Where Life Happens!
Recently on a flight leaving Orlando, Fl, en route to Nashville, Tn, I was dog tired and ministry pooped to a pulp. A man sits next to me, and for the next two and a half hours engages me over the disappointment he has felt with Barack Obama. (Let me say from the outset that this is not some political shot at our current president, so please keep reading.) After an hour of listening to Tony, I was amazed at how cynical our country has become over the current crisis we are facing. People’s trust level is at an all time low. There is no faith in government and no faith in church leaders. Everywhere I go people are using this time to vent negativity at the culture. After listening to Tony for an hour, I asked, “Do you think there is a political solution to our problems?” Tony’s head dropped. “NO” he emphatically stated. He then said with a statement and a question, “It starts with the heart!” and in the same breath, “What do you do”? My response was “I am a cultural architect.” “What the hell is that?” he asked. I told him that I have the blueprints for cultural change, so I read the blueprints and then implement them into the lives of people. He was fascinated and I had his attention for the next hour or so.
I asked him a question that I ask wherever I travel. “When you hear the word ‘Jesus’ what do you think of?” Tony’s response was, “Suffering. Why did he have to suffer?” What a great open door for the Gospel to be shared! We launched into a conversation about Jesus that was candid and honest. In fact, it was downright stimulating. Then came the dreaded question: “What about the word ‘Church’? What do you think of, Tony?” Another scathing answer came: “Business. In fact, big business,” he exclaimed. Tony, a professed catholic, ranted about the extreme wealth of his own church. What about people? When did the church stop caring for people?
With the few minutes we had on that flight I shared with Tony the concept of doing church where life happens! Tony was truly captivated. I asked him where he spends most of his time other than work and home. He said that he spends most of his time at the club house at his housing complex. “What if you did church there?” I asked. He said, “I would be there and bring all my friends.” Friends to the unconvinced...I hear this from many people all of the time.
While the church waits for the unconvinced to come, there is an entire world of people who are waiting for us to come to them. When Jesus left the world, His departing words were, “ Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations”.
Think of how church is defined today with our places, our music, and our language. So we ask the unchurched to come into our world and let us educate them. When Jesus became flesh, He became one of us. Our focus in 2010 is to enflesh the Gospel and become Christ-like to the world. To love them, to serve them, to embrace them. To give life away through His message “that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but rather through Him the world might be saved. (John 3:17)
That’s where life happens!
Peace, Mike
