Turn Bible Study into Discipling

Preaching and teaching the Word of God is a top priority for church workers in every congregation. Likewise, there are numerous volunteer teachers and group leaders in every congregation. All of them prepare thoroughly and conscientiously because they want to get the preaching/teaching right. They honestly believe much is riding on accurate theology and insightful life application for their hearers and students.  And they are right!  Much is riding on this.

Here's the rub.  If preaching/teaching is simply the accurate transmission of theology and abstract (albeit insightful) life application, we will see little growth/change in the people receiving the teaching. The reason? Jesus tells us. The end goal of His preaching/teaching is not simply knowing truth cognitively nor getting the right answer in a discussion or on a quiz. The goal of Jesus is experiencing His truth through putting it into practice in real life.

Jesus' parable of the Wise and Foolish Builders (Matthew 7) says it this way: Don't be the fool who hears His words but doesn't put them into practice.  You end up knowing the right answer in theory but remain inexperienced in how truth really works in life (like building on sand). Instead, be the wise one who hears His words AND puts them into practice.  In this way you find out stuff about the Kingdom that the abstract thinkers never do.  You find out how truth works in real life. You become an experienced Jesus-follower (like building on rock).

How can we turn the corner from simply preaching and studying God's Word accurately but abstractly to discipling our people in God's Word concretely? How can we start to see long awaited, long desired GROWTH in ourselves and our people? It starts with us no longer seeing preaching and teaching as ends in themselves and starting to use preaching and teaching as means to the greater end of discipling God's people... like Jesus does in the Gospels.

I have found we can do this in a simple, consistent way by adding one important question at the end of our preaching and teaching time (or our family devotions).  Ask the people this question: "As a result of what you have received from God's Word today, what do you think He is giving you to believe or do in the coming week?" Then give everyone about 90 seconds to write down their response. When they are done, end with a closing prayer inviting the Holy Spirit to help everyone watch for opportunities to put that belief or practice into play during the week.

The next time your class or group gathers, give the people 10 minutes to break into groups of two or three and share with each other what they found out as they put that belief or practice into play. (We call this "Take-10.")  This helps ground God's Word in the experience of their real lives and gives them deeper insights to the words of Jesus.

Give this a try for the next few weeks.  If your experience is anything like those who have been doing this around the country, you will see a marked increase in the stories people have regarding hearing the words of Jesus AND putting them into practice.

Score.

The New BIG Goal for Easter 2017

7:16 a.m. Easter Morning

It was just before sunrise this past Easter Sunday morning. 100+ neighbors gathered in the predawn light in a public green space near our home to commemorate and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. There was excitement. There was joy. There was community. There were donuts. There was the resurrected Jesus on the loose in the neighborhood.

And there were Baptisms... seven of them... two families who live in the neighborhood and who are now citizens of the same Kingdom. There was water and the Word. There were covenant promises made by the Father. There were smiles, and tears and laughter. And hugs... lots and lots of hugs.

This was the fifth year we've had Easter Sunrise in the Neighborhood.  I get asked a lot, "How does that happen?"  How does 100+ neighbors gathering before sunrise happen?? (Full disclosure: When I was the pastor of a local church we could never even get 100 members to a sunrise service!) How does having seven neighbors ask for Baptism happen?? Facebook comments were excited when I posted pictures later that day. People wrote things like, "That is simply amazing!" "So awesome!" "Wow! Like the early Church!"

Friends across the country were blessed to know what Jesus was up to in our neighborhood.

But that's just it. There is no reason this should be a unique or amazing story in my particular neighborhood. This could be normal.  This kind of story could be status quo for Easter morning in our neighborhoods all over the country. (Yes, I know Midwest, you alway like to point to the challenge of your Easter weather.  Got it.  So, instead of 100 in a green space, change the narrative to 20 in a warm space. :)

Allow me to take the mystery (and fear) out of being a neighborhood missionary. It really does boil down to this: do you want to see more unbaptized people baptized in the next year? Start investing in friendships with a couple unbaptized people beginning this week.

