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Bible Study, Disciple-Making, Engage Your Community, Follow Jesus, leadership, Relate to One Another

Producing the Fruit of Joy

As a child, when I attended Vacation Bible School, I learned the song, “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.” At that time in my life, I had no idea what I was singing, but obviously, it made an impact on me.

What is the joy we sing about? If we look at joy in the scripture, it is much deeper than happiness. Happiness is often based on circumstances, while joy is a deep, enduring delight rooted in God’s presence, character, and promises, regardless of our outward circumstances.

Read Galatians 5:22-23

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…”

Reflect on Galatians 5:22-23

Paul lists joy as the second fruit of the Spirit. This means joy is not something we manufacture through positive thinking. It is produced by the Holy Spirit as we remain connected to Jesus.

The word for joy in the Greek is “chara.” It comes from the same root for grace which is charis. This is significant because it tells us that joy is the natural response to experiencing God’s grace.

With that in mind, a good definition of joy is, “the Spirit-given confidence and delight that comes from knowing God, trusting God’s promises, and experiencing God’s presence, regardless of life’s circumstances.”

Joy is rooted in God’s character and not in the changing circumstances in which we live. It flows from God’s grace, is sustained by the Holy Spirit, and coexists with suffering.

In the scripture, joy and sorrow are not opposites. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing.” (2 Corinthians 6:10) and James encouraged believers to, “Consider it pure joy…whenever you face trials…” (James 1:2)

This does not mean suffering is enjoyable. Rather, we can rejoice because God is at work even through disappointment and pain, producing perseverance, maturity, and hope. Jesus offers hope to us as his followers, “I have told you these things so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11)

Jesus himself endured the cross “…for the joy set before him…” (Hebrews 12:2) His joy came from being faithful to God’s plan and purpose. As Jesus followers, our joy is centered in the plan and purpose of Jesus. Henri Nouwen wrote: “Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day.”

While joy is a fruit of the Spirit and ultimately God’s gift, Wesley taught us to cultivate practice like the “means of grace” to keep ourselves open to the work of God’s Spirit in us.

I believe that is part of what Paul was saying when he wrote, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” (Philippians 4:4)

Respond to Galatians 5

One winter morning in Washington, D.C., thousands of commuters hurried through a busy Metro station. Most had somewhere important to be. Heads were down, coffee in hand, eyes fixed on the clock.

Standing near a wall was a man with a violin. He began to play some of the most beautiful music ever written. For forty-five minutes he performed six masterpieces with extraordinary skill.

Nearly everyone walked by.

A few slowed for a moment, then hurried on. Several dropped a dollar into his violin case without stopping. Children wanted to linger, but their parents tugged them along. In all, more than a thousand people passed him, yet only a handful truly listened.

What the commuters didn’t know was that the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. Just two nights earlier, people had paid over $100 each to hear him perform in a sold-out concert hall.

The music hadn’t changed. The musician hadn’t changed. Only the setting had changed. Many people missed something beautiful because they were too consumed by their circumstances.

How will your life be filled with God’s presence today? The circumstances might be ordinary. They might be difficult, but God’s song is still playing. Joy is not found because life is easy. Joy is found because God is present.

I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. How about you? Where will you find joy today?

Return

Give thanks for the people you encountered today. In what ways did you experience joy? In what ways did you help others experience joy? With whom do you need to celebrate the joy you experience in and through them? What will you do differently tomorrow?

Bible Study, Follow Jesus, Missional, Relate to One Another

Producing the Fruit of Love

Loving like Jesus is not easy. Learning to love and modeling love is the challenge of every follower of Jesus. Some people put a lot of emphasis on the social aspects of love, while others emphasize the personal aspects.

Loving like Jesus is not easy. In the midst of our cultural wars, we have made enemies out of the people who disagree with us. We have used the words of Jesus as instruments of pain and separation instead of instruments of agape and reconciliation. Jesus says that the mark of true discipleship is seen in how we love one another.

Am I missing something when I think that Jesus meant for us to work on bringing people together instead of separating people. As followers of Jesus, the challenge is to love others as Jesus has loved us. Is it possible to love as Jesus loves in the world in which we live?

What would happen if we began to see each person we meet as someone God loves and is longing to be loved?

Let’s use the pattern of Read, Reflect, Respond, Return as a tool to learn more about loving as Jesus loves.

Read 1 John 4:7-21

⁷Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. ⁸The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love. ⁹This is how the love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him. ¹⁰This is love: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins.

¹¹Dear friends, if God loved us this way, we also ought to love each other. ¹²No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God remains in us and his love is made perfect in us. ¹³This is how we know we remain in him and he remains in us, because he has given us a measure of his Spirit. ¹⁴We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the savior of the world. ¹⁵If any of us confess that Jesus is God’s Son, God remains in us and we remain in God. ¹⁶We have known and have believed the love that God has for us.

God is love, and those who remain in love remain in God and God remains in them. ¹⁷This is how love has been perfected in us, so that we can have confidence on the Judgment Day, because we are exactly the same as God is in this world. ¹⁸There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear expects punishment. The person who is afraid has not been made perfect in love. ¹⁹We love because God first loved us. ²⁰Those who say, “I love God” and hate their brothers or sisters are liars. After all, those who don’t love their brothers or sisters whom they have seen can hardly love God whom they have not seen! ²¹This commandment we have from him: Those who claim to love God ought to love their brother and sister also.

Reflect on 1 John 4:7-21

When John writes “God is love,” he is letting us know that love is the character and nature of God. He writes that we see and experience God’s love in Jesus. Because we have experienced God, then we are free to love one another. The evidence that we know God and God’s love is seen in the way we love others.

John also explains that perfect love drives out fear. So, those of us who abide in God’s love can face loving others with confidence because we live in a relationship with God.

Then John gives us a practical test of our faith. He writes that the one who does not love does not know God. It is impossible to love God while not loving our sisters and brothers. Your love for God and your love for others is inseparable.

To love God means you love your neighbor, your family, the stranger, those with whom you agree, those with whom you disagree, and even those you consider your enemy. You love who God loves…and that is everyone.

For John, God’s love is the source, model, and motivation for those of us who follow Jesus. Our faith is demonstrated by loving others as God has first loved us.

Respond to 1 John 4:7-21

John writes, “We love because he first loved us.” The Christian life is not about trying harder to be loving; it is about staying connected to God who is love. We reflect the love of God that shines into us and through us. When we receive God’s love, we naturally reflect it to others, and the darkness begins to give way to light.

God’s love is the source, and our love is the reflection.

Maybe you can think of it this way. A little girl received a small mirror for her birthday. One afternoon, she took it outside and noticed that when she tilted it toward the sun, the mirror reflected a bright beam of light. She discovered that she could direct the light into all directions, especially under bushes and into places where there were shadows.

Her grandfather watched for a while and then asked, “Where does the light come from?”

She smiled and said, “From my mirror.”

He replied, “Well, not really. The mirror doesn’t make the light. It simply reflects the light.”

Bible Study, Courage, Disciple-Making, Follow Jesus, Hope Throughout the Year

Courageous Loyalty to Jesus

Do you remember the story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes” by Hans Christian Andersen? Although it is my paraphrase, the story reads as follows:

An emperor became obsessed with fine clothing. Two swindlers arrived and claimed they could make a magnificent suit of clothes that was invisible to anyone who was foolish or unfit for their position. No one wanted to appear foolish. So, the emperor’s advisors pretended to see the clothes. The emperor pretended to see the clothes. The townspeople pretended to see the clothes. Everyone knew something was wrong, but no one had the courage to say it.

Finally, during a grand parade, a small child looked at the emperor and shouted: “But he doesn’t have any clothes on!” The crowd fell silent.

Then one person began to whisper it. Then another. Soon everyone acknowledged what they had known all along. The child had simply spoken the truth.

The child in Andersen’s story had no power, no authority, and no status. What he had was the courage to speak the truth when everyone else remained silent.

