What a "Kingdom Win" Looks Like

Here's what leading people in new life with Jesus looks like:

Because of personal invitation, an individual with no church connection, whose feels the tug of turning God-ward, comes to worship. In the course of getting to know this individual, followers of Jesus discover a little bit about his life, his work, and the things that are important to him. He is an educator, with a passion for transforming young lives. He is concerned in particular for under-resourced children who start their public education pathway several steps behind children who happen to enter kindergarten with more resources and preparation available to them. From these conversations people begin to talk and pray and vision about how followers of Jesus could come alongside school systems and close that gap. A specific concept and vision for a ministry is born, and many church folks line up to provide hands on work, to provide funding, and to provide organization and resources. And new relationships are formed outside of the church walls through which Jesus may be experienced and known.

All because of one person welcomed into a worshipping gathering of Jesus-followers. This is happening right now in the congregation of which I am a part. Similar things are happening everywhere in congregations that are moving past just going through the motions of being "church," and are moving into the mainstream of God's heart for a lost and hurting world.

This is what a "win" for the Kingdom looks like. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

Preparing to Meet the Real Me

People in our community will soon be discovering "the real me" in the eyes of God, via a resource called The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg. In preparation for that, the following prayer by Thomas Merton seemed appropriate:

"My Lord God, I do not know where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you actually does please you. And I hope that I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."

In the name of Jesus, amen. I'll see you around the next bend in the river.

An Adventure, Not A Safety-Net

I heard a really good question this morning. "If being a Christian doesn't solve all my problems and make my life perfect, why would I want to be one?" First, this is a good observation. As much as the faith is sometimes marketed as nothing more than a quick fix for what ails you, that's not what it was for the first Jesus followers. Many of them faced unbelievable hardships while staying true to their commitment to Jesus.

Second, though, what is our motivation? Jesus does offer the relationship for which we are designed. All that separates us from God is forgiven and erased, and we look to an eternity with God. We get the strength and encouragement to deal with the ups and downs of life, anchored in the One who died and rose for us. All of this is true.

There's another motivation, though, that gets overlooked. We get to be a part of the adventure of a lifetime! I believe God has placed a hunger in us for quest, challenge, and epic journeys. Unfortunately, we've domesticated all that. We too often decide that the goal of life is sheltered safety, and we've boxed in and redefined faith in Jesus to support that. However, ours is a tale of great adventurers and risk-takers, from Paul to St. Francis of Assisi, to Martin Luther, to John Wesley, to Dietrich Bonhoeffer and more. Following Jesus is not about safety. It's about joining God in the adventure of a lifetime - the battle for the heart and soul of humanity.

What adventure will you and I pursue for and with God in 2011?

(Recommended reading on this, especially for men: Wild at Heart and Waking the Dead - both by John Eldridge, and The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus)

I'll see you around the next bend in the river.