Going to church every Sunday doesn't make you a missionary.

Having mission passion and a mission strategy doesn't make you a missionary.

One thing makes you a missionary... do you have a growing friendship with Jesus and with an unbaptized person or two? You see, it really does boil down to actual time spent with actual unbaptized people... having fun, having a meal, having a conversation, enjoying them as a person of value. Not for hours and hours every week. They probably don't want to be with you that much! But some time every couple weeks invested in the friendship.

Fun Fact: There are approximately 7.2 billion people on the face of the earth currently. Of those 7.2 billion people, 2.2 billion are Christian.  That leaves 5 billion preChristian, unbaptized people for the 2.2 billion Christians.  Sounds overwhelming, right?  "Let's all head out this week and shoot for about a million unbelievers each.  We'll report back next Sunday and see how we did!"  Sounds crazy.

But how does the math really work out? Do you know how many preChristian, unbaptized people there are per Christian on the earth? It's about two each. Two. 5 billion divided by 2.2 billion = about 2 people each. Two preChristian, unbaptized people for each Christian. Hmmm... two isn't so crazy. In fact, two is doable.

What might happen if over the next year each Christian were to invest in friendships with 2 unbaptized people?

So what is your church's mission/outreach/evangelism strategy for the next year? What if you put that on hold and shifted the strategy to simply this: over the next year each member offers friendship to two unbaptized people who are already living/working/playing nearby. Meet them, find out their names, eat with them, laugh and visit with them.  Find out their story. Find out what they think, what matters to them, what makes them mad, what they value, what they hope. It's simpler than we think and a lot more fun.

And share your story, too. Who you are. What you feel. Who you lean on. Not all at once. But as the conversation invites it. It takes time. Be patient. Enjoy it. (Remember, Jesus has got this. He is just ahead of you not just behind.)

After one year, if you have 100 people in church, there could be friendships with 200 unbaptized people in the neighborhoods.  What other strategy offers such potential?  What program could you substitute that results in 100 Christians having friendships with 200 unbaptized neighbors?

Will all 200 people want to be baptized in a year? No. But here's how this math works: no friendships with unbaptized people = the number of adult baptisms you saw last year.  200 friendships with unbaptized people = more than you saw last year.

So here's the new Easter Sunday 2017 BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal): two friends who just happen to be unbaptized.

Ready, set, go.

Unbaptized no more. "You are Mine."

The Reason He Took Away Our Sins

“As we prepare to celebrate what we’re saved from, let’s not forget to champion what we’re saved for.”

It’s almost Holy Week.  For congregational leaders this is a busy, busy time because we are making such important preparations. A lot is riding on these next ten (or so) days. This is the Super Bowl of the Church Year. Many more people than usual will gather ready to be led through the climactic events of our Lord’s redemptive work. There will be liturgy and word; experience and emotion; symbol and sound; table, garden, cross, and tomb.

And we need to prepare…

There are messages to write, music to rehearse, experiences to plan, decorations to arrange, bulletins to print… and to what end? We want the people of God to hear and experience the good news of God: Jesus died on the cross and rose again to save us from our sins!

But as we prepare to help the people of God celebrate what they are saved FROM, let’s not forget to champion what they are saved FOR. Easter is not a finish line; it is a launching pad! Let’s go ahead and tell them the REST of the story. Let’s go ahead and tell them what is now in play BECAUSE Jesus died and rose. Let’s go ahead and tell them what they are saved to DO.  On Easter Sunday Jesus launched a redemptive ADVENTURE and many of our people don’t even know about it!

In our Lutheran teachings we are very clear and specific in confessing what we are saved FROM.  We are saved FROM sin, death and the power of the devil.  A stunning gift that is worthy of tremendous celebration!  However, it also seems that we Lutherans are not always as specific about confessing and celebrating what we are saved FOR.