That story illustrates an important aspect of Matthew’s understanding of holiness, ““What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.” (Matthew 10:27). Read Matthew’s story.

Read Matthew 10:24-33

²⁴“Disciples aren’t greater than their teacher, and slaves aren’t greater than their master. ²⁵It’s enough for disciples to be like their teacher and slaves like their master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, it’s certain that they will call the members of his household by even worse names.

²⁶“Therefore, don’t be afraid of those people because nothing is hidden that won’t be revealed, and nothing secret that won’t be brought out into the open. ²⁷What I say to you in the darkness, tell in the light; and what you hear whispered, announce from the rooftops. ²⁸Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell. ²⁹Aren’t two sparrows sold for a small coin? But not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father knowing about it already. ³⁰Even the hairs of your head are all counted. ³¹Don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.

³²“Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. ³³But everyone who denies me before people, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

Reflect on Matthew 10

God sent Jesus to teach us how to live before God, how to live a holy and righteous life. Matthew is preparing his people to understand that following Jesus can bring rejection, division, and sacrifice.

Through Jesus telling his disciples what it is to be holy, Matthew reminds his community that following Jesus calls for a determination to live the truth, to tell the truth, and to remain loyal to Jesus. Jesus’ words remind us that we are not called to be loud for the sake of being loud, but neither are we called to hide the truth. We are called to speak faithfully, trusting God with the consequences.

Martin Luther King once said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Jesus says, “Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. ³³But everyone who denies me before people, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.” These words do not deal with the initial confession of faith as in conversion. The words are for those who already profess faith but are fearful of bearing public witness to the church’s mission.

As followers of Jesus, our profession of faith is in relationship with Jesus’ message. Holiness is not only bearing witness to what Jesus said but is bearing witness to who Jesus is. It is not enough to know who Jesus is. Holiness requires being in relationship with Jesus and living the life you were created to live.

Respond to Matthew 10

The temptation is often to remain silent especially when speaking up might cost us popularity, when others disagree, when the truth is uncomfortable, when we fear criticism or rejection.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to a courageous faithfulness which sometimes means speaking for justice when others look away, defending someone who is being mistreated, naming wrongdoing when it would be easier to ignore it, or simply acknowledging our faith when silence would be more comfortable.

Rosa Parks’ Courageous Action

On December 1, 1955, in Montgomery, Alabama, an ordinary seamstress named Rosa Parks boarded a city bus after a long day of work. At that time, segregation laws required black Americans to give up their seats to white passengers when the bus became crowded. When the driver ordered Parks to surrender her seat, she quietly said, “No.”

She was not loud. She was not angry. She did not make a speech. She simply refused to remain silent through her actions.

The driver called the police. Parks was arrested and taken to jail.

From one perspective, her decision changed nothing. One woman was arrested. One seat remained occupied for a few extra minutes. But her courage ignited something much larger. Her arrest helped launch the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and a young pastor named Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as one of its leaders.

Years later, people would remember not just the speeches or marches, but the simple moment when an ordinary woman decided that silence was no longer an option.

Martin Luther King said, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

Most people on that bus knew the system was wrong. Most remained silent because speaking up carried a cost. Rosa Parks understood that silence can preserve comfort, but it rarely changes injustice.

In an impactful way, she was a prophet. We know that the prophets spoke when the kings preferred silence. We know that the apostles spoke when authorities demanded silence. Matthew is teaching us that holiness is found in Jesus telling his disciples not to hide the truth but to proclaim it faithfully.

To live our lives before God as holy and righteous people, there are moments when faithfulness requires a voice. Sometimes courage looks like standing before a crowd. Sometimes courage looks like remaining seated on a bus. In either case, as a follower of Jesus some things matter too much to remain silent.

From Matthew’s perspective, holiness is seen in courageous loyalty to Jesus.

Return

Give thanks for the people you encountered today. In what ways were you aware of following Jesus? How did you speak up when you could have remained silent? How did you experience God’s love? In what ways did you model and share God’s love? With whom do you need to celebrate the love you experience in and through them: what will you do differently tomorrow?

Bible Study, Disciple-Making, Engage Your Community, Missional, Relate to One Another

Begin to Engage Your Community – Part 3 – Koinonia

Engaging the community is about God’s business. It is about following Jesus in relating to and loving others within the community in which you are located.

To help resource you in Engaging the Community, let’s focus on two distinct community ideas. The first is koinonia found in the New Testament. The second is the community in which your congregation is located. In both communities, you can share the gospel and grow your relationship with Jesus and the people entrusted to your care.

To focus on these two concepts, remember that you are about God’s business. So, through the lens of being a follower of Jesus, what does it mean to live in community with other followers of Jesus and what does it mean to be a follower of Jesus in a diversity of people and beliefs?

It is important to know and understand koinonia as you engage the community in which you are located. So, let’s start with koinonia, the New Testament understanding of fellowship or community.

Read Acts 2:42:47

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Awe came upon everyone because many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

Reflect on Acts 2

The first followers of Jesus, “…devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship…” Gathering in community was important. It is mentioned three times: They devoted themselves to “fellowship” (verse 42), “All who believed were together” (verse 44), and “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple…” (verse 46). Being together was an important characteristic of their faith development.

Koinonia

This fellowship was known as “koinonia.” Before describing what “koinonia” is, let’s identify what it is not. Koinonia is not formal gatherings for potluck dinners nor informal gatherings of people who are like us. It is neither being a part of a country or civic club nor is it like being a part of a service organization. Koinonia is more than participating in worship. All of these are good and needed, but they do not describe what those early followers of Jesus experienced as koinonia.

Koinonia for them was gathering to listen and learn of the gospel (apostles’ teaching). They were trying to make sense of what they had experienced at Pentecost. Gathering was to eat together, (breaking bread). It was an expression of God’s love, agape, working for the good of others, especially those who had little to eat. Gathering to pray (prayers). They gathered with glad and generous hearts in gratitude to God, seeking direction on how to live their lives as followers of Jesus.

Koinonia and John Wesley

It is this same koinonia that John Wesley experienced when he expressed that “I felt my heart strangely warmed, I felt I did trust Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”

Wesley was motivated to establish a koinonia system to help others, whose hearts were also “strangely warmed.” He was surrounded by people who not only wanted to hear the gospel but wanted to experience it. They lived in a time of spiritual apathy in which there was a disconnect between themselves and their faith. There was also an institutional disconnect that created disillusionment and distrust of the church.

Wesley’s Aldersgate experience became a model for heartfelt faith. For the people whose hearts were warmed by God’s love, Wesley developed a system to help keep the heartfelt faith alive with experiences of care, support, encouragement, and correction.

Koinonia and Methodism

He developed community by using class meetings and bands in which followers of Jesus were nurtured in faith and held accountable with compassion. People cared for and looked after each other’s souls. It was in the fellowship where loving hearts set other hearts on fire.

Koinonia was woven into the DNA of those early Methodist Christians. Whether you are a United Methodist or not, this koinonia has shaped your faith as a Jesus follower. It is an essential experience in assisting you in becoming who you are created to be.

Embodying Koinonia

Although I did not know it then, my earliest memories of faith are of people teaching, caring, supporting, and encouraging me in the faith community. Whether it was a fourth-grade Sunday school teacher telling me I would go somewhere else in the world to tell others of Jesus, a junior high school teacher who taught me to pray and to listen for God to speak, a high school teacher who cried with the class the day after a major disaster, or the Jesus followers who nurtured me in faith with compassion from a child to an adult, koinonia was part of my experience in becoming who I am today.

Over the years, I have attempted to develop koinonia through small groups or other fellowship experiences. Still, the most common experience in which I have experienced koinonia is when it was woven into the fabric of the community of faith. It was when other followers of Jesus, whose hearts were warmed with God’s love, shared their faith and love with one another, the larger community, and the world.

