:19.

How did Jesus get that reputation?

I' m not so sure it was because Jesus actually over ate or over drank.  However, I do know He often hung out with people who did.

John 2, Matthew 9:10, Luke 15:1, Luke 19, and John 4 are some examples.

Jesus got the reputation of being a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of sinners, because He spent His time with them.

What is your reputation?

Who are you spending your time with?

Truth is, most of us would get tagged as "a friend of church people."  That's not a bad thing.  But has Jesus stopped hanging out with sinner just because we have?

Increasingly, I am meeting people who are rediscovering hanging out in the "right" places to meet and be friends with "sinners."

I have a young pastor friend in the great white north who hangs out at the Mocha Monkey coffee shop or the bar next door depending on the time of day.  Does he like coffee and beer that much?  He certainly is a fan, yes, but the bigger reason is because those are the places he meets people who need the good news of the Kingdom.  He’s learning to more intentionally follow Jesus and Jesus hangs out with sinners.

I have a friend in my missional community who is seriously considering becoming a tattoo artist because he loves the art and because it puts him into position to be with people and hear their stories.  He has noticed that tattoo artists are like bartenders.  People feel free to talk with them about their problems.  As the artist is applying the tattoo there is nothing but time to talk and listen.  And the Kingdom of God comes...

Last weekend our family went to San Antonio to celebrate our youngest's 13th birthday.  We had lunch on the River Walk and while we ate, a caricature artist walked up and offered to draw our picture.  While he drew the caricature, we... talked.  He told us his story.  He is a Christian and as he spends several minutes with people drawing their picture, he says, it's amazing how many people feel free to talk with him about their lives and their problems.  He has been able to minister to many people just because he is with them while he is drawing.  And the Kingdom of God comes...

A friend who lives in the Northwest just told me another remarkable story.  She regularly works out in a gym.  About two years ago she was having a conversation with a friend in the gym about faith.  A man nearby, who knew her because she was regularly at the gym, overheard the conversation and said, "Do you really believe all that faith stuff?"  My friend looked at him and said she honestly did and could not imagine her life without her faith.  She ended the conversation pointing out that when times got tough for her, she could "Dump it all on the Lord."  The man did not share her faith and time passed.  In fact, two years passed.  My friend noticed that the man had stopped coming to the gym for several weeks.  When they finally saw him again, he told them that he had developed a life threatening disease.  Then he looked at my friend and said, "I remembered you telling me two years ago about how you 'dumped it all on the Lord.'  That's what I decided I needed to do and I am so thankful I did.'"  And the Kingdom of God comes...

Another friend told me her story just yesterday.  She works at an electronics store and is a phone tech.  She's the person you go to when your phone is on the fritz.  While she is working on the phone there is often time to... talk and listen.  She told me that as people are waiting for their phones to be fixed, they often open up to her about what's going on in their lives.  One woman apologized for being so distracted but she needed her phone fixed because she was awaiting news about her test results.  The doctors suspected she had breast cancer.  Another man came in needing his phone fixed because a niece in a far off city had committed suicide the night before and everyone was trying to call this man for solace and direction.  What do you say in situations like that?  My friend has learned to say, "If you're the praying sort, please know that I will be praying for you and your family."  And the Kingdom of God comes...

Not all of these situations involve eating and drinking, but they all illustrate one important fact: When you are available to people, it is amazing how often they will open up to you.

Why do people tell bartenders their problems?  They are there.

Why do people tell phone techs their problems?  They are there.

Why do people tell caricature artists their problems? They are there.

So, where are you?

And to whom are you available?

Missional Living: The Result of Actually Doing Something

When we put the five practices into play - seeking the Kingdom, hearing from God in His Word, talking with people outside the family of faith, doing good for people, and prayer - we change the status quo of the created realm.  In other words, stuff changes in the places we are.

Right now, at this moment, the Kingdom of God has already come, the mission of God is already in process, and we are the body of Christ in the places we live, work and go to school.  As we put these practices into play, we are the tangible expression of the Kingdom and mission of God in the places we are and for the people we are with.  His Spirit gets loose in the realm of humanity through our presence, words, actions and prayers.  And things do not remain the same.

Knowing this truth does not change the world.  Acting on this truth changes the world.