And what ARE we saved for? What is the rest of the story? Why exactly did Jesus die on the cross and rise again to save us from sin, death and the devil? Was it so we could simply run out the clock until we die and go to Heaven someday?

A favorite passage for us Lutherans is Ephesians 2:8-9. And for good reason, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast.” In these verses we are given the nuts and bolts of our salvation. But verses 8-9 are followed by verse 10. And verse 10 tells us WHY God did all that work of grace-ing us and faith-ing us. Was it just to get us into Heaven someday? Or was it because He also has something up His sleeve for our Monday?

Verse 10 clears it up, “For we are God’s workmanship [God did all that work of grace-ing us and faith-ing us for a reason], [we are] created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” There it is! That’s what we are saved FOR!

We are saved FROM sin, death and the devil SO THAT we can participate in the mission of God again.  We are saved FOR getting up each morning and heading out with Jesus to participate in the good which the Father has prepared in advance for us to do.

That’s the rest of the story.  That’s what the people of God get to DO!

Because we are baptized, every morning, Jesus in effect is kneeling near our bed waiting for our eyes to flutter open.  When He sees we are returning to consciousness He smiles and says to us, “Good morning! I’m glad you’re finally awake!  As soon as you’re ready, let’s go see what the Father has prepared in advance for us to do today. It’ll be fun! Come, follow me!”

Saved from sin, death and the devil. Saved for joining Jesus on His mission.

As we prepare to help our people celebrate what they are saved FROM, let’s not forget to champion what they are saved FOR.

In the Gospels, Easter wasn’t the finish line for Jesus; it was the launching pad for His all-out rescue mission. This Holy Week that rescue mission is still in full play and Jesus is still inviting us who are saved and free to join with Him. Go ahead and tell your people the good news! Go ahead and tell them that Jesus died and rose not just so we could go to Heaven someday (a stunning gift) but so that we could go with Him on Monday, too (a great adventure)! It’s what we were saved FOR.

“Good morning! Let’s go see what the Father’s prepared in advance for us to do!”

Advent(uring)!

There are only seven days left until Christmas, but there is still plenty of opportunity for Advent(uring).

What is Advent(uring)? It is diving into the melee of pre-Christmas crowds and sales clerks and postal workers and office parties and... in other words, diving into the craziness of what we are already enduring (at least for another week) and seeing what Jesus may be up to.

We are in the middle of it anyway. Why not look for what Jesus may be up to, as well? It's not that he is inactive during busy times like these, it's that we get distracted. So Advent(uring) is heading into the craziness and, while we're there, looking for the opportunities Jesus has prepared in advance for us to do.  You just never know what Jesus may be up to! It's an Advent(ure)!

Example: yesterday I had to go to the Post Office to mail off some last minute book orders. I drove up to my local Post Office and the line was literally out the door. Great. And I had 9 packages. I know. I was THAT guy... the guy who is ahead of you in line with a bazillion boxes. You quietly groan to yourself.

With you in mind, I decided not to stand in line for live postal service.  Instead I went to the automated service machine.  There was only one woman in front of me.  Unfortunately she didn't know how to work the machine. Great. And she had EIGHT packages. Now I'm the one groaning under my breath.

Thankfully, I was ready for an Advent(ure). What might Jesus be up to here?

Because I ship a lot of books, I have used this machine many times.  It can be confusing because of all the questions it needs to ask the customer.  But once you catch the logic of it, it is really pretty easy.  So when I saw the woman struggling (and becoming visibly embarrassed) I began gently suggesting which buttons to push and how to correct her mistakes.  Soon she caught on.  And although it had taken several minutes to do her first couple transactions, the last several were done in no time.

She was relieved and thankful and her face turned from a worried frown to a big smile.  Advent(uring)! I didn't get to preach the Good News to her, but I did get to plant a small seed of good in her life. And you just never know what Jesus may do with that seed.

So now it was finally my turn for the machine. Nine boxes.  And wouldn't you know it,  when I glanced behind me,  I saw another customer who only needed a few stamps. So I invited him to go ahead of me.  Guess what.  Yep.  He didn't know how to work the machine either.  So I helped him. 

