I confess: I watch "Celebrity Apprentice." I'm not sure why. I don't like the whining, the trash talk, or the spoiled celebrities. But something about it keeps me coming back. Last Sunday I saw one reason for watching. I saw a picture of what genuine mission is all about.
It all started when supermodel Niki Taylor and her team lost their task competition. What usually follows is a brouhaha in the boardroom with Donald Trump. Accusations fly. Cut-downs dominate. Arguing, crying, and merciless self-justifying assertions saturate the paneled walls of the Donald's inner sanctum of power.
But Sunday night was different. Supermodel Niki Taylor sat composed and confident. She said that her team worked together. Each person pulled her weight in the task. They did the best they could, but did not prevail in the end. With that, she let Donald know that she was the only one who could be held responsible for the loss. She should be fired.
And Donald fired her. The boardroom was quiet. Each member of her team could be heard saying, "What a class act." "That woman is pure class." Donald echoed the same sentiment. Then with head held high, Niki Taylor exited Trump Tower and returned to the life she loved as a hard working wife and mother.
Wow. What if the church behaved like Niki Taylor? What if God's people focused completely and wholeheartedly on the mission? What if it wasn't about arrogance or position or seeking personal status and adoration, but was totally about the sacred mission to reach the lost and broken with the wholeness and hope of Jesus Christ?
We have a problem with that sometimes. As church people, we let pride get in the way too often. We seek attention and adulation through our accomplishments. We try to be Luther-like by stirring up controversy so we can make our personal mark in history. We get arrogant about what is right. We covet power and positions of prominence. It's the dark side of the institutional church. It's sinful.
God declared in Isaiah 42:8, "I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another." You see, the glory will not be ours. We are the created ones. We are the clay. We are the servants. We were dead, but now are alive because of God's mercy and amazing grace.
With humble and repentant hearts, we are called to live transformed lives--no longer ourselves prevailing, scrapping, and fighting--but Christ alive in us. It's the life of Jesus. It's the life of love. It is patient, kind, not envious, not boasting, not proud, not rude, not self-seeking (1 Corinthians 13).
It's what Niki Taylor demonstrated on Sunday night: mission focus, mission humility, mission integrity, mission words, and mission deeds. Oh that each of us could be led by the Holy Spirit to give up our own glory; move away from our self-absorption, fear, and haughtiness; and move forward in the mission that matters. Oh that each of us might emulate this supermodel of mission!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
A Deployed Church
Complete and radical change. Being totally uprooted. Sacrificing home and family. Risking life itself. Empowering young leaders. Trusting the people of the church to be the church. Total devotion to God's Word and readiness to sacrifice tradition. Always on the move, bringing Christ to every corner of the community and world.
Those phrases describe the DNA of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
In 1838, 1,100 Saxon Lutherans left Europe for the United States. They were on a quest for religious freedom, resisting the pressure to compromise Biblical teaching fueled by the Prussian Union. Only 750 of these daring and entrepreneurial immigrants made it to New Orleans. One ship was lost at sea.
After weathering their personal grief, the rigors of a new land, and their leader's corruption and sexual misconduct scandal, the group of believers did not collapse in failure and despondency. They grew stronger. Not yet 30-years-old, C.F.W. Walther became the leader of the group. He helped a Biblical model of church and ministry take hold among this group of Kingdom focused Christians.
What was important to this fledgling church?
Being People in Ministry and Mission: The church saw the danger of the old European hierarchical system. They followed the Biblical model of church and ministry, an active balance of people and pastors reaching out and serving.
Discipleship: Christian and theological education became a cornerstone of its existence.
Kingdom Unity: Walther's vision of a Lutheran Church across the United States resulted in the formation of the LCMS in 1847.
Kingdom Expansion: Loehe's "sent ones" (Sendlinge) set the pace for outreach, beginning with Native Americans and culminating in World Mission efforts of Lutherans that continue today.
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod has been a deployed church from the beginning: Sent ones, sending more and more people--both young and old--to share the news of Jesus Christ and equip more missionaries for the Gospel. The LCMS is a deployed church: crossing the ocean and intent on infiltrating every corner of every land with ministry for Jesus Christ.