Heartfelt Faith

As a follower of Jesus and a Christ-centered leader, you lead with a heartfelt faith. There are two aspects of this heartfelt faith: the experience of God’s love in each individual’s life and the gathering of followers of Jesus who have experienced God’s love. Think clearly about providing opportunities for the “warm heart” and the structures of care that will lead to transforming individual lives, communities, and the world.

When Wesley insisted that “true Christianity cannot exist without the inward experience and the outward practice of justice, mercy, and truth,” he gave us our focus on koinonia.

So, take a moment to reflect upon these questions for yourself:

How is my relationship with Jesus growing in depth and expression?
How am I living out my heart being warmed by God’s love?
How do I grow in faith and live out my faith in meaningful ways?

Take a moment to reflect upon this question for your faith community:

Am I developing the structures of care where people can grow in grace and discipleship, where the fruits of the spirit are being cultivated, and where loving hearts are setting others’ hearts on fire?

The early followers of Jesus “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship…” So, one of the characteristics of engaging the community is to develop koinonia, Christian community.

Respond

Beware of moments when your heart is “strangely warmed” by the presence of Jesus in the lives of the people you encounter and in the situations you find yourself today. Continue to be mindful of how you are growing in faith and living in God’s love. Be intentional in extending God’s love to the people around you. Ask God to help you be a blessing to someone, somewhere today.

Prayer

O God, thank you for your fellowship so I can grow in my faith. By your grace, continue introducing me to people who can provide care, support, instruction, and correction. Thank you for the ways you have provided for me to become more of the person you have created me to be. Give me the faith to trust you more. Make me aware of the people around me today so that I might become a blessing to someone, somewhere today. I offer myself to be in koinonia with you in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Return

Give God thanks for the people you encountered today. In whom did you meet Jesus? How was your heart strangely warmed? What structures did you put in place to give others care, support, encouragement, and hope? What do you need to do to lead others into koinonia? Give God thanks for the opportunities you had to become more who God has created you to be.

As you learn and grow in engaging the community, keep in mind, who you are is how you lead.

Next, we will look at the second concept of community in Part Four of Beginning to Engage the Community.

Engage Your Community, Follow Jesus, leadership, Missional, Prayer, Relate to One Another

Begin to Engage Your Community – Prayer

This is part 2 of Begin to Engage Your Community. Read Part 1.

As a follower of Jesus in a rapidly changing world, you have the responsibility to engage your church in loving and caring for your community. By centering on God’s mission, embracing your local context, and engaging with the community, you lead the way by modeling purpose and authenticity. You have the opportunity to lead your church in reclaiming its role as a vibrant and relevant force in the lives of the people in your community and beyond.

Engaging the mission is about following Jesus into the community and being about God’s business. It is a way of relating to and loving others within the community in which you are located.

Engaging In Missions

As much as churches talk about caring and serving, your life changes when you engage in missions. Whether it is your life or the life of your church, engaging the community means constantly challenging personal preferences, the fear of losing control of who to serve, and the anxiety of not having enough resources.

Although the work is challenging, engaging in mission means you can relax in the experience of loving others as you have been loved. Engaging the community is an experience of transformation and new life.

Focus on the Mission of God’s Love

When I reflect upon the presence and power of God in and through the Holy Spirit, I discover that the early church was focused on the mission of God’s love and that the power of the Holy Spirit helped those early followers to overcome the barriers of race, gender, theology, faith, and persecution.

When engaging the community, you are given the power to overcome the barriers that keep people from experiencing God’s love by resisting evil in whatever form it presents itself.

So, the question is, “What do you need to do to engage the community with God’s love?

Start with Prayer

Prayer facilitates your engaging the community. Since you are engaging in God’s business, it makes sense to seek God’s direction. So, as you begin to engage the community, provide opportunities for everyone in the congregation as well as your leaders to pray.

Make prayer part of every Sunday School class, small group, administrative meetings (Administrative Council, Leader Board, Finance, Trustees, Pastor Parish Relations, etc.) rehearsals, trainings, or other gatherings of your church community.

Remind your leaders, in whatever context they are leading, that when there is no prayer, there is no power. When there is a little prayer there is little power. When there is much prayer there is much power. Said another way: No prayer, no power. Little prayer, little power. Much prayer, much power.

Ask God for new possibilities to break through in your church and community. Ask God to give you the eyes to see and hearts and minds to receive and understand what God is doing in the community.

Ask God to help you discover what you need to do that no one else is doing in the community. Ask God to send you the people no one else wants and for the grace to receive the people God sends to you.
As you surrender yourself to God’s direction, be mindful of how God can use you and your church to make a difference in your community.

Prayer

To get you started, here is a sample prayer:

O God, by your grace give each of us obedience to yield a little more of ourselves today. Put us where you want us and help us be content. If we can’t be content, make us faithful. Let us be a part of what you are blessing and let us learn everything we need to learn in every situation and circumstance. Teach us and equip us to bring here on earth what you have in heaven. Break our hearts for the church and the church’s heart for the community. Send to us the people no one else wants and by your grace help us receive the people you send to us. Let us see you in the tasks you have given us to perform and may you find us faithfully performing those tasks. Fill us with your grace and glory so all with whom we come in contact will experience your grace and glory in us.

Remember, prayer facilitates engaging the community. No prayer, no power. Little prayer, little power. Much prayer, much prayer. It was while the disciples were praying that the Holy Spirit came upon them. They received power to be witnesses (the Greek work means “martyrs) starting where they were and moving into their communities, surrounding areas, and to the world

Engage in the Seven Missional Questions

Read Begin to Engage Your Community – Preparation – Part 1 or Engaging in Mission: Seven Missional Questions (This article gives you the details of each question.)

The questions are:

Where have you witnessed God’s presence in your community? (God’s Presence)
What is the mission of the church (Mission)
What is our mission field? (Mission Field)
What are the assets of our community? (Assets)
What are the needs of our community (Needs)
What relationships exist with leaders in our community? (Relationships)
What is one way we can collaborate with other churches? (Collaborations)

To engage the community, prepare your heart and mind with prayer. Ask God to help you to be aware of and sensitive to the people you encounter in your mission field.

Prepare your heart and mind with bible study. Read Luke 10:1-12 and ask God to send you out as missionaries to learn about the mission field in which you live and serve.

Engage the leaders of your church in participating in the seven questions above. Send your leaders out in teams of two or three to experience the mission, to encounter the people, to assess the assets and needs of the mission field.

Assist your leaders in identifying and developing the relationships within your mission field. What relationships need to be nurtured, reconciled, or re-established?

Continue to engage your team in prayer and study. Continue to ask God to help you be aware of and sensitive to the people you encounter.

Read, Reflect, Respond, Return

When you are engaging the community, you are loving and serving people in all you do. Keep in mind that you are about God’s business as a follower of Jesus whether you are feeding people, providing housing, caring for children, sharing in a work team, or on a mission trip. To assist you in keeping focused, use the following pattern as a way of focusing upon God’s business and growing as a follower of Jesus.

Before leaving for the site on which you are serving, gather your team together. The team must gather before arriving at the site. In other words, the focus is on becoming who God created you to be, a follower of Jesus, and not upon the work you are involved in or the service you are providing. Both are important but becoming a disciple of Jesus and being about God’s business of loving others is the main focus.

As important as this is, before leaving for the site, take no more than 15 minutes to do the following:

Read

Pick a scripture for the day. Before reading it, ask each member of the team to focus upon a part of the scripture, then read it aloud for the team to hear.

Reflect

Have each person briefly tell which part of the scripture they will carry with them throughout the experience. Keeping the scripture in mind, ask each member of the team to be aware of the people they meet and to look for Jesus in the midst of their serving, working, and interactions.

Pray

Remember, prayer facilitates your engaging the community. So, before you leave for the site, pray. It can be short and simple. Here are three examples:

“O God, make us aware of the people around us today so that we may be a blessing to someone, somewhere today. Use us as instruments of your love and peace.”

“O God, give us the eyes to see, ears to ear, hearts to receive, and minds to understand your presence in our experience today. Give us pure hearts, because blessed are the pure in heart, they will see You.”