He left relieved and smiling, as well.  I was starting to enjoy standing at the machine and helping stressed customers regain their joy. Advent(uring)!

So while I was on a roll, I let the next man go ahead of me, too.  He only had one package.  Piece of cake.  He noticed my boxes of books and noticed I had a vague resemblance to the picture of the author on the back of the book. He said, "Did you write these books?" "Yes, sir," I said, "Would you like a copy? I'd be happy to give you one.  Consider it a Christmas gift." Turns out his name is Baldo and he was ripe and ready for "Joining Jesus," too.  Who would have guessed?

I came to a busy Post Office to mail nine boxes. Jesus brought me to the Post Office to be a part of the good he had prepared in advance for these three people.

It' called Advent(uring). And there's still plenty of opportunities before Christmas for you to play, too.

You just never know...

[A special thank you to Rev. Mark Dahn who first used the word Advent(uring) in an email to me!]

The Girl with the Pink Hair...

An unusual look passed over the face of the girl with the pink hair and facial piercings. Then she said, "No one’s ever nice to me…”

Like most great stories, mission stories are made up of a series of individual episodes. These individual episodes eventually are strung together to tell us the whole story. But the story itself takes time to unfold. Each episode within the story leaves the story itself incomplete. There is suspense and uncertainty. There is unfinished business. There is usually a series of “cliff hangers” that keep the story pressing forward into the next episode and the next until – eventually – we come to an amazing conclusion.

That’s what makes a great story great.

Mission stories are the greatest of stories. They are real life stories, authored by God Himself. They are stories of unredeemed, ruined people discovering His love and forgiveness and experiencing the restoration of new life with Him. Eventually. As noted, these stories are made up of individual episodes which unfold over time, usually years. “Mission episodes” are moments in time when God decides to have us cross paths with a person who needs a little of what we have in abundance – His grace or kindness or joy or truth.

And there’s the rub.

The nature of an individual “mission episode” is that while it is important to the overall story God is writing, the story itself is yet unfinished. There remains suspense and uncertainty. We are left with a cliff hanger of which we may never know the conclusion until we come into Heaven. Bottom line?  If you need to know the conclusion of their story at the end of your episode with them, you will usually be frustrated. Why? Because at the end of an episode all you really will know is that there is more story to come. You’ve done all you can do and now you have to be patient as the Writer of Stories moves beyond you and on to the next episode of the person’s mission story.

And, I don’t know about you, but I’m not that good at patience.

That’s why I find it helpful to think about the individual mission episodes ending not with an exclamation mark (usually reserved for the amazing conclusion of the story) but with an ellipsis mark.

A what?

An ellipsis mark. You know, the dot, dot, dot used at the end of a phrase to indicate a pause in a thought or a story… (there’s one now!)

I have found over the years that most mission episodes end with the dot, dot, dot of an ellipsis. That’s because an episode is usually somewhere in the middle of the story and there is more story yet to come. I may help move the story along with my particular episode. But the episode ends with…

I used to worry about my episodes ending with the dot, dot, dot. I didn’t want the cliff hanger of the ellipsis!  I wanted closure. I wanted conclusion. I wanted redemption being accomplished! But instead there was only a pause… These days, I have learned that if I come to the end of my particular episode with a person, and redemption has not yet come, I see it concluding not with failure but with an ellipsis. Jesus isn’t finished with the story yet. There are more episodes to come for the person.

When I began to understand that, when I began to trust that Jesus is doing the bigger work of stringing smaller episodes together in the whole story of a person’s redemption I found peace. I now have peace even as I see episodes ending with the dot, dot, dot of the ellipsis. I don’t feel obligated to force more conversation, to force more than Jesus had prepared in advance for me to do. As my part ends with an ellipsis mark rather than an exclamation mark I know I can trust Him with the rest of their story.