For several months now, my wife and I have been gathering with groups of Jesus followers.  You could call them missional communities and that would be accurate.  We don't really have a label for what we do, we just gather regularly to support each other in seeking, recognizing and responding to what Jesus is doing in our lives and in the lives of people we are with each day.  We gather regularly in order to have a place to tell our Kingdom stories.  We have found that if we stay focused on putting the five practices into play in our lives, God-things begin to happen.  We have stories to tell.

We have also found that if we gather regularly to tell those stories of what is happening as a result of putting these practices into play, we remain highly motivated to go back into our lives to do it some more.

Telling our Kingdom stories reinforces our Kingdom values which reinforces our Kingdom practices which insures having more Kingdom stories to tell.

Last Wednesday evening, as usual,  we heard some more Kingdom stories of what has happened as a result of our friends putting these practices into play in the places they live, work and go to school.  I have summarized a few of them to give you an insight to how it goes.

One person is a teacher at a high school in a rough part of the city.  She has been seeking the Kingdom there, recognizing Jesus already at work and responding to Him.  She has been praying and having conversations and asking questions and waiting on the Lord's prompting and timing over the course of the last several months.  Each time we gather as a group, she tells the stories of what she and the high school Jesus followers are seeing and doing as they join Jesus in His mission there.  Simple, amazing stuff going on.  That place is not the same.

A young couple has recently moved into a difficult part of the city... on purpose.  They believe God gave it to them to do.  They are joining Him on His mission.  They drive by dealers every day that are doing their ungodly business on the corners next to the place where they live.  After several weeks of putting the five practices into play, however, things are no longer the same. The Kingdom is in play in that place.  The dealers are still dealing.  But this couple has been establishing friendships with them, learning their names, having conversations with them, telling them why they are living in the area, doing good for them as they have opportunity.  There is one particular man - a scary-big mountain of a man - who seems to be their person of peace (i.e., someone that the Holy Spirit has been preparing to receive what this couple is offering, the things of the Kingdom).  Who knows where it will all lead?  The story is still being told.  But there is a story to be told because they put the practices into play and had a place to unpack their Kingdom story.

One more story (there were several more, though, Wednesday night): Another couple, just learning to seek and follow Jesus themselves, has been putting the five practices into play in the places they live and work. Things are changing. Each time we gather, they tell their stories of what they've done in response to what God seems to be showing them. It's not always easy or fun. But there is always a story.  They have a neighbor whose life is a mess but who is open to letting God bring redemption to his mess.  They have had conversations with him, they have had him over for a beer and then a meal.  And after several weeks, this couple came to our group Wednesday night to tell us this man wants to be baptized and to have his children baptized too.  His life is still not in complete order (whose is?) but He wants what Jesus is offering.

And all that because this couple DID something to put the Kingdom and mission of God into play in the life of their neighbor. And they felt inspired and supported in doing this because of the other Kingdom stories they were regularly hearing.  It helped them learn how to seek, recognize and respond to Jesus in their life.

Do you want to have Kingdom stories to tell?  Missional living is not about what you know.  It is about what you do with what you know.  Why not start today?

Missional Living: Simple Practices

When I am a disciple of Jesus doing what a disciple does, I am then, by definition, living missionally. (See the previous blog post from September 15.)

Jesus is our missional God. When I have taken up His teachings and lifestyle and am recognizing and responding to Him in my daily life, that's missional living with our missional God.

So how do we get there?

I have found that if we take up certain practices, we put ourselves into position both to be discipled by Jesus and to live missionally, that is, to recognize and respond to what He is already doing in the lives of people around us.

Having said that, however, I have learned the hard way that if a process is complicated it will not last. If it is overly acedemic, it becomes something only for the learned. If it requires months (years) of classes before we can start to participate in the mission of Jesus, people drop out. If it requires being at the church building on a certain day at a certain time, we intentionally but automatically exclude many people who cannot get to our location, at our time.

These realities forced me to refine a process that is simple and sustainable, that is not dependent on textbooks or extended teaching by experts, that is located where people already are living and within the rhythms of life that are already in play. And, perhaps most importantly, a process that puts regular folks like us into position to see Jesus at work right away and begin to respond to Him. (We don't have to sit on the bench week after week. We can get into the game!)

