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* I would like to use this final reflection from last week’s considerations as a launching point to further consideration of our mission and the invitation of Christ. Our “mission”, as Christ’s, was to announce and embody the message of the kingdom. Only people whose lives are being “informed” and “formed” by the message will be anxious to share it with others. “Informed”- exposed to truth from God’s perspective; the way things really are (reality; truth). “Formed”- God’s truth becomes the shaping influence of our lives. ► Honor their quest. (2) summary statements: Don’t be so quick to label their hesitancy as “resistance”, but a desire to make the best choice possible. Jesus never demanded that we make a confession with our mouths that our hearts were not able to support. * In evangelism, our approach has most often been to elicit a response; close the deal (i.e. get them to “pray the prayer”!) * In so doing, we have reduced life with Jesus to a decision; an event. And although I would affirm that somewhere in the process there are decisive-moments, they are best viewed as part of an on-going process. * When the message gets reduced to such an approach (purely a ‘decision’), we become frustrated when the individual fails to demonstrate a lifestyle consistent with repentance (“I don’t know what happened… they prayed the prayer?!”). * So, the decision itself is only a starting point, not the goal. * Our culture is desperate for the message of hope and life contained in the gospel: - belonging (acceptance and welcome), - being (who God created you uniquely to be), - becoming (reshaping of who you can be in God), - believing (in one another, mutually-supportive environment). I wonder… “What are we really asking people to do? How do we want them to respond?” Are we asking for some ‘mental assent’ to the truths presented? Will they be required to do anything? * Let’s say that you are hearing this message of Jesus and the “kingdom” and you decide that you would like to live God’s dream for your own life; to discover and realize such a life where you can find “peace” (wholeness; Romans 5); a life where you can interact with God and others in ways which are restorative… what do you do?... where do you start? * Although not comprehensive, even though listed numerically, here are some thoughts on movements toward the kingdom; toward living God’s dream for your own life: What we are asking of people is that they… 1. Think. Stop. Reflect. Consider the conclusions that they have reached about life and God and the consequences of such conclusions (what type of life that has produced). ● What is being challenged is our “worldview”. Our worldview is a set of assumptions that we have made which provide the lens through which we see all of life. It affects every decision we make (from the seemingly routine to those identified as more significant. i.e. value judgments). ● Faith does not involve an irrational decision made impulsively and without any real reflection on the implications (as if spontaneity equates to sincerity!) ● Our spontaneous responses to such emotionally charged appeals, while well-intentioned and passionate, are most often fleeting (momentary) and unable to provide the stability necessary to sustain such a commitment. ● Faith is about being confronted with the possibility of God and considering that we have ample reason to believe that he is there. (continued on 8-6-06)
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