Back to the episode of the girl with the pink hair…

My friend walked into a local Target store. It had been a bad day for him. A really bad day. Have you had one of those lately? He had come to Target to return an item. “Won’t this be fun,” he muttered to himself. That’s when he spotted the girl with the pink hair and facial piercings behind the counter. He had seen her here before working the register. There weren’t too many people who went for that kind of look in his part of the country. She stood out. And, on this particular day, for some reason (o.k., it was God’s grace), her hair gave my friend a smile. Not a smile of mockery or derision but of joy.

Her pink hair gave him joy. Go figure.

So as she processed his return, he simply said, “You know, I have had a really bad day. And I just want you to know your hair has made me smile.” A frown formed on her pierced lips. My friend quickly added, “I’m not making fun. You really have made my day better. Thank you.” That’s when the unusual look passed over her face and she finally said, “No one’s ever nice to me…” [Notice the ellipsis.]

Her pink hair stood out to him. His simple act of grace stood out to her.

It was a powerful moment as my friend realized what was happening. To a person who regularly receives love, his small act of kindness would have been a small matter. But to someone who regularly receives none…

Afterwards, my friend worried that maybe he hadn’t said enough. Maybe he should have done more.  Maybe he should have somehow brought up Jesus. There was no baptism at the return counter that day or even a solid Gospel presentation. The girl with the pink hair’s mission story remains unfinished. It is a cliff hanger. I can’t tell you how her story ends because it’s still being written… but it is being written by Jesus. All I can tell you is how this particular episode ends. It ends with my friend again thanking the girl with the pink hair for her service and for making his day better. It ends with a seed of grace having been planted in a hurting heart.

And it ends with the dot, dot, dot of the mission ellipsis.

It's Neighboring Season!

It's “neighboring” season in America!

Jesus is already on the loose in your neighborhood pursuing His Father’s mission of redemption and restoration.  And He invites you to join Him!  One of the simplest ways to do this is through “neighboring.”

“Neighboring” is how we get to know our neighbors. Neighboring takes seriously the fact that mission happens best in a context where relationship and friendship have been cultivated over time. Neighboring may happen through a planned event like a cookout or through something more spontaneous like stopping for a chat while walking the dog. Either way, neighboring puts us into position to start finding out who our neighbor is, what their story is and what Jesus already seems to be up to in their life.

On pages 149-151of the book, “Joining Jesus on His Mission” I share 30 ideas we have used over the years that put us into position to meet and enjoy neighbors. Some are more for introverts some are more for extroverts (why not team up and make it easier for both!). Some are planned, some spontaneous. However, all these ideas have been tried and found to work. (Order the book by clicking here. For quantity orders, email me for discounts at finkeonthemove@aol.com)

I enjoy receiving emails from people telling the stories of how things are going in their neighborhood. I have included a few below to encourage and inspire you to give neighboring a go during these summer months.

From Tricia in Kentucky (a pastor’s wife): We had our first intentional front porch conversation with our new neighbors. Turns out, they moved here from California believing they would be neighborhood missionaries. All it took was an offer of coconut cream pie to open the flood gates. Chatted for 2 hours - decided on a neighborhood connecting time - he even prayed over my husband who had surgery earlier in the week (such a role reversal). When Jesus is already there, you just need an open heart when you show up to the conversation. Thanks be to God for His perfect timing. PS- they were sitting out in their driveway for a few days. I should have known what they were planning! Going to give them your book.

From Pat in Austin (an instructor at Concordia University): On Good Friday and the Saturday before Easter I baked a bunch of muffins and gave them away house to house in our neighborhood.  Had some neat conversations and also got a few prayer requests.  On Easter morning there was a little basket of candy on our doorstep, and one of our neighbors wrote us this note (which totally made my day).

“Thank you – It’s not just the muffins or the thoughtful sharing but a quality reminder of fellowship in our community and the desire to inspire and make the LORD present in our daily lives.  Jesus lives!”  Deborah

From a widow in California: I have an unusual opportunity here because I own a home and rent out the bedrooms to students to pay my mortgage. I am always looking for ways to reach out to them, as most are not believers. I have found a group of students who worship on campus on Sunday nights, and I was able to connect 2 students with each other – one who was homeless and still struggles with alcohol and drugs from time to time and another who is active in the group on campus. What a blessing to have them thank me for connecting them together.