That's the church I know.
Complete and radical change. Being totally uprooted. Sacrificing home and family. Risking life itself. Empowering young leaders. Trusting the people of the church to be the church. Total devotion to God's Word and readiness to sacrifice tradition. Always on the move, bringing Christ to every corner of the community and world.
How are you doing as you are entrusted with that legacy in your community, for your state and nation, and for the world? How will you deploy your ministry in 2011?
Some churches are bringing church to nursing homes and youth shelters. Some churches are starting preschools in newly populated area. Some churches are implementing multi-site strategies. Some are planting new churches. Some are flooding neighborhoods with missional communities that form relationships and break through the barrier of the anti-institutional post-Christian culture. Ministry at local universities, the raising up of ethnic leaders to create a movement in another culture, Alpha groups that introduce people to the Christian faith--it's the DNA of the LCMS.
Complete and radical change. Being totally uprooted. Sacrificing home and family. Risking life itself. Empowering young leaders. Trusting the people of the church to be the church. Total devotion to God's Word and readiness to sacrifice tradition. Always on the move, bringing Christ to every corner of the community and world.
What's your next step?
Those phrases describe the DNA of Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
In 1838, 1,100 Saxon Lutherans left Europe for the United States. They were on a quest for religious freedom, resisting the pressure to compromise Biblical teaching fueled by the Prussian Union. Only 750 of these daring and entrepreneurial immigrants made it to New Orleans. One ship was lost at sea.
After weathering their personal grief, the rigors of a new land, and their leader's corruption and sexual misconduct scandal, the group of believers did not collapse in failure and despondency. They grew stronger. Not yet 30-years-old, C.F.W. Walther became the leader of the group. He helped a Biblical model of church and ministry take hold among this group of Kingdom focused Christians.
What was important to this fledgling church?
Being People in Ministry and Mission: The church saw the danger of the old European hierarchical system. They followed the Biblical model of church and ministry, an active balance of people and pastors reaching out and serving.
Discipleship: Christian and theological education became a cornerstone of its existence.
Kingdom Unity: Walther's vision of a Lutheran Church across the United States resulted in the formation of the LCMS in 1847.
Kingdom Expansion: Loehe's "sent ones" (Sendlinge) set the pace for outreach, beginning with Native Americans and culminating in World Mission efforts of Lutherans that continue today.
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod has been a deployed church from the beginning: Sent ones, sending more and more people--both young and old--to share the news of Jesus Christ and equip more missionaries for the Gospel. The LCMS is a deployed church: crossing the ocean and intent on infiltrating every corner of every land with ministry for Jesus Christ.
That's the church I know.
Complete and radical change. Being totally uprooted. Sacrificing home and family. Risking life itself. Empowering young leaders. Trusting the people of the church to be the church. Total devotion to God's Word and readiness to sacrifice tradition. Always on the move, bringing Christ to every corner of the community and world.
How are you doing as you are entrusted with that legacy in your community, for your state and nation, and for the world? How will you deploy your ministry in 2011?
Some churches are bringing church to nursing homes and youth shelters. Some churches are starting preschools in newly populated area. Some churches are implementing multi-site strategies. Some are planting new churches. Some are flooding neighborhoods with missional communities that form relationships and break through the barrier of the anti-institutional post-Christian culture. Ministry at local universities, the raising up of ethnic leaders to create a movement in another culture, Alpha groups that introduce people to the Christian faith--it's the DNA of the LCMS.
Complete and radical change. Being totally uprooted. Sacrificing home and family. Risking life itself. Empowering young leaders. Trusting the people of the church to be the church. Total devotion to God's Word and readiness to sacrifice tradition. Always on the move, bringing Christ to every corner of the community and world.
What's your next step?
Thursday, March 3, 2011
What's Our Brand?
A few weeks ago I watched the very first Larry King replacement show hosted by Piers Morgan on CNN. Piers interviewed Oprah Winfrey. While I wasn't wowed by Piers, I was taken by one of his questions. He asked Oprah, "What's your brand?"