“O God, make me aware of the people around me today. By your grace, help me be an extension of your love in the lives of the people you send my way. Help me yield a little more of myself so that I may love others as you have loved me. Help me be faithful to your call upon my life so that I may be a blessing to someone, somewhere, today. Amen”

Respond

Remind each person to be aware of how they will be living the scripture in the places they encounter. Sounds simple enough, but keep the following in mind:

How will you love the people God sends your way?
How will you reach and receive them in love?
How will you introduce them to God’s love?
How will you practice who you are as a follower of Jesus?
In what new way will you love them as Christ has loved you?

Return

At the end of the experience, gather the team together. Give God thanks for the experience and for the people with whom you interacted. Then, in small groups of 3 or 4 persons, ask them to discuss the following questions:

How did you live the scripture today?
How did you experience God’s love? In whom did you see Jesus?
What did you learn about yourself?
Were there times you felt uncomfortable, afraid, or alone? How did you respond?
For whom are you grateful at this moment? Give God thanks for them.

Engage The Community

There are many ways to engage the community. Each context will call for specific ways of loving and serving. As you move forward, use the tools of prayer, 7 Missional Questions, and the pattern of “Read, Reflect, Respond, and Return to keep you focused on the mission.

You have been commissioned to love others as you love Jesus. As you engage in mission you will be transformed, so be aware of what helps turn your love for Jesus into an outward expression of love and care.

It is time to engage the community. You have been given the power to love as you have been loved, to overcome the barriers that keep people from experiencing God’s love, and to resist evil in whatever form it presents itself.

Listen for your call into the neighborhood. It will come with the words of Jesus, “Just as the Father has sent me, so I send you.” Go and live into the life God has created you to live.

Bible Study, Disciple-Making, Follow Jesus, leadership, Relate to One Another

Begin to Practice Your Faith – Part 2

(This is the second in the series or Begin To Practice Your Faith. Read Part 1 here)

One of the characteristics of God’s mission is practicing your faith. Practicing your faith comes in two ways. First, to practice means to perform an activity or exercise a skill repeatedly in order to improve or maintain your proficiency. In other words, you rehearse or practice.

Second, practice means to put into action or to implement what you have learned and experienced. It is the actual doing or application of an idea, belief, or method as opposed to talking about it. In other words, you apply or practice what you have rehearsed.

Nurture and Equipped to Live Out Your Faith

As a follower of Jesus, you have the opportunity to nurture people in their faith as well as equip them to live out their faith in everyday situations and circumstances. You have the opportunity to assist them in rehearsing their faith as well as applying their faith in everyday situations with every person they encounter.

So, as you invite people into the movement of God’s grace and equip them for the mission of God’s love, you provide opportunities for them to practice by learning and growing in their faith. It might be you’re helping people practice their faith through the means of grace, a small group, or a Sunday School class. Whether it be serving meals, caring for those who are homeless, or teaching children to read, assist people by incorporating scripture, prayer, and reflection as ways of practicing their faith. Whether it be a finance meeting, trustee meeting, choir rehearsal, a women’s or men’s meeting, youth fellowship, or nursery school board, offer people opportunities to talk about faith experiences as ways of practicing their faith.

The point is you have the opportunity to nurture and equip people by providing opportunities to rehearse their faith and apply what they have rehearsed.

People experience God’s love and learn to share God’s love through practice. Jesus gives clear direction in Matthew’s good news. He says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). When you are preparing for mission, practice makes perfect.

Let’s explore several examples of practicing faith from the early church in The Acts of the Apostles, Acts 2:42.

Read

Christ-Centered Leaders Develop Community

Christ-Centered Leaders Develop Community – Part 2

Read Acts 2:42-47

Reflect on Acts 2:42-47

The first followers of Jesus practiced by devoting “themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship…” Part of the practice of the first followers was to gather in community. Practicing community was important.

It is mentioned three times: They devoted themselves to “fellowship” (verse 42), “All who believed were together” (verse 44), and “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple…” (verse 46). Being together was an important characteristic of their faith development. They practiced their faith in relationship with other Jesus followers.

Practicing Community

Practicing community was seen in the relationships they made and deepened as they gathered to listen and learn of the gospel (apostles’ teaching). They practiced community when they ate together, (breaking of bread).

They practiced God’s love, agape, by working for the good of others, especially with those who had little to eat. They practiced relationships by praying together and by gathering with glad and generous hearts in gratitude to God. They practiced by seeking direction on how to live their lives as followers of Jesus.

Studying the Scripture

They practiced by studying the scripture together. “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching…” Wesley called this “searching the scriptures.”

One of the distinctive marks of Jesus’ followers was they sought to understand how to live their lives in relationship with one another. Just as the apostles’ teaching was transformational in the lives of the early followers of Jesus, practicing living the good news of Jesus Christ is transformational both personally and socially.

Practicing Fellowship

They practiced fellowship together. “They devoted themselves to…fellowship.” When they gathered, they practiced loving one another. Their time together was formational as they grew together in their personal faith and learned to have compassion and encouragement in their social interactions.

They practiced accountability. “Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple.” Those early Jesus followers spent time together sharing stories, asking questions, learning, and growing together. It was in their conversations (Christian conferencing) they practiced accountability.

For a more in-depth exploration of accountability can be found in the blog Christ-Centered Leaders Develop Community

Practice Sharing Your Faith

Their practice inward led to their practice beyond themselves. As they practiced their faith together, they were led to practice their faith outside their group. They discovered new ways to love others the way God Jesus had loved them. They practiced their faith by sharing what they had with others. Whether it was their food, clothing, shelter, money, or other possessions, they practiced generosity by offering themselves to one another in love.

Their practice helped them become more of who God had created them to be. How are you practicing your faith? Who you are is how you lead.

Respond

How will you practice your faith today? Be aware of the people God sends your way today. How will you participate in community? How will you develop relationships with people who are not part of your inner circle? In what new way will you love others the way God in Christ has loved you?

How will you practice your faith by reading and studying the scripture, by praying, by entering conversations about faith and how to grow in love?

How will you practice your faith? Sometimes it is by feeding people who are hungry or finding shelter for those who are homeless. At other times, it is by providing care for children or finding jobs for those unemployed. Sometimes it is by taking time to listen, really listen, and responding with encouragement and support. At other times, it is being with someone, just by coming alongside them and being present.

Practicing your faith helps to turn your inner faith into an outward expression of love and care. How will you practice your faith today?

Prayer

O God, make me aware of the people around me today. By your grace, help me be an extension of your love in the lives of the people you send my way. Help me yield a little more of myself so that I may love others as you have loved me in Jesus. Help me be faithful to your call upon my life so that I may be a blessing to someone, somewhere, today. Amen

Return

As you reflect upon your day, give thanks for God’s call to follow Jesus. In what ways did you practice your faith? With whom did you share God’s love? How did you invite people into God’s movement of grace and mission of love? How did you practice hospitality? How did you practice offering Christ to the people around you? With whom do you need to celebrate the love you experienced in and through them? What will you do differently tomorrow?

Disciple-Making, Follow Jesus, Relate to One Another

Begin to Practice Your Faith

As you engage in the mission of practicing your faith, you will find it to be the simplest yet the most difficult aspect of HOPE. (Read Preparing for Mission: Practicing Your Faith Part One and Preparing for Mission: Practicing Your Faith Part Two).

It is simple because it is the one aspect of HOPE that you participate in the most. Whether it be Sunday School classes, small groups, worship, administrative meetings, rehearsals, training, the list goes on. You could rehearse or practice your faith through activities and programs.

It is difficult because to practice your faith is more than anything goes. To engage in the mission of practicing your faith means you are about God’s business, focused upon the mission, living out who God has created you to be. You are applying what you are rehearsing in your everyday living.

Building H.O.P.E.