And it all begins with keeping it SIMPLE. Remember the acronym K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple... Sweetcakes).

In Dwelling 1:14 we focus on five simple practices that put us into positoin to recognize Jesus at work and respond to Him.

1. Seeking first the Kingdom of God (watching for Jesus at work in us and around us)
2. Receiving teaching from Jesus (listening to Him in His Word)
3. Engaging in conversation with people who are outside our family of faith (connecting with people unconnected with Jesus)
4. Coming alongside people to bless them (fun and service)
5. Ministering in prayer (bringing the Kingdom to people open to receiving it)

These practices are not exhaustive, but if I am watching for opportunities to put these five simple activities into practice every day, I am in a much better position to recognize Jesus at work and begin to respond to Him than if I do not.

It is also important to note that I may not have opportunity to put all five of these things into practice every day. However, it is my mindset to put myself into position to be able to recognize and respond to Jesus whenever His timing is fulfilled. In other words, these practices postion me to be ready when He does press near!

Finally, in practicing these activities, don't see them as a new legalism. We don't put these things into practice to prove we are good boys or good girls. We put them into practice so that we are positioned to see Jesus at work and to join Him. When we engage these practices, we are engaging Jesus and the Kingdom of God becomes tangible to people around us. So, this is not about keeping rules or being a good boy. This is about getting off the bench and getting into the game!

So those are the five practices. In Dwelling 1:14 we then help people who live near each other to regularly come together to support each other in this new lifestyle. They come together not for Bible Study (that is important, but that's a different setting). Not for fellowship or care (that happens because we are together, but is not the primary focus of the gathering). They come together to support each other in putting these five activities into practice.

How does that happen? By giving each other the opportunity to tell our Kingdom stories. More on that next time.

For today, what is your discipleship process and is it producing disciples according to Jesus? Is it simple? Does it position people to get in the game right away? Is the emphasis on being a good boy or being in position to recognize and respond to Jesus?

Missional Living: Two Blind Spots?

Last time I shared with you my working definition of a "disciple" and what a disciple actually does. Here they are:

• A "disciple" is someone who has taken up the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus.
• What does a disciple of Jesus do? A disciple recognizes and responds to what Jesus is asking of them.

When I am a disciple of Jesus doing what a disciple does, I am then, by definition, living missionally. Jesus is our missional God. When I have taken up His teachings and lifestyle and am recognizing and responding to Him in my daily life, that's missional living with our missional God.

Last time we also made the important distinction between generally keeping the morality of love and specifically recognizing and responding to the prompting of Jesus. We said that morality (keeping the law of love) unconnected to relationship with Jesus and the leadership of Jesus is not really discipleship. The Pharisees could do this as could those who were "God-fearing" in the book of Acts. But these people were not yet disciples.

And in our day, many people are living out love without living in relationship with Jesus or responding to what He is specifically asking of us... even earnest Christians often substitute general morality for specifically watching for Jesus and responding to Him.

In the days ahead we will continue talking about that distinction and how it affects the discipling process we choose to utilize. Will we disciple people to be leaders unto themselves living lovingly or followers of Jesus loving specifically? Stay tuned.

Today, I want to be sure we address a couple of blind spots that many American Christians have in their understanding of being a disciple of Jesus.

Two friends of mine (one from Wisconsin and one from Colorado) brought them up after reading the last blog.

My Wisconsin friend asked, "On defining 'disciple' and what a disciple does, how does 'receiving God’s love and grace' fit in? The reason I ask is that usually when I am struggling to live as a disciple, it coincides with my struggle to receive God’s love, grace and forgiveness. So for me it’s hard to focus on what disciples do without also focusing on both the basis and motives for being a disciple."

This is a great point and shows why our discipling process needs to be more complete, less complicated and intentional. This friend struggles to reconnect doing what a disciple does and God's grace. And yet, the first thing a disciple is invited to do by Jesus is not to take some moral action but to receive His grace and the good news of His Kingdom having come. The definition of taking up the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus is centered and sourced in the good news of the Father's presence, grace and leadership. That's what Jesus taught and that's how Jesus lived... in deep and personal relationship with His Father. This is not separate from what we do as disciples, but the center of it.