Piers Morgan pushed Oprah to respond with words and phrases like: Power, Influence, World Domination, Political Clout, A Network that Controls the World. Oprah wouldn't go for those. After being pushed to summarize her "brand," Oprah responded with one word:
Love.
She went on to describe her heartfelt hope that people feel loved because of who she is and what she offers. She wanted that love to be transmitted to others in an unbroken chain of "paying it forward."
Piers was shocked. He pushed back. But Oprah wouldn't budge. Love it was. That is what would define her to the world.
You probably see where I'm going. What if Piers Morgan asked the church what its brand is these days?
What might outside observers answer?
What might the church itself answer?
I wonder if the word "love" would come up at all?
Jesus made the brand He desired very clear: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).
Read John 17 and you'll see Jesus' branding effort all over the place. Review the entire book of 1 John and see the direction the Scriptures send us. Take a look at the book of James and ponder how God wants our faith to be worked out in love.
But is love (Gospel love, the true love of God) really what we're about? Henri Nouwen said, "Power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life" (In the Name of Jesus, p.59).
In "The Divine Conspiracy" Dallas Willard commented that perhaps our outcomes are not in spite of what we do but because of it. Could the stalled and suspect church of the western world be an exact result of what we're making it?
What if the brand spoken of by Jesus took hold in our hearts and actions? What if love prevailed in congregations and communities? What transformation would take place? What new and exciting ministry would result? Who might be rescued from eternal death and live a lifetime of contagious love as they traveled the road to eternal life with Jesus?
Piers Morgan pushed Oprah to respond with words and phrases like: Power, Influence, World Domination, Political Clout, A Network that Controls the World. Oprah wouldn't go for those. After being pushed to summarize her "brand," Oprah responded with one word:
Love.
She went on to describe her heartfelt hope that people feel loved because of who she is and what she offers. She wanted that love to be transmitted to others in an unbroken chain of "paying it forward."
Piers was shocked. He pushed back. But Oprah wouldn't budge. Love it was. That is what would define her to the world.
You probably see where I'm going. What if Piers Morgan asked the church what its brand is these days?
What might outside observers answer?
What might the church itself answer?
I wonder if the word "love" would come up at all?
Jesus made the brand He desired very clear: "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John 13:34-35).
Read John 17 and you'll see Jesus' branding effort all over the place. Review the entire book of 1 John and see the direction the Scriptures send us. Take a look at the book of James and ponder how God wants our faith to be worked out in love.
But is love (Gospel love, the true love of God) really what we're about? Henri Nouwen said, "Power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life" (In the Name of Jesus, p.59).
In "The Divine Conspiracy" Dallas Willard commented that perhaps our outcomes are not in spite of what we do but because of it. Could the stalled and suspect church of the western world be an exact result of what we're making it?
What if the brand spoken of by Jesus took hold in our hearts and actions? What if love prevailed in congregations and communities? What transformation would take place? What new and exciting ministry would result? Who might be rescued from eternal death and live a lifetime of contagious love as they traveled the road to eternal life with Jesus?
Monday, November 8, 2010
Grand Processions
Romans 10 sends out a plea for help:
"But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That's why the Scripture exclaims, 'A sight to take your breath away! Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God!'" (vss. 14-15, The Message)
As a Missional Worker, you're the grand procession. As a Missional Worker, you're the one who is sent.
But what are you supposed to do out there? How can you share Christ in such a confusing and opposing culture?
Let me share three tools with you as you work in the harvest fields of God:
First, listen. That's right. The key to sharing Christ is to listen to people. Understand them. Establish a relationship. Show you care. God will open remarkable doors for you as you discover the real needs and questions of a person in your life. Listen and let God show you how He wants to use you as an instrument of Christ's love.
Second, read God's Word. Please don't dismiss this as a pat answer. If you are reading the Bible regularly, you will be filled up with Good News to share when the time is right. I'm reading the New Testament in the Message paraphrase for my devotional reading. I'm amazed at how much God gives me to apply to my life and to share with others. Stay fueled up with the Word!
Third, if you're looking for a book that describes how God's people, the Church, can break out of navel-gazing and paralysis, read "Transformational Church" by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. The book is filled with practical advice and important attitude shifts that will help God's people do their mission.