As you build systems of hospitality in which you reach out at receive people, of offering Christ in which you introduce people to the Christian faith, and practicing your faith in which you nurture people in their faith, you have the opportunity to assist them in learning about Jesus, what it means to be a follower of Jesus, and how to live out their faith in everyday situations and circumstances.

So, you engage the mission of practicing faith as you invite people into the movement of God’s grace and equip them for the mission of God’s love, you provide opportunities for them to practice by learning and growing in their faith. As simple as it sounds, the difficulty is in keeping focused on God’s business of loving others as you have been loved.

The Means of Grace

John Wesley knew it was difficult. That is why he developed what he called “the means of grace.” It is in and through the practice of daily prayer, reading, studying, and reflecting on the scriptures, regularly attending worship, celebrating Holy Communion, conversations about faith, regular fasting for reflection, and doing acts of mercy which include humanitarian acts of compassion or social justice acts of advocacy. People experience God’s love and learn to share God’s love through practicing the “means of grace.”

We usually talk of the “means of grace” as personal practices of individuals. Wesley instituted class meetings and bands as ways of assisting individuals in their personal faith development. Individual practice of the means of grace is good and essential to personal faith development.

But corporate participation in the “means of grace” leads to another level of practicing faith.

Below are three ways of practicing the means of grace that will not add activities to your over-scheduled calendar. You already have the structure in place.

Example One: Practicing the Means of Grace

Make every gathering, whether a Sunday School class, small group, administrative meeting (Administrative Council, Leaderboard, Finance, Trustees, Pastor Parish Relations, etc.) rehearsal, training, or other gathering, of your church community an opportunity to learn about God’s business.

At the beginning of every meeting, ask people to gather in groups of two or three. Explain to them that their job is to be about God’s business and one way to be about God’s business is to read and reflect upon the Scripture. This exercise should not take more than 10 minutes.

First, Read and Reflect on the Scripture.

Be creative. You might use the scripture text you will be using on Sunday morning, you might provide a guided study of a book of the Bible, you might have a mission focus, or you might center on special events in the life of the church. (If you use a scripture like Isaiah 43:18 ff, you can use the text for several meetings). The point is to take advantage of every gathering. Every time you gather, read and reflect upon the Scripture.

Second, Give a brief exegesis or explanation of the Scripture.

Again, be creative. Don’t leave the context, specific intention, or form of the scripture to an “anything goes” interpretation. You are providing an opportunity for reflection and conversation by giving the context and the intention of what has been read. Take advantage of the opportunity to “do” a little Bible study. Every time you gather, read, reflect upon, and respond to the Scripture.

Third, Provide a few minutes for conversation.

By providing a few minutes for conversation, you open space to talk about what has been read and expounded upon by asking several guided questions. For example: if the scripture is Isaiah 43:18-19,

“Do not remember the former things or consider the things of old. I am about to do a new thing; now it springs forth; do you not perceive it?”

It might help to give some directions at this point. The questions are not designed as “like” or “dislike” questions. They are questions to stimulate thought, reflection, and conversation. The questions you might ask are: What new things are happening in your life? What new things are you participating in with your family, at work, on the golf course? (You get the point) What new things are happening in our church? How are you participating in the new things that are happening?

Fourth, have each little group pray for the others in their group.

At first, you might have one person pray for their group. As you continue with this process of “practicing faith,” you might ask each person to offer a prayer for each person in the group.

As you can see, this exercise provides the opportunity to practice the “means of grace” as well as assist leaders develop healthy relationships. As simple as it sounds, it will not be easy. But it is one way to make disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the church and community.

Example 2: Practicing the Means of Grace

Another way to make every gathering, meeting, rehearsal, class, training, an opportunity to learn about God’s business is similar to the exercise above.

Again, at the beginning of every meeting, ask people to gather in groups of two or three. Explain to them that our job is to be about God’s business and one way to be about God’s business is to recognize God’s love and God’s presence in everyday and ordinary experiences. This exercise should not take more than 10 minutes.

Over a period of time, weeks if your group meets weekly or months if your group meets monthly, ask a series of questions. In the beginning, limit the discussion to “one question” per meeting. Below are examples of questions that will help people be more focused on God’s business.

Where did you see or experience Jesus this past week?
Who has God unexpectedly put into your life who has helped you learn about yourself?
Where or with whom have you experienced God’s love?
With whom have you shared God’s love?

Be creative with your questions. The point is to assist people in recognizing God’s love and presence in everyday situations and circumstances. Providing an opportunity to practice will help them become more aware of what God is doing in their midst. It also helps shape them into followers of Jesus who make a difference in their everyday living.

Example 3: Celebrating Holy Communion is Practicing the Means of Grace

As you assist people in practicing the “means of grace,” what would happen, if once a quarter or twice a year, you celebrated Holy Communion with every gathering, meeting, rehearsal, class, or training? As a means of grace, Holy Communion keeps you focused on God’s business. In fact, Jesus’ words “do this in remembrance of me” provides the invitation to keep your focus on God’s movement of grace and mission of love, whether the meeting is Administrative or spiritual in nature.

Providing opportunities for people to engage in the mission of practicing their faith is part of your work as a Christ-centered leader. You are assisting them to develop their inner faith so they can and will practice their faith beyond themselves. As they practice their faith together, they will practice their faith outside each gathering. As you help them identify Jesus in their midst, they will discover new ways to love others as God in Jesus has loved them. Your church and community will begin to change as the focus on God’s love becomes a way of living for the people entrusted to your care.

It’s Your Turn to Practice the Means of Grace

How will you participate in the “means of grace” today? With whom will you practice your faith? In what new way will you love others the way God in Christ has loved you?

Practicing your faith helps to turn your inner faith into an outward expression of love and care. How will you practice your faith today?

Pray

Take a moment to pray: O God, make me aware of the people around me today. By your grace, help me be an extension of your love in the lives of the people you send my way. Help me yield a little more of myself so that I may love others as you have loved me in Jesus. Help me be faithful to your call upon my life so that I may be a blessing to someone, somewhere, today. Amen

Reflect

As you reflect upon your day, give thanks for God’s call to follow Jesus. In what ways did you practice your faith? How did you participate in the “means of grace.” With whom did you share God’s love? Where and in whom did you experience Jesus today? With whom do you need to celebrate the love you experienced today? What will you do differently tomorrow?

Keep in mind, as you engage others in the mission of practicing faith, you are becoming who God has created you to be. Let the practice begin.

Uncategorized

Becoming One Who Offers Christ Part Three

This is part 3 of a 3-part series.

Read Becoming One Who Offers Christ Part One and

Becoming One Who Offers Christ Part Two

As a follower of Jesus, you model for and assist others in becoming people who offer Christ. You have the responsibility to remind them that they are God’s beloved children, and as God’s children, they are about doing God’s business. They are living God’s love by loving others as they have been loved. So, to become one who offers Christ, you are about God’s business in your living and loving each day.

(Read Preparing for Mission: Being About God’s Business).

How to Engage People in Offering Christ?

The question for most of us comes down to how. How do you engage people in God’s business of love? How do you engage people in offering Christ?

At this point, it is easy to jump into techniques and practices of faith sharing. I believe there are practical ways of living your faith that naturally lead to sharing your faith and offering Christ. But I also believe many of those practical ways fall short without a clear understanding of who you are as a follower of Jesus.

Who are You as a Follower of Jesus?

As a follower of Jesus, you have the opportunity and responsibility to remind those who are entrusted to your care that:

They are beloved children of God.

They are claimed by God and commissioned to be about God’s business. With that in mind and heart, offering Christ is not a personal choice of whether you are good at it or not. It is how you live your life in relationship with the people you encounter each day. When you are claimed as a beloved child of God, you are also equipped with a love that will not let you go and a love that is meant to be lived out and shared in every situation and circumstance in which you find yourself. Offering Christ is about loving others as you have been loved.

