Joining God in mission can seem daunting depending on how we look at it.  Questions I keep revisiting in my mind:

• What do people typically think is needed to be a church?

• What is the bare minimum?  When we strip away all the “extras” what are the essentials needed to be Christ’s church in any culture, time or place?

How would you respond to these two questions? 

You can leave a comment below.

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By the way, I’ll be away from the computer for the next 10 days so I’d really love to read and respond to your comments on this when I get back online on July 7.

Categories: the how
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In addition to sharing God’s Word in written and spoken form, we find that sharing God’s Word in bodily form is key to following Jesus as a way of life.  As the ‘Body of Christ’ we are to embody Christ’s message, that is, show people what it looks like when God’s Word is put into practice day in and day out.  

We don’t do this without error, but we can do it genuinely and earnestly, admitting our own sin and rebellion against God along the way.  Sharing God’s Word in bodily form almost always begins before we share God’s Word in written or spoken form, and it should continue indefinitely in a relationship.  For if the message is not lived out in our lives, then the words we say are empty.  

Fortunately, there almost is no limit to how one can share God’s Word in bodily form.  I’ve noticed we have made Christ attractive in Los Angeles when we dealt with disappointment and hardship with both self-incriminating transparency and divine power and hope.  We’ve made Jesus Christ attractive by how we handled money and material things.  By how we showed real concern for the poor and oppressed.  By how we resolved a conflict with love and respect.  By the way we asked for forgiveness and offered it.  By how we made amends.  By how we made decisions around what will honor or reflect the character of our Creator and Savior.  By how we showed hospitality.  By how we respected and loved peoples of all ethnicities and walks of life.  By how we served and loved someone sacrificially.  By how we loved one another.  By how we relied on others, including those who don’t share our commitment to Jesus, for help and advice.  By how we listened.  By how we interacted with our children.  The list goes on.   And I’m sure you could add your own experiences to the list.

The point is, we don’t do any of this perfectly, but sharing the Word of God in bodily form is part of Christ’s message and mission.  Indeed, we are supposed to be part of His message.  If ”Christ in us” makes no difference then what’s the difference?  

God’s Word in written/spoken form.  God’s Word in bodily form.  You can’t have one without the other. 

Categories: the how
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We share God’s Word in written form.  For those who can read and like to read.   

We also share it in spoken form.  Many people can’t read and even some educated people prefer not to read.  Oral tradition is alive and well in Los Angeles. 

This is one of the reasons I like to tell my kids stories about God from scripture (as well as from my own life) during breakfast and ask them to tell it back to me in their own words.  If they can tell it back to me, and in their own words, then they know it.  They also are more prepared to share their own stories of God with others.   

Categories: stories, the how
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Categories: stories, the why
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