Dear Missional Workers, you are the grand procession of God, bringing the light of Jesus into a world in need. Keep going!
"But how can people call for help if they don't know who to trust? And how can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? And how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it? That's why the Scripture exclaims, 'A sight to take your breath away! Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God!'" (vss. 14-15, The Message)
As a Missional Worker, you're the grand procession. As a Missional Worker, you're the one who is sent.
But what are you supposed to do out there? How can you share Christ in such a confusing and opposing culture?
Let me share three tools with you as you work in the harvest fields of God:
First, listen. That's right. The key to sharing Christ is to listen to people. Understand them. Establish a relationship. Show you care. God will open remarkable doors for you as you discover the real needs and questions of a person in your life. Listen and let God show you how He wants to use you as an instrument of Christ's love.
Second, read God's Word. Please don't dismiss this as a pat answer. If you are reading the Bible regularly, you will be filled up with Good News to share when the time is right. I'm reading the New Testament in the Message paraphrase for my devotional reading. I'm amazed at how much God gives me to apply to my life and to share with others. Stay fueled up with the Word!
Third, if you're looking for a book that describes how God's people, the Church, can break out of navel-gazing and paralysis, read "Transformational Church" by Ed Stetzer and Thom Rainer. The book is filled with practical advice and important attitude shifts that will help God's people do their mission.
Dear Missional Workers, you are the grand procession of God, bringing the light of Jesus into a world in need. Keep going!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Margins
When I was the editor of my high school yearbook, I learned a lot about margins. Our editing team was sent to a workshop at the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. We learned the ins and outs of making a publication look good. One key to a great publication was not what was ON the page. It was what was NOT on the page. We were taught to make sure there was enough "white space" for the reader. If there was too much clutter, the reader would be overwhelmed, become frustrated, and give up on trying to navigate the content of the page. Margins made for effective communication.
Do you have "white space" in your life? Do you have margins that allow for flexibility, rest, creativity, spontaneity, and deep communion with God? Or are you cramming everything in, running out of time to do what's important, and stressing about how crazy and unpleasant life is?
A few years ago Dr. Richard Swenson wrote a book called "Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives." In it, he highlights the absolute clutter and mire we experience in this broken world. He calls us back to a life that allows God to work His plan for us. Dr. Swenson offers refreshment and restoration.
That's what Jesus did when He summoned His disciples away from the hubbub in Mark 6:31. The Apostle tells us: "Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'"
God created the world and established margins--a rhythm of rest that defined the healthy and soul-growing rhythm of His people. God wants you to be a healthy servant, a shining light of balance and godliness to a broken, fragmented, cluttered, and distracted world.
If you need to grow in discovering good Spirit-led margins, come hear Dr. Richard Swenson speak at the 2010 Professional Church Workers' Conference, November 21-23, 2010 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, San Antonio, TX. If you're a Missional Worker in South Texas, you can register in the "Emeritus or Vicar" category. Register online or download a registration form at the Texas District, LCMS PCWC conference site. Hotel info is also available at the website.
Find some "white space" on the pages of your life. See what God will do with your margins!
Do you have "white space" in your life? Do you have margins that allow for flexibility, rest, creativity, spontaneity, and deep communion with God? Or are you cramming everything in, running out of time to do what's important, and stressing about how crazy and unpleasant life is?
A few years ago Dr. Richard Swenson wrote a book called "Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives." In it, he highlights the absolute clutter and mire we experience in this broken world. He calls us back to a life that allows God to work His plan for us. Dr. Swenson offers refreshment and restoration.
That's what Jesus did when He summoned His disciples away from the hubbub in Mark 6:31. The Apostle tells us: "Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, [Jesus] said to them, 'Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.'"
God created the world and established margins--a rhythm of rest that defined the healthy and soul-growing rhythm of His people. God wants you to be a healthy servant, a shining light of balance and godliness to a broken, fragmented, cluttered, and distracted world.
If you need to grow in discovering good Spirit-led margins, come hear Dr. Richard Swenson speak at the 2010 Professional Church Workers' Conference, November 21-23, 2010 at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, San Antonio, TX. If you're a Missional Worker in South Texas, you can register in the "Emeritus or Vicar" category. Register online or download a registration form at the Texas District, LCMS PCWC conference site. Hotel info is also available at the website.