God’s claim upon their lives is bigger than themselves…

God’s claim on their lives is also bigger than their church and their denomination. They have been claimed, commissioned, and equipped to be the human touch of God’s love in the places they live, work, and play. Every time you say the words “remember your baptism and be thankful” you are reminding them that they have been claimed and commissioned to be God’s love with family, friends, colleagues, neighbors, strangers, and even enemies. Offering Christ is about loving others as you have been loved.

Jesus is the way of love.

Offering Christ is about Jesus. It is not about getting people into the church, or getting people to worship, or getting people to believe what you believe, or about gender, sexuality, politics, economics, race, nationality, (add what I left out), etc. When you are a follower of Jesus, you love others as God in Jesus has loved you. Offering Christ is about Jesus.

All people are included in God’s love.

Offering Christ is about loving people. I know that sounds redundant, but your responsibility is to lead people into God’s business. People thrive and find fulfillment in companionship, support, and relationships. Relationships play a significant role in the overall well-being, happiness, and fulfillment in everyday living. Offering Christ, as difficult and inconvenient as it can be at times, is loving others as God has loved you. It is who you are as a follower of Jesus. (Read: Reflections on 50 years of Ministry: The Importance of People).

When you engage in the mission of offering Christ, people respond in different ways. Below are seven responses to God’s love. It is certainly not an exhaustive list but is an offering of several “biblical models of offering Christ.”

Saul Encounters Christ Acts 9:1-19

A dramatic experience of someone coming to Jesus is found in Acts 9:1-19. It is the story of Saul of Tarsus and his experience of the Risen Christ. Saul was so firm in his faith convictions as a Pharisee, that he participated in persecuting Stephen and other early followers of Jesus.

The offer of Christ came as he experienced the faith and forgiveness of those he was persecuting. His transforming experience came, not in dialogue with Christians, but in his interaction with them. Even in the midst of his misguided theological views, he received a clear offer of God’s love through the Christians around him.

Cleopas on the Road to Emmaus Luke 24:13-32

Another experience of the Risen Christ is found in Luke 24:13-32. It is the story of Cleopas and his companion walking on the road to Emmaus. As they are walking, they are talking about the events of the crucifixion and the resurrection related to Jesus. In the midst of their conversation, a stranger joins them. As the stranger is invited into the conversation, he begins to teach them.

Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interprets to them “the things about (Jesus)” in all the scriptures. Cleopas invites the stranger into his home. It is in the midst of this act of hospitality, while breaking bread together, that Cleopas and his companion recognize the stranger as Jesus. The offer of Christ came in their offer of hospitality. In the midst of welcoming a stranger, they received a clear offer of God’s presence. In whom have you experienced Jesus lately? Where have you seen Jesus?

Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy – 2 Timothy 1

Another experience of an offer of Christ comes in Paul’s second letter to Timothy (II Timothy 1:3-5). In his letter, he remembers Timothy’s sincere faith, a faith that lived first in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. From Paul’s perspective, it was a faith learned at home. The offer of Christ came through the faithful living and loving of family.

The Gospel of John & Offering Christ

In John’s story of good news, there are several experiences of offering Christ. In John 1:40-42, Andrew, after spending the day with Jesus, finds his brother Simon and says, “We have found the Messiah.” (which translated Anointed). He brings Simon to Jesus, who looks at him and says, “You are Simon, son of John. You are to be called ‘Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).” The offer of Christ comes through the excitement of a brother.

In John 1:43-46, Philip, after being invited by Jesus to follow, Philip finds his friend, Nathanael, and invites him to follow Jesus as well. Even faced with Nathanael’s skepticism, Philip offers the invitation, “come and see.” Come and see is a common theme of offering Christ in John’s good news about Jesus. (For more, read Becoming One Who Offers Christ Part One and Becoming One Who Offers Christ Part Two).

Simon Peter Encounters Jesus

There are several stories of Simon Peter experiencing the love of God in and through Jesus. Most of his stories focus on his struggles with faith. After he drops his fishing net to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:18-20), his faith journey is anything but a smooth one. He argues with the other disciples over which of them is to be regarded as the greatest (Luke 22:24).

He challenges Jesus to allow him to walk on the water and cries out to be saved when he becomes frightened (Matthew 14:25-33). He is affirmed by Jesus when he confesses his faith by saying “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:13-20). Then, the very night he tells Jesus, “I will never desert you,” he denies Jesus three times (Matthew 26:31-35, 69-75). Yet his faith matures through his struggles.

Because of his faithful response and his proclaiming Christ, “More than ever believers were added to the Lord…so that they even carried out the sick into the streets, and laid them on cots and mats, in order that Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he came by” (Acts 5:12-15). Simon Peter offered Christ through his own experiences of failure and maturity. His faith was anchored in his strong commitment, but his faith grew because of the grace he experienced in both good and not so good ways.

Experience Jesus for Yourself

And maybe one of the most dramatic experiences of offering Christ comes in John 4:39-42. It is a story of a woman who encounters Jesus and begins to tell everyone in the community about him. John writes that many of the people from the community believed in Jesus because of her testimony.

They say to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that he is truly the Savior of the world.” The offer of Christ is to experience Jesus for themselves. Again, the offer came through the invitation to “come and see.”

Love People as You Have Been Loved

So, as you engage in offering Christ, practice loving the people around you as you have been loved.

Think of two or three people with whom you will interact over the next week. The people might be friends, family, neighbors, or colleagues. Write their names in your phone, or a piece of paper you will carry with you or make a mental note not to forget them.

A Commitment of Prayer

Commit yourself to pray for each person, especially when they come to mind. Give God thanks for their lives and for what they mean to you. Pray for their well-being and health. Offer them to God’s love and care. Your prayer might be like this:

O God, I give you thanks for _______ and her ministry. I pray that she might have a good day as she experiences your love in and through the people she meets. I also pray that she might be an instrument of your love to those people as well. Keep her safe as I offer her to your love in Jesus’ name.

As you go through each day, continue to offer yourself as an instrument of love and peace in the situations and circumstances in which you find yourself. Make yourself available to be a conduit of God’s love for the people you meet.

Always be ready to offer a kind, caring, encouraging word. In each encounter, you are offering Christ just by being who God created you to be.

Prayer

Here is a prayer for today:

Lord, send me the people no one else wants and help me receive the people you are sending to me. By your grace, help me offer them Christ by the way I live out your love. Make me a blessing to someone, somewhere, today.

Reflect on Offering Christ

At the end of the day, reflect on the following regarding Offering Christ: As you reflect upon your day, give God thanks for God’s call to follow Jesus. Who did you meet who needed a kind, caring, encouraging word? In what ways did you offer Christ to the people you met? What did you learn about yourself? Give God thanks for the opportunities you had to offer Christ. To whom do you need to respond with words of hope, words of encouragement, or words of forgiveness? What will you do differently tomorrow?

Bible Study, Engage Your Community, Follow Jesus, Gospel, Prayer, Relate to One Another

Becoming One Who Offers Christ – Part One

As a follower of Jesus, you share God’s love with every person you encounter. Whether family, friend, colleague, neighbor, stranger, or enemy, you are God’s loving presence in the way you live your faith when interacting with them.

Sharing the love you have received in and through Jesus is part of God’s mission. You were invited into that mission when you were claimed as a “beloved child” of God, called and commissioned for ministry at your baptism.

Preparing for Mission: Being About God’s Business and Preparing for Mission: Hospitality is a Lifestyle

A Community of Jesus Followers

With that in mind, think of the church as a community of Jesus followers who exist primarily for people who are not members. As a follower of Jesus, you are an instrument of God’s love for people who do not know or understand the love of God.

The apostle Paul instructed the church in Galatia, “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way, you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2). Loving others as God has loved you is the main way you offer Christ. When people see and experience Jesus in you, you are offering Christ.

Said another way, as a beloved child of God, you love others to be who God created you to be. You become an instrument of God’s grace. You are God’s love in human form. Offering Christ is who you are. It becomes the way you live your life. God sends people your way every day. So, love them as God in Jesus has loved you, all for the glory of God.

