only together

Being connected to Christians is essential to mission.
1 Corinthians 12 explains how the church needs every person to fill its purpose. Our goal of bringing Glory to God and reaching a lost world cannot be accomplished by acting as individuals. Only when working together and making use of everyone’s skills, can we be used by God to our potential. The love, support, encouragement and accountability that should be found in this group are the way missional goals are achieved.
I love when Robert says: “Connection helps break us of that individualistic, selfish mentality so that we see others around us who need our encouragement and vice versa.” I feel like I have been told over and over again about the idea of America being a very individualistic culture. I have been shown many examples of how this plays out, but here I see for the first time how this relates to my own Christian walk.
I now see that my attitude has been closer to: “What am I going to do for God?” or “What is God’s big plan to use me in the world?”. Roberts says it isn’t just me and Jesus, but it is in community that we should be working toward this goal.

practice reading

I find that when I am away from school my personal Bible reading is more constant and lasts longer. Last summer I spent long nights in Job. I read and reread the same verses and spent time just sitting, praying and writing out thoughts. I still read through books, but not with the same intensity.

I am reading through Nehemiah with a group of about six people. A pastor in California leads discussions chapter by chapter and we post our reflections. We are spread out from California and Arizona to Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. I love reading through and finding out how what I see relates to what they learned from the same passage.

I know everyone says that when you are reading for a religion class it doesn’t count, but I love what we are reading in Mark in my Gospels class. Both Transforming Mission and Transformation have caused me to take a break from reading for class to look up scripture that they mentioned. I think learning and growing is kind of the whole point of class anyway, so maybe it should “count”.

At the beginning of this semester, I was also going through Acts with a friend. I feel like right now (now being these last two months) I have not given near enough time to scripture reading. I feel my prayer life is better now than it has been. Being in constant prayer is not such a foreign concept anymore. I also feel that the community and accountability I have with my roommates is very strong, but I need to be sure not to neglect the study of God’s word.

from their eyes

“How is the gospel making me different right now in my life?” This seems like one of those questions you hear in a sermon that makes you think, “oh. Yes, that is a good point” and lets you stay sitting in your pew glad it is rhetorical.

One of the points Roberts is making is the importance of taking our theology and living it out. We should be ready to explain the difference the gospel makes in our lives, but first the gospel has to make a difference in our lives.

I have been encouraged by many people inside my church (churches), but would anyone outside of those communities know that I am a Christian? Peter Drucker explains the significance of “others” recognizing your identity in Christ by your lifestyle.

conversion / transformation

At the point of conversion, a person makes a decision to make Jesus the LORD of their life. Roberts also says conversion is to change religions. This choice is followed by a change in lifestyle and an individual growing to become more and more like Christ. Roberts says transformation means to become new. The apostle Paul said “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation,” which seems to me to be describing a conversion. However, I still believe Paul and Roberts are on the same page. Paul is describing a person whose standing with God is changed. A Christian has been saved, is being saved and will be saved. At conversion they were changed, but Roberts urges Christians to continue to change; to transform their lives and align with the will of the Father. I believe Christians should continue to allow the Holy Spirit to work in their lives and mold them into who they were meant to be. When we yield to the will of the Father we take part in the transformation process and become Kingdom citizens.

salty living

When a person says they are “doing missions”, that usually means being involved in an organized event, program or trip intending to purposefully take part in meeting needs and spreading the Gospel. In contrast, “living the kingdom of God” refers to more of a life style. It is purposefully living life in a way that actively engages the world with Christ’s love. Roberts points out the importance of being the salt of the world and giving the world a taste of Christ. Christians should be living in a way that points others to God. Roberts also emphasizes the value of discipleship, which again points to individuals reaching out on a personal level. This challenges me to remember that the focus should not be on numbers, but on lives. Checking a salvation box for a person and then leaving them to figure the rest out on their own is a grave mistake. They need someone to teach them and to walk along side them. Each of us should look at all the relationships around us and make sure that we are making the most of every opportunity. We were created for community.

it's personal

William Carey challenged the idea that the great commission was only for the apostles. He stressed the importance of the Christians’ obligation to missions. He implemented this principle of personal responsibility to the spread of the gospel by moving to Serampore, India with his family. There he joined in mission work with Joshua Marshman and William Ward. Today’s Christians also need to understand the great commission individually. In our context it could take many forms. Not every person has to go live overseas to reach far off people groups, although many are needed for this task. Since this is on a personal level it will look different for every person. A businessman might find that he can use his skills and resources to organize programs that aids in installing water purifiers to impoverished areas around the world. Maybe someone could join God’s mission by meeting the needs of the inner-city homeless right where they live. This is a choice that needs to be made by every Christ follower in every area of their life. “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” - Carey