Find some "white space" on the pages of your life. See what God will do with your margins!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Could Grandpa be a Postmodern?
The phenomenon of postmodernism has been the subject of lectures, books, and many conversations over the last several years. Postmodernism is seen as a reaction against the structures of the modern culture. It is seen as a deconstruction of traditional systems, beliefs, morals, and practices.
Some observers identify the "millennial" generation as postmoderns. Crowd mentality has shifted to individualism. Efficiency has lost its luster, while authenticity has become a priority. Being connected in relationships has superseded the importance of belonging to groups. What is important to "me" shapes life instead of what others say we're supposed to do. Making a tangible difference is more important than making a contribution to a cause from a distance.
I am convinced that this postmodern outlook has saturated the culture and is oozing from every generation. From twenty-somethings to retirees, a postmodern mindset is evident. This has its advantages and disadvantages.
Some disadvantages:
- In some cases, veteran believers are insisting on being comfortable and having their preferences accommodated in the church. Instead of maturing in faith and sacrifice, glad to welcome change in order to reach the lost, these believers are hampering the movement of the church by making that which causes them to feel good the standard of their support.
- Veteran believers, who possess a larger percentage of resources, have veered toward shifting fund allocation away from general ministry support to ministry niches that fit their individual preferences.
- In some cases, veteran believers hold onto ministry leadership positions for long periods of time, viewing these positions as career climbs up the ladder instead of opportunities to mentor and multiply new leaders, giving authority away to new servants for Kingdom growth and development.
Some advantages:
- Veteran believers are moving away from the institutional model of church and mission, becoming involved in personal mission action in the community and around the world.
- Instead of being content to attend church and delegate ministry to professionals, veteran believers are seeking authentic relationships in the church and community in order to be transformed and effect transformation for Christ.
- In some cases, veteran believers are realizing that their experience is a gift to give away as they enter into relationships with willing younger generations, pairing up in some unlikely ways to disciple new believers.
Are you leaning toward postmodern selfishness or postmodern Kingdom transformation? Even grandpa needs to ask that question.
Some observers identify the "millennial" generation as postmoderns. Crowd mentality has shifted to individualism. Efficiency has lost its luster, while authenticity has become a priority. Being connected in relationships has superseded the importance of belonging to groups. What is important to "me" shapes life instead of what others say we're supposed to do. Making a tangible difference is more important than making a contribution to a cause from a distance.
I am convinced that this postmodern outlook has saturated the culture and is oozing from every generation. From twenty-somethings to retirees, a postmodern mindset is evident. This has its advantages and disadvantages.
Some disadvantages:
- In some cases, veteran believers are insisting on being comfortable and having their preferences accommodated in the church. Instead of maturing in faith and sacrifice, glad to welcome change in order to reach the lost, these believers are hampering the movement of the church by making that which causes them to feel good the standard of their support.
- Veteran believers, who possess a larger percentage of resources, have veered toward shifting fund allocation away from general ministry support to ministry niches that fit their individual preferences.
- In some cases, veteran believers hold onto ministry leadership positions for long periods of time, viewing these positions as career climbs up the ladder instead of opportunities to mentor and multiply new leaders, giving authority away to new servants for Kingdom growth and development.
Some advantages:
- Veteran believers are moving away from the institutional model of church and mission, becoming involved in personal mission action in the community and around the world.
- Instead of being content to attend church and delegate ministry to professionals, veteran believers are seeking authentic relationships in the church and community in order to be transformed and effect transformation for Christ.
- In some cases, veteran believers are realizing that their experience is a gift to give away as they enter into relationships with willing younger generations, pairing up in some unlikely ways to disciple new believers.
Are you leaning toward postmodern selfishness or postmodern Kingdom transformation? Even grandpa needs to ask that question.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Social Networking
No doubt, you've heard plenty about Facebook and Twitter. You're probably sick of hearing about social networking sites. But what if you decided to stay locked inside your house, completely disconnected with the outside world? That would make you non-social and non-networking, wouldn't it? You'd be called a recluse or a hermit.