Offer Christ by Being Yourself

So, let me share with you one way you can offer Christ, just by being you. Each of us face times of uncertainty in our lives. Uncertainty comes with death or disaster. It comes with divorce, unemployment, or retirement. It comes with disappointment, lack of security, or the fear of the unknown.

At those times of uncertainty, disappointment, or instability, people need someone they can trust. Someone who shows compassion. Some who can bring stability and who can offer hope. They need and want someone who will love them unconditionally.

The apostle Paul gives us clues to offering Christ in several of his letters. I want to focus on one part of one letter, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:

Read Ephesians 5:1-2

Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Reflect on Ephesians 5:1-2

These words come immediately following Paul’s instruction on what it means to live as a follower of Jesus. The word “therefore” refers back to the instruction. When taken in their full context, the words refer to living and behaving as God’s children.

The words, when understood in the light of engaging in the mission of offering Christ, refer to the followers of Jesus as beloved children of God. And as a beloved child of God, you pattern your life, your behavior, most specifically your forgiveness, love, and care after the love you have experienced in Christ. Your nature, as a beloved child of God, is to love others as God in Christ has loved you. In other words, Christ’s love for you and for others is the same as God’s love.

Love Others as God Loves You

One major expression of offering Christ is to love others the way you have experienced God’s love in and through Jesus. You will have many opportunities to offer Christ.

Each opportunity comes with its own context and specific need. As a child of God, you love others the way each needs to be loved at the time they need it the most.

Times of Uncertainty and Offering Christ

As one way of offering Christ, I want to share with you an experience that has transformed my life. As with most of you, I have come through several times of uncertainty. Times of not knowing what the future might hold and being paralyzed regarding what decisions to make. At one particular time, I was caught in a place I had never been before.

The uncertainty was so great that I could not see beyond the moment. Uncertain about my future, I felt confused, hurt, and alone. It was at that point, in my anxiety, that a colleague and friend stepped in to offer Christ, which helped me face my future. I didn’t get a lot of sympathy, shallow agreements, or unrealistic platitudes. What I did get was a person of faith who allowed me to be me at the moment of my greatest need.

She created a space for me to talk about my disappointments, hurts, fears, and anxiety. Although there were times she did not agree with my assessments, she never passed judgment. She listened with compassion and, at the appropriate time, asked me questions I needed to answer for clarity and healing.

She offered Christ by embodying God’s grace. I began to trust her compassion and look forward to her questions. The space she created and the grace she offered allowed me to move past my anxiety to see new possibilities beyond what I had known or experienced up to that point in my life.

New Possibilities

Within the process of healing, she provided opportunities to put into practice the new possibilities that were beginning to emerge. Along with plans for reading and reflecting on scripture, occasions to practice the presence of God through prayer and conversation, and the challenge to look beyond myself to see what new thing God might be doing, I was invited to put my faith into action. It was at that point I rediscovered God’s desire to use me as his beloved child, to make a difference in the places I encountered the people God wanted me to love.

It was in and through her offering of Christ that helped me experience hope in a time of uncertainty. She did not bring easy answers. In fact, she did not bring any answers. What she brought was the space to heal as she offered God’s love in the midst of my uncertainty.

She came alongside me, at the moment of my greatest anxiety, embodying God’s love, to journey with me through my most difficult moments, to see what God might have in store for the future. She was an instrument of God’s love which brought hope and new possibilities.

As a beloved child of God, she bore God’s image. She walked in love and invited me to walk with her. She modeled Christ’s love as she offered herself as an instrument of God’s love and peace.

To Offer Christ

That is what it means to offer Christ. There are many ways to come alongside individuals and to love, nurture, guide, and care for them. It is in times of greatest need that Jesus comes alongside us. Over my 72 years, Jesus has come alongside me in and through the people God has sent to guide, mentor, love, and admonish me.

That is what it means to engage in the mission of offering Christ. Be the presence of Jesus in the lives of the people you meet each day. By your living, you offer them Christ.

Respond

I know my words might come across as arrogant and condescending. Often when someone talks with us about “offering Christ,” we feel inadequate and even unworthy. It is common in the church for us to urge each other to witness to our faith. Sometimes we assume that sharing stories of our faith is easy. I must confess that I have found it incredibly difficult. It might be my personality, but it is tough to talk about things so deeply meaningful and profoundly intimate.

It is even more difficult to create spaces for conversation, where people can talk about fears, disappointments, and uncertainty. It is difficult to offer new possibilities when you, yourself, are uncertain about today and tomorrow.

So, before we explore ways to offer Christ, take some time to think about what offering Christ means to you. What would happen if you took John Wesley seriously and began to “Offer them Christ” as you developed relationships and talked about what was deeply meaningful to you?

Be Who God Created You to Be

Think of it this way, to offer Christ is to be who God created you to be. The offer is more than sharing “spiritual facts” which lead to a mental assent to correct understanding and logical decisions. You and I don’t experience God’s love as a form of indoctrination.

The offer of Christ is not what I grew up hearing, “closing the deal” for Jesus. You and I don’t experience God’s love by being manipulated into saying “yes” to carefully worded questions.

The offer of Christ is a two-way process of honest interaction. Because you and I simply do not see everything the same way, we develop a friend-to-friend relationship. So, the offer of Christ is not a single encounter. It is an extended relationship of mutual respect and care. It is within the relationship that God’s love is experienced, and hope is developed and lived out.

Offering Christ Is More Than an Invitation

As important as it is, the offer of Christ is more than inviting people to worship or to participate in the programs of the church. To offer Christ is to offer God’s love to those who are discontent and dissatisfied in their search for God. It is in and through relationships that we can share our experiences of God searching for us in Jesus. New possibilities are found in the love you offer. Offering Christ becomes who you are.

I believe we can change the world by offering Christ. Receiving one friend’s offer of Christ certainly has changed me. It was in an offer of Christ that I experienced the love transforming grace of God. In the midst of my disappointment and despair, God found me and embraced me with a love that will not let me go.

T. S. Elliot wrote, “the life we seek is not in knowing but in being known, not in seeking but in being sought, not in finding but in being found.”

To offer Christ is to come alongside those who are lost in uncertainty, disappointment, or instability, and show compassion, stability and hope. It is loving others unconditionally as God in Jesus has loved you.

In Become One Who Offers Christ Part Two, we will look at several practices that assist in “Engaging in the Mission” of offering Christ.

Prayer

Lord, send me the people no one else wants and help me receive the people you send to me. By your grace, help me offer them Christ by the way I live out your love. Make me a blessing to someone, somewhere, today.

Return

As you reflect upon your day, give God thanks for God’s call to follow Jesus. Who did you meet who needed a kind, caring, encouraging word? In what ways did you offer Christ to the people you met? What did you learn about yourself? Give God thanks for the people God sent your way to love as you have been loved. To whom do you need to respond with words of hope, words of encouragement, or words of forgiveness? What will you do differently tomorrow?

Bible Study, Follow Jesus, Gospel, leadership, Relate to One Another

Becoming A Person of Hospitality – Part One

This is Part 1 on Hospitality

My fourth grade Sunday school teacher, Mary, would greet me every Sunday at the classroom door with the words, “Timmy, I knew you were going to be here this morning.” Then with a welcoming hug, she would send me into the classroom to meet other classmates who had gathered. As I entered the room, I would hear her say, “Nancy, I knew you were going to be here this morning.” When I would look back, she would be hugging Nancy and sending her into the room to meet the rest of us. Mary greeted us as if she had been waiting all week for us and as if we were the most important people she knew.

Modeling Hospitality

She modeled hospitality. She acted out what she taught us in class. I remember her lesson on Jesus touching a person with leprosy and the story of Jesus receiving a woman that was sick. I will always remember her saying that we love like Jesus because that is the way we thank Jesus for loving us.

Several times a year, Mary would bring a meal to our Sunday School class. As we ate, she would tell us how Jesus invited people to eat at his table. Once when we did not have enough room around the table in our classroom, I remember her saying, “There is always enough room at Jesus’ table.” With those words, she added an extension to include all of us.