So, the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus are not reflected primarily in His morality (conformity to the moral law as we often presume in American Christianity) but in His living in the love and grace of the Father (from which a new life and lifestyle flow). So, for example, Jesus' sermon on the mount is not a new and tougher morality, but a teaching of what happens to our inner life and outer actions when we live
in the love and grace of the Father all the time.

My Colorado friend pointed out a second blind spot in American Christianity, "Great post! I would add one thing to your working definition of a disciple: A disciple is someone who has taken up the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus, and is sharing it with others (emphasis mine). I have found that a disciple is someone that is being discipled (i.e. the apostles where discipled by Jesus) and also is in the process of trying to disciple someone else."

This is a another great point and again shows why our discipling process needs to be more complete, less complicated and intentional. This friend recognizes that in American Christianity, we have a blind spot to the priority Jesus placed in His teaching and lifestyle on the discipling of more disciples.

One of the predominant practices of Jesus was being "discipled" by the Father and then turning and discipling the 12, who He then sent out to disciple others! This practice multiplies disciple-making in a way that we have not seen in the US in a long, long time. Therefore, our discipleship is simply incomplete if it does not show those we are discipling how to disciple others.

The bottom line is that when we say, "A disciple is someone who has taken up the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus," that is, in fact, saying that the person has a priority on discipling other people even as he is being discipled. That's what disciples do. However, we've had a persistent blind spot to it.

All this brings us to an important question for next time, what is your discipleship process and is it producing disciples according to Jesus?

Missional Living: Definitions

Here's a simple question. How do you define the word "disciple?"

Whether I am with a group of pastors or having a conversation with an individual, I have found that people struggle with that very fundamental question. I know I did. Such a definition is important for a number of reasons, but perhaps the most important reason is that without a clear definition of "disciple" how will we know if what we are doing to "disciple" our people is resulting in what we would define as a "disciple?"

I talk with leaders all the time who can neither quickly nor clearly tell me how they define "disciple." This should not be a trick question. If the Church is charged with "making disciples" and the leaders of the Church can neither quickly nor clearly define what a "disciple" is, is it any wonder we are having trouble "making disciples" in America?

I personally own this because had you walked up to me 15 years ago and asked, "How do you define the word 'disciple?'" the first thing you would have heard from me would have been stammering. I had not really thought it through. Weren't we making those by "coming to church?" However, once we ask the question, we can start to wrestle with coming to clarity.

So, how do we define the word "disciple?"

Here's my working definition: A disciple is someone who has taken up the teachings and lifestyle of Jesus.

If that is accurate and clear, then the next step is to define what a "disciple" actually does.

If I have taken up the teachings and lifestyle of my Master, what does that look like? How do we summarize that? How do we live?

One response might be, "Love the Lord with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself." Jesus gave that response in Mark 12 when He was asked what the most important commandment was. When the man asking the question agreed with Jesus' answer, Jesus said, "You are not far from the Kingdom of God." So for us, such an answer would certainly not be wrong. However, our question is different. We are not asking to define the most important commandment but to define what a disciple of Jesus does. "What does a disciple of Jesus do?" is a more specific question.

In general, I can know that a disciple of Jesus is to love God and love his neighbor. If that is happening, I can know, like the man in Mark 12, that I am not far from the Kingdom. But in any given moment, when the Kingdom of God is pressing in, what are we specifically to be doing as a disciple of Jesus?

Here's the answer: whatever Jesus is asking of us. Whatever Jesus is asking of us will certainly be within the circle of loving God and loving people, but it will also be more specific, more personal than that.

You see, I know I can easily fall into what is nothing more than a moral obedience to loving God and loving people. I can "generally" do this without it being personally connected to a response to what the living, present Jesus is asking specifically of me. I am not far from the Kingdom whenever I am loving God and loving people, but when I am specifically responding to the Master coming near and asking something of me, that is when I am doing what a disciple does.

To put it clearly, morality (keeping the law of love) unconnected to relationship with Jesus and the leadership of Jesus is not discipleship. The Pharisees could do this as could those who were "God-fearing" in the book of Acts. But these people are not yet disciples.

So, here is a definition of what a disciple of Jesus does: A discple recognizes and responds to what Jesus is asking of them.

We will talk more about this, but let's start with you getting your own clarity on these two definitions: what is a disciple and what does he or she do?