Getting Into the Game

This past Tuesday night at our council meeting, alongside our NJ District president, we talked about our synod’s recent “resolutions” for congregations to put into action.  I won’t bore you with the particulars of each resolution, but one of the common themes that comes up anytime such conversation takes place is the importance for outreach. This shouldn’t be shocking, as we are taking seriously the cue of Jesus in Matthew 28 to “go and make disciples.”   (On a side note, if you do want to hear more about the synod’s recommendations, feel free to give me a call and we can chat about them over a cup of coffee.)  This past January and February, one of the consistent themes that came out of the online “stewardship surveys” was that we need to do more outreach. We need to engage our community. We need to promote our church. This came up repeatedly.  Similarly, our church council is frequently talking about ways to do evangelism.  But here’s the thing… outreach and evangelism is NOT best found in programs and events. It is NOT best achieved by knocking on doors or randomly handing out pamphlets. And it is definitely NOT to be left to leadership, pastor or otherwise, to do it themselves. To be sure, these are good things, and they have their time and place. Yet the great commission of Jesus forces each and every one of us to get our hands a bit dirtier. The Great Commission was given by Jesus to every Christian—not just pastors, missionaries, and church council members. We can’t wait, with open arms, for people to come to us. We need to go to them and meet them where they are at. Fruitful outreach is best embodied when the members of a church, all of them, live incarnationally.  In other words, we look for ways to express and share our faith with the people we see where we live, work, and play.
 
This past Sunday, I mentioned that I have recently switched insurance providers for my home and auto policies.  A couple of weeks ago, I sought out recommendation from a local “Sparta Dad” Facebook group.  After several for the same person, I made the switch. So long Gecko!  My new insurance provider will save me over $200 a month!  This is obviously good news so I was quick to go back to the group to thank them for leading me in the right direction, and will now myself not hesitate to recommend this person to anyone who is searching.  It is a strange thing… We have no hesitation about recommending places to eat. We have no reservation about telling people what insurance provider to pursue. We get excited about telling people where a great place would be to vacation or visit. We have no problem leaving online reviews—both positive and negative—for stores and products.  But why do we wimp out when it comes to sharing our faith with others? Why do we cower in the face of opportunities to connect people to Jesus?  Why do we clam up when given the opportunity to speak of the hope that lives within us?  We can talk all we want about the need for our church, or any church, to “do” community outreach and evangelism. But it starts with us—in our homes, neighborhoods, ballfields, and workplaces. We each need to invest. We each need to intentionally and purposefully engage those around us.
   
I hope to share more details about this in the future, but about two weeks ago, I saw an online post of one of our King of Kings members who shared something very positive about an experience she had here at the church. She didn’t preach. She didn’t share Bible verses. She didn’t overtly invite. She shared her specific experience and her gratitude for being a member of this church. Over 30 people reacted to her post. One even asked the question, “What church is this?”  How remarkably simply. How wonderfully beautiful. My hope and prayer is that we each look for the opportunities that God regularly places before us. I pray that we have the same Spirit-led boldness that we read about this past Sunday, to invite others to meet the Jesus that means so much to us.  Making disciples was demonstrated to be the top priority of Jesus. Should it thus be any different for us?  Remember these post-Easter words of Jesus, “As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (John 20:21) It is a call to action, to get up and get going. Jesus pulls us each out of the stands and off of the sidelines; He puts us directly into the game. It’s time for us to share the Gospel. We don’t need to wait for the next great idea, we simply need to take our faith into the relationships we already have and the places we already go.

 “God my Creator said, 'Go and make disciples.' So I don't want to sit and make excuses.” (Francis Chan)

“To make disciples is to engage with God in fulfilling his desire to bless all the peoples of the earth.” (John B. MacDonald)

“Thriving churches have the Great Commission as the centerpiece of their vision, while dying churches have forgotten the clear command of Christ.” (Thom S. Rainer)