Living in 3-D

By Pastor Christian on 3/22/10

One of the last things Jesus did while he was physically on the earth was give his followers a life defining mission until he returned. He said,

“Go and make disciples in every nation, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have taught you.”

Matthew 28:18-20a

That simple order was and remains the central mission of the Christian church. Although there are a myriad of other good things our organizations accomplish, it is THIS mission that must remain at the heart of it all. That is why, over the next three weeks, in an ongoing effort to train our people to “live the mission” and to prepare for this Easter, Brandon and I will be challenging the church to “Go out to make new disciples.”

We doubt that we will have much trouble convincing people that “being on the mission” or “missional living” is a part of their calling. We find is usually at issue is “how” to be missional without being forced, corny, programmatic, and disingenuous.

In answer to that nearly universal discomfort, we are providing a three week summary of an excellent book by Bill Hybel’s called “Just Walk Across the Room.” The simple premise of this book is that sustaining natural, missional evangelism is actually just as easy as walking across the room to engage another human being. Although there are a few more details than that, we won’t make it much more complicated.

o Week one will challenge the entire community “Take a Walk and be Missional.”

o Week two will detail a natural and sustainable method for including “the mission” in everyday life.

o Week three will promote the power of telling a good story using Jesus as the prime example and giving everyone simple tools for sharing their own story.

Each week, I have included a basic thought and a couple of questions.  We are really hoping to unite our community behind this singular Christian mission and have a phenomenal Easter. So, think about the material, engage the conversation and help us meet the Great Co-Mission!

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WEEK 2: LIVING IN 3-D

“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.”

Matthew 5:13

Just about all of us feel a conviction to evangelize and live missionally. But research shows that fewer than 10% of us actually engage in it! Some of us offer excuses like “I’m just not wired that way” or “I am not gifted in that area.” Both of these reasons miss the universality of the common Christian mission to share the Good News about Jesus Christ.

Nevertheless, the real reasons we don’t want to evangelize are usually pretty good – we don’t know what to say; we are nervous, feel intrusive and honestly fake. At the heart of the matter may be that we have typically made a required program out of it:

Step One: Convict
Step Two: Give Hope
Step Three: Guide in “Sinners Prayer.”         
Step Four: Find new “client” and repeat Step One.

The point of this week’s message was to show us how to incorporate a natural and sustainable evangelism into our normal lives by “Living in 3D.”  That is, DEVELOPING Friendships, DISCOVERING their stories, and DISCERNING Next Steps.

1. What do you think about this system?
2. Does the concept of “Living in 3D” remove some of the fear of being missional?
3. What did you think about just being obedient to the Holy Spirit and simply being available to play “Different Roles” in someone journey of faith?
4. Can you think of some people with whom you should begin to develop a purposeful friendship? Are you inviting them to Easter?

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