Do you realize that a church can live a hermit existence? Are you aware that it is possible for God's people to become reclusive?
Social networking is nothing new. When Andrew found out about Jesus, he "posted a message" to his brother Peter: "We have found the Messiah!" When Philip started to follow Jesus, he immediately "tweeted" Nathanael and told him the scoop about the One the Scriptures foretold. After the demon possessed man was healed in Luke 8, he made sure the whole town knew how much Jesus had done for him. The woman at the well did the same thing in John 4. After Matthew started to follow Jesus, he got his friends list out and invited all of them to a party with the Savior. It's social networking. It's all about relationships. It's reaching new people who don't know and who aren't included, so they can know and be included. There's no limit to a friends list. No one refuses to allow more Twitter followers. The more, the merrier. If more people are connected, more people hear the news.
Sometimes followers of Jesus forget that they are still on earth in order to be all about social networking. Sometimes the local church forgets that fact, too. Instead of sharing the news with as many people as possible, followers of Christ get comfortable with a finite list of friends. They meet and sit with the people they know, never thinking about who might still need to hear the Good News of Jesus. Instead of actively pursuing open doors of service in the community, a church busies itself with in-house activities and programs, not realizing that new relationships may create opportunities for a great harvest of souls.
Followers of Jesus are called to be--and happy to be--social networkers. With every new encounter, in every new relationship, during every chance meeting, a follower of Jesus thinks, "What might God have planned? How might this lead to an expansion of His Kingdom?" As churches get involved in the community, serve in schools, volunteer at nursing homes, visit hospitals, participate in the chamber of commerce, host community events, and get mixed into the community in a thorough and effective way, they need to be on the watch for new believers, new leaders, and new possibilities for the advance of the Kingdom.
The Church was not created to be a hermit or recluse. It is to be the ultimate social networker. The cascade of relationships resulting from the efforts of God's people will bear the fruit of lives saved for eternity. This is God's will and desire.
How are you and your church social networkers? How are you bringing Jesus outside the walls of the church?
Check out some ideas in the excellent article from Christianity Today.
Do you realize that a church can live a hermit existence? Are you aware that it is possible for God's people to become reclusive?
Social networking is nothing new. When Andrew found out about Jesus, he "posted a message" to his brother Peter: "We have found the Messiah!" When Philip started to follow Jesus, he immediately "tweeted" Nathanael and told him the scoop about the One the Scriptures foretold. After the demon possessed man was healed in Luke 8, he made sure the whole town knew how much Jesus had done for him. The woman at the well did the same thing in John 4. After Matthew started to follow Jesus, he got his friends list out and invited all of them to a party with the Savior. It's social networking. It's all about relationships. It's reaching new people who don't know and who aren't included, so they can know and be included. There's no limit to a friends list. No one refuses to allow more Twitter followers. The more, the merrier. If more people are connected, more people hear the news.
Sometimes followers of Jesus forget that they are still on earth in order to be all about social networking. Sometimes the local church forgets that fact, too. Instead of sharing the news with as many people as possible, followers of Christ get comfortable with a finite list of friends. They meet and sit with the people they know, never thinking about who might still need to hear the Good News of Jesus. Instead of actively pursuing open doors of service in the community, a church busies itself with in-house activities and programs, not realizing that new relationships may create opportunities for a great harvest of souls.
Followers of Jesus are called to be--and happy to be--social networkers. With every new encounter, in every new relationship, during every chance meeting, a follower of Jesus thinks, "What might God have planned? How might this lead to an expansion of His Kingdom?" As churches get involved in the community, serve in schools, volunteer at nursing homes, visit hospitals, participate in the chamber of commerce, host community events, and get mixed into the community in a thorough and effective way, they need to be on the watch for new believers, new leaders, and new possibilities for the advance of the Kingdom.
The Church was not created to be a hermit or recluse. It is to be the ultimate social networker. The cascade of relationships resulting from the efforts of God's people will bear the fruit of lives saved for eternity. This is God's will and desire.
How are you and your church social networkers? How are you bringing Jesus outside the walls of the church?
Check out some ideas in the excellent article from Christianity Today.
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