TK Chapter 14 :: Leaving

[Leaving is] about replacing personal or Christian activities with time spent building relationships with people in the surrounding culture.” (p127)

When you think about some of the most intiamate activities believers can do together, you might list prayer, worship, leadership development, fellowship or communion.  All these are things “believers” do.  Yet, when you look at the biblical story, we find believers doing these activities in the midst of sojourners or “outsiders” all the time. (p128)

If we are going to get the fullness of this book...the fullness of the missional life, we must understand that Leaving is the first step in this incarnational process.  If we are going to be the body of Jesus in our communities, we must take this step.  For many people, this is the most difficult step to take.  It's easy to read a book, easy to read these blog posts, easy to talk about being tangible, incarnational and missional.  It's not so easy to actually "leave."  In fact, when I first read the quotes above, I had a sinking feeling in my throat that made me nervous.  Halter goes on to say that 99% of the miracles of Jesus and the disciples were done outside the church.  That alone begs the question, "Why did He set it up that way? And how does that translate to us?"

If being missional is about being more like Jesus was when he walked this earth, then I must do what I have to in order to be more comfortable being "out there" with others.  Over the past 7 years, I have grown more intentional in this process, even though I'm nowhere close to where I should be.  A few weeks ago, we were in Fort Worth picking up our daughter from the grandparents, and we went to one of our favorite restaurants.  We got there and one of the waiters we had gotten to know several years back was still working there and we got her section.  We enjoyed dinner with a friend serving us - it was awesome!  More recently I have gotten to know Lee at Burger House in League City.  He has become a friend because of the time I invested when we first started eating at his restaurant.  I try to be intentional about meeting neighbors outside by the mailbox - just last week, I visited with some new neighbors.

You may be saying, "Whoopee, this isn't that big of deal," and you'd be right.  It's not.  In the end, my intentionality helps me get to know some of the people around me.  I want to know what makes them laugh, cry, jump, shout, ponder, wonder, hope, fear, celebrate and dance.  Why?  No reason other than that they were made in the image of God and when I see them I see Him, when I listen to them, I hear Him, and when I serve them, I am serving Him.  And that stirs my soul.  I'm not keeping one eye open for a chance to "share the gospel presentation" with them...I am keeping both eyes open and attempting to be the Church wherever I am and whomever I am with (or whoever, also).  You see, for me, there is no church Brad or work Brad or whatever Brad...I'm just me everywhere.  

How easy is it for you to "leave" the comforts of your everyday routine to meet new people or invest in relationships right in front of you?  Is it easier for you to invite someone to "church" or to invite them to come alongside you in your life journey?  Our "class" seems to be struggling about this time of the summer...don't give up...push through...keep the conversation going...if not here, in your own life with people you care about and who care about you...be the church!

Tangibility of the Kingdom

As I sat at breakfast with my friend, Pete, this morning, something came clear to me.  One of the things that drew me to reading this book was the title - "The Tangible Kingdom."  I grew up in a Southern Baptist church that didn't talk much about the tangibility of the kingdom of God.  I grew up thinking that the Kingdom was much more cerebral...and even something that would come later, not necessarily something that was now.  Part of this may have been by accident, but some was by design.  As Baptists, we had a very strong aversion to works-based salvation.  We believed, as do I today, that our salvation is not earned by good works, but by the grace of God's sacrifice of Jesus.  It's a gift.  However, this also kept us from ever really emphasizing the "good works" that are referenced in the book of James.  I grew up thinking that the correct "good works" were going to Sunday School, going to church, reading the bible, giving to the church, going to discipleship training, going to visitation, going to prayer meetings and possibly going on a "mission trip" once a year.

Those all seem tangible, but not very Jesus-like.  The tangible kingdom of God seems to be more about caring for the orphans and widows, giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty, releasing captives and proclaiming freedom to those in chains.  Today, it's the latter tangibility that I desire.  I've tried the other and there was still a void left in me.  I am now looking for more and am finding that more in opportunities to serve others - cookies to this neighbor, watching this neighbors house while on vacation, helping build a house for someone in need, helping repair a home for a family who can't do it themselves, gathering shoes for AIDS orphans or gathering supplies for those same kids.  I even love walking through valleys of disease, wayward children, deaths of parents with those in my circle of community.  I love the tangibility of hanging out with my community, in my neighborhood, of sitting at a friends bar on Sunday afternoon and him on the kitchen counter, talking about...it really doesn't even matter.  It's people.

People are the tangible expression of the image of God, aren't they?  If you think you can experience the kingdom of God apart from people, I believe you are missing it.  But that's just me.  "I would hate the ministry, if it weren't for the people!"