Posted 99 days ago
Taking Your Life Back
Tom Sine
As we enter the season of Pentecost I am impressed again by the impact of the coming of the Holy Spirit on that fear-filled community of the followers of the risen Jesus. As we follow them through the book of Acts we witness the remarkable impact that first community of Jesus has on their world. We see an early church in which every disciple seemed to be involved in word and deed mission to their neighbors.
While those believers had to work to support not only their own families, but those in need, their jobs were not the center of their lives. Clearly these followers gave highest priority to being a difference and making a difference and, as we know, their missional faith “turned the world upside down.”
As we work with a broad spectrum of churches in many western countries we are deeply concerned by a growing nominalization of faith. People are spending less time for church, scripture, prayer and certainly witness and service. We seem to have settled for a compartmentalized faith in which ministry is optional and the real goal of life is to get ahead in careers and the suburbs.
For too many following Jesus is little more than a devotional add-on to our “real lives.” As a consequence we are seeing growing numbers of Christians and congregations decreasing the amount of time and money they invest in mission as we see the needs of our poorest neighbors increasing. Does anyone give a damn?
The young missional innovators, that I write about in The New Conspirators, are calling us all to return to the kind of authentic whole-life faith of Pentecost where mission is central, not optional.
This is a call to new way of life in which we find our celebration not in America Idol and expensive homes and holidays but in planning parties that give people a taste of God’s great homecoming celebration. It all begins by discovering God offers a new way of life that is more about making a difference instead of making a dollar.
Are you willing to take your life back from the culture and discover the remarkable ways God can use your mustard seed to make a little difference in our troubled world? Why in the world would any follower of the risen Christ ever settle for more and miss the best???
I want to hear your response including your push-back! Let’s have a conversation about what it means to follow Jesus in these turbulent times.
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Reader Comments
Zeteo,
Good on you and your wife for opening your home to the young woman who has been impacted by the ongoing economic troubles. Many more of us need to follow your good example be creating new expressions of community and opening our lives and homes to others like we present in our current ezine. We all need to find creative new ways to take our lives back to be somehting of God’s compassion in these troubled times. We would love to hear other reader’s responses.
I am currently reading Living on Purpose. It is putting into words exactly what God has been moving in me lately through Bible Study and prayer. I am a stay at home mom of two very young children, my husband and I are devoted to God and read a lot of books about theology, etc. We go to church and are in a small group and help out at our church. I struggle with the issue of “is staying home and raising my kids in a godly manner and helping out at church ENOUGH?” Is this really living God’s purposes or is it just a Christian way of living selfishly devoted to myself (my family?)I’m not sure if I’m undervaluing my role as a godly mom by thinking I should be doing more. Maybe that’s more than enough. Is not living in full time Christian ministry not really being “sold out” for Jesus’ purposes? Sometimes I think when people say “you can live for God in your own workplace” it can be a copout b/c I don’t know that many people who are actively spreading the love of Christ in their workplace.
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Those same thoughts have been plaguing me for some time. Recently, I have been considering Christian responses to a poor economy. Presidents always encourage us to go shopping, but I don’t think more consumption is the answer for the poor.
So, my wife and I prayed about it and decided to open up our home to a young woman in our community who is struggling financially. She moved to our town from far away with no church background and somehow ended up in our fellowship. But she lost her college scholarship and can’t afford school. Living in community is such an obvious solution to our economic troubles. And we felt very extravagant having an empty bedroom in our home. (Even though my 30hr. pastor job puts us in, economically speaking, the lower class.) Through this simple change, we have the opportunity to live the kingdom on earth—and share that with our friend and, hopefully, her whole family. Wendell Berry says: “Do something every day that doesn’t compute.” For most people, this lifestyle doesn’t compute, but what is more fun than seeking the Kingdom?
peace, hope and love,
Zeteo
Dave » 99 days ago » Link