For Mary, hospitality was more than a gesture of welcoming, it was who she was as a person. Her extension of hospitality was an offering of love.

Several stories in the bible tell us about hospitality, but as you begin to engage in mission, there is one characteristic that is necessary for reaching out, receiving, and welcoming others as God in Jesus has welcomed you and the people of your congregation.

Read Matthew 25:31-46

³¹“When the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. ³²All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, ³³and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left.

³⁴Then the king will say to those at his right hand, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, ³⁵for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, ³⁶I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.’

³⁷Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food or thirsty and gave you something to drink? ³⁸And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you or naked and gave you clothing? ³⁹And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?’

⁴⁰And the king will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did it to me.’

⁴¹Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You who are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, ⁴²for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, ⁴³I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’

⁴⁴Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison and did not take care of you?’

⁴⁵Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ ⁴⁶And these will go away into eternal punishment but the righteous into eternal life.”

Reflect on Matthew 25

I know that it seems strange to use a parable referring to judgment as a story of hospitality, but Matthew uses the parable as a tool to instruct what it means to be a follower of Jesus, a “daughter or son” of God. It is in his last formal teaching in Matthew’s good news, that Jesus gives us a clue to the righteousness and the works of mercy that grow out of that righteousness. According to Matthew, the sons and daughters of God live lives of righteousness especially toward the weak and marginalized.

Good News According to Matthew

With that in mind, there are several layers to the understanding of this parable. The first is the good news according to Matthew. “God sent Jesus to teach us how to live before God.” For Matthew, righteousness and holiness are characteristics of the children of God. At this point, keep in mind, hospitality grows out of righteousness and holiness.

Although Matthew says it differently from John, it is the same perspective of “being born from above.” Holiness and righteousness are seen in our relationships with God and with others. So, for Matthew, you are a child of God and God sent Jesus to teach you how to live as a child of God. Hang on to that because this parable reveals the depth of holiness and righteousness of being God’s son and daughter.

Understanding the Parable

The second layer is the understanding of a parable. Parables are reflections of reality as opposed to mirrors of morality. Said another way, this parable does not tell us what we should be doing. It reflects to us what we are doing.

I have often heard this scripture quoted to leverage people to care for others, to raise money, or, at its worst, to shame people into acts of care and compassion. This parable is not a moral teaching. All the acts of care, compassion, and hospitality are good and needed, but the point of the parable is not “you should be doing these things.” The parable reflects reality. It reflects what you are doing. When you are doing acts of care, compassion, and hospitality for anyone, but especially for “the least of these” you are showing care, compassion, and hospitality to Jesus.

Caring for “the least of these” is who you are as a follower of Jesus, a human being bearing the image of one of God’s children. Caring for “the least of these” is who you are as a child of God. It is not a calculated action of doing what you should be doing.

Who You Are

The difference is subtle but significant. You are either caring for others because that is who you are, or you are caring for others out of calculated action to do good. Do you see the difference?

Maybe you can think of it this way, are you welcoming because that is who you are as a follower of Jesus or are you welcoming because it is what you are supposed to do to get

That brings us to the third layer of the parable, judgment. In light of becoming who God created you to be and in the light of the reality of your living as one of God’s children, your actions reveal who you are. Judgment is experienced in the reflection of reality. It simply brings out what is already present.

Caring for People Around You

Notice the criterion of judgment is not a confession of faith in Jesus. Nothing is said of grace, justification, or forgiveness of sins. What counts is whether you have acted with loving care for people around you, especially those in great need.

Your care, compassion, and hospitality are not acts of “extra credit” but are the basis of who you are as a follower of Jesus, a child of God, and a person of loving others as God in Jesus has loved you.

Responding to Jesus

Let’s look at this in another way. In the parable, when people respond, they are responding to Jesus. Yet both groups are surprised. Those who provide food, drink, clothing, shelter, and hospitality respond entirely based on who they are. It is no big deal. It is part of their living in relationship to God and to others. They are surprised to learn that there was a deeper dimension to their acts of human compassion. Without knowing it, they are responding to Jesus.

Those who plan their response to provide food, drink, clothing, shelter, and hospitality have worked intentionally to respond to human needs. They have done good work. But they are surprised to learn that their good work has not brought them the results they were planning to receive. Their acts of care, compassion, and hospitality are calculated. Even though they have worked to respond to human need, they have missed the point of God’s love thus missing the deeper dimensions of what it means to be a child of God. Because of their focus on themselves, they have missed Jesus.

Being Children of God

Both groups respond to human needs. Both respond out of who they are. The difference is, one group responds out of being children of God, living in holiness and righteousness in relationship to others. The other group responds to their need to care for others. Their need grows out of satisfying themselves as opposed to satisfying God. Because it feels good to help others it must be what God wants them to do.

Both groups are surprised. One group is living life as they have been created to live, in relationship with others whether they need help or not. The other group is living a life of self-satisfaction and does not understand that their hard work and care for others is a sign of their disconnectedness with others.

And there is the reflection of reality, the judgment of the parable. So, to be clear, it is not the doing of good things that brings holiness or righteousness to a person. It is the very nature of the person that reflects God’s holiness and righteousness.

Living As a Beloved Child of God

It is a tough parable. But it reveals who you are and why you lead the way you do. It is a parable of character. That is why I can say that for my fourth-grade Sunday School teacher, hospitality was more than a gesture of welcoming, it was who she was as a person. Her hospitality was an offering of love. She greeted each 10-year-old in her class as if each one of us was Jesus.

Hospitality is rooted in the character of righteousness, God’s righteousness, which is revealed in the way you live in relationship with the people God sends your way every day. You live as a beloved child of God.

Respond: Engage the Mission

How will you engage in mission today? The ultimate mark of an authentic follower of Jesus is not a creed, biblical knowledge, or adherence to the rules. The mark of an authentic follower of Jesus is seen and revealed in the nature of the person who responds out of love to human need. The practical demonstration of love is the ultimate proof.

So, be hospitable. Be aware of your responses. Do you feel normal and natural or are you calculated and self-seeking? The choice is not between the obviously bad and the obviously good. The choice is rooted in the love you have experienced in and through Jesus.

How Will You Engage in Mission?

How will you engage in mission today? The follower of Jesus does not have to present his or her case or argue his or her cause. Neither does the follower of Jesus request evidence of faith or goodness. He or she simply extends an invitation of hospitality.

So, be hospitable. As you respond to the emotional, physical, spiritual, and professional needs of the people around you, how will you find joy in being who God has created you to be? It does not have to be anything big or unusual, but it does have to be rooted in God’s love. Are you deep enough in God’s love that you can love others as you have been loved?

Your Character Revealed

How will you engage in mission today? Be prepared to experience the reality of your character. Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Your character will be revealed in how you respond to the people around you. Be mindful of the moments you are measuring your responses. Be aware of the moments you are responding normally.

So, be hospitable. Your character will be revealed in the light of God’s love. The reality of who you are will come when you least expect it. It comes when you are unaware and catches you off guard. It is in those moments that you truly reveal yourself. The test will come, not in your remembered actions, but in your unconscious reactions, instinctive, and unplanned responses.

Remember the words of Jesus, “When you have done it unto one of the least of these, you have done it unto me.” How will you reach out, receive, and welcome Jesus today?

Prayer

Lord, send me the people no one else wants and help me receive the people you are sending to me. By your grace, help me welcome others as you have welcomed me. Make me a blessing to someone, somewhere, today.

Return

As you reflect upon your day, give thanks for God’s call to follow Jesus. In what ways did you invite and welcome people into your life and into the life of your congregation? Did you think of your invitation as an invitation of Jesus? Why? Why not? When did you respond in love for no other reason than to love? When were you confronted and convicted of your behavior? What did you learn about yourself? Give God thanks for the people you encountered today. To whom do you need to respond with words of hope, words of encouragement, or words of forgiveness? What will you do differently tomorrow?