From Donna (a retired teacher): I took care of my son's chickens while he was out of town..  They were producing eggs faster than I could eat or store them so I began distributing a dozen at a time to my neighbors.  It gave me an opportunity to talk with my neighbors, and I even got to know one neighbor that I have been trying to love as Christ has asked us all to do, "Love thy neighbor as thyself."  We had great conversation and he was quite friendly, much to my surprise!  It was a blessing to me because Jesus was already ahead of me, preparing my path.  I never thought being “The Egg Lady" would be a ministry opportunity!

From a couple in San Diego: We had a neighborhood gathering which we had been hoping to have for over a year. We finally met last night and just got to know one another for the first time. Originally we hoped to have 6-8 folks but we ended up with over 30 adults, 8 children and 3 nuns...they all seemed hungry for this time together...that lasted over 3 hours! Great fellowship...getting to know each other and sharing our lives...I was overwhelmed with what was happening! I don't know where God will take this...but it is exciting! I share this, because others may have a vision just waiting to happen! Please pray for this group of wonderful people.

Does Jesus have a vision just waiting to happen in your neighborhood, too?  There’s only one way to find out. Let neighboring season begin!

If you have a story to share, please email it to me!  You can help encourage others, too.

What Are You Expecting to See Today?

The Easter Gospels communicate many important truths. Here’s one I overlooked until recently: How easy it is to miss Jesus when we don’t expect to see Him.

In John 20, Jesus is standing right in front of Mary but she doesn’t realize it is Him. At least one reason why? She didn’t expect to see Him there. “Where have you put Him?” Mary asks the One she thinks is a gardener. “He’s supposed to be in this tomb.”

In Luke 24, Jesus is walking right alongside the two on the road to Emmaus, talking with them about recent events.  But they don’t realize it is Jesus.  At least one reason why? They didn’t expect to see Him there. “Don’t you know what has happened?” they asked the One they think is just another traveler. “They killed Him 3 days ago in Jerusalem.”

And in John 21, once again Jesus is standing on the shore easily within sight of Peter and the others who are fishing.  But they don’t realize it is Jesus.  At least one reason why? They didn’t expect to see Him there. After all, who would expect Jesus to show up out of nowhere to cook breakfast?

But that’s the point. Since His resurrection from the dead, you just never know where Jesus will show up! He’s out of the tomb and on the loose pursing His Father’s mission! Seek Him and you will find Him. Expect Him and you will see Him.

And then?

• · “Rabboni!” Mary cries out in recognition.

• · “Were our hearts not burning?” the two ask in recognition.

• · “It is the Lord!” the fishermen shout out in recognition.

A blinding flash of the obvious!

And here is a blinding flash of the obvious for us, too. As with Mary and Peter and the others, Jesus is regularly showing up right in front of us, as well. If we aren’t recognizing it is Jesus, there is probably at least one reason why.  We aren’t expecting to see Him there! However, Jesus is regularly showing up in our vicinity, too, pursuing His Father’s mission in the lives of people around us. He invites us to expect Him. He invites us to join Him by seeking and finding the daily redemptive good He has prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10).

Whether we have the fun of recognizing Jesus showing up rests largely with whether we are expecting to see Him or not. How easy it is to miss Jesus when we don’t expect to see Him, but how simple it is to recognize Him when we do. A blinding flash of the obvious!

And what will Jesus look like when He shows up in our vicinity?  How can we realize, “It is the Lord!” before the moment passes? Look at the people around you.  What’s their name?  What’s their story? Look for where a little grace can be applied in their life.  That’s where Jesus is already present and working. “It is the Lord!”

Mary only saw a gardener.  The two on the road saw just another traveler.  Peter saw some guy on shore cooking.  But in each case it was really Jesus.

When you look around today, who will you see?  Someone having a bad day?  Someone needing an extra ear or an extra hand?  Someone in need of a little hope, a little grace, a little news that is good?

Jesus says, when you see that, “It is the Lord!”

You can expect it.

A Good Answer for a Misleading Critique

At the end of 2014, I was surprised to add up that my book, “Joining Jesus on His Mission,” had sold more than 10,000 copies since its publication in late February.  10,000 copies in 10 months.  Never saw that coming!

When I wrote “Joining Jesus” my goal was simple: I didn’t want to write a theological textbook but a practical handbook.  I wanted to honor and stand on the shoulders of our best biblical theology without feeling the need to repeat all of it.  I wanted a short book that showed regular folk how to actually join Jesus not a long book theologians simply sat around and talked about.

Regular folk seem to appreciate that.  Not all the “theologians” seem to.

For instance, on Amazon.com there are 36 reviews posted.  35 are glowing.  1 is not.  It would be easy for me to set aside such a critique. After all, you can’t win them all, right?  As I read the review (or the one posted on a synodical website) my initial thought was, “Did they read the same book I wrote?”  In that way it was almost comical.

However, not so funny is how some innocent lay people have Googled “Joining Jesus” (when their pastor or group leader has suggested it as a resource) and they find one of these two misleading reviews online. The reviews can cause undue hesitation, confusion about their pastor’s judgment, or worst of all, keep them from joining Jesus on His mission.

While my initial thought after reading the review was, “I think they missed the point,” Vicar Mark Hunsaker of Branson, Missouri did one better.  He posted his own review on Amazon.com, which I believe does a wonderful and winsome job of answering the misleading critique.

I have received permission from Mark to include portions of his review below so that you can show it to your folks who are wondering what to think.  (Thanks, Mark!)

A Good Answer from Vicar Mark Hunsaker

“While another review I read here suggested that this book is ‘theologically inadequate,’ I would challenge that notion by saying that this book is a wonderfully accessible foray into practical use of the theology of mission. In fact, I find it noteworthy that a reviewer would look for 20th Century dogmatic language (which has been forwarded from earlier centuries) in a work intended for those who have not studied such disciplines. Indeed, Greg Finke is light on theological jargon and lighter yet on academic and theoretical ideas. But when considering the author's setting and purpose, this is entirely appropriate.

“What will you find? A book which is utterly practical. While pastors and other trained theologians may have the ability to systematically engage theology and know how to use it in their vocations, the average church-goer probably doesn't.

“But that is where this book's contribution comes alive: What should we ACTUALLY DO on a Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.? Or on Friday night when I'm at my neighbor's house for dinner? Or on Sunday afternoon when I'm at the local Cracker Barrel for lunch after having just attended Divine Worship where I received God's Gifts?

“The issue isn't that this book is theologically inadequate, but rather, that it is engaging theology in an area where our tradition has been inadequate. It is challenging us to look again at the imperative Jesus gave us in Matthew 28:18-20 and then asks the very important question: What does it look like to live out that imperative where I live, learn or work? How we answer that question is very much a theological exercise.

“Finke's question, ‘How's Jesus been messing with you lately?’ comes to bear right here. He is not promoting a departure from God's Word as some have suggested, but rather he is calling us back to it. How is God's Word, his clear Word, disrupting our apparent status quo? What are the things we are doing, looking like in comparison with God's Word? If we've got our distribution of God's gifts just right, but we are not "preaching the Word wherever" we go (a description of the laypeople in Acts 8:4), then why? Does our view of ‘church’ passed down to us from the 20th Century match what is in Scripture? Does our view of the activity of the church match what is in Scripture? These are questions Finke challenges us to look at and the way we answer them is very much a theological exercise. His efforts to get the rank and file thinking theologically about these things, in very practical ways that play out in their vocations, is simply wonderful.

“An outstandingly practical and theologically provocative work!”

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.

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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.