Good News

I have decided as I have gotten older that I am no longer settling for the mediocre stuff…whether it is food, clothes, or entertainment. I want the good stuff…

How many times have I sat down in the last year, plopped myself in front of the tv to watch some mindless, less than entertaining show that is a waste of time?

How many times have I purchased a piece of clothing because I just had to have it but it really does not compliment me or look that good?

How many times have put some greasy, fattening food in my mouth without even thinking about how it tastes??

Last year I read a book, French Women Don’t Get Fat.

Apparently, French women are thin because they view eating as an event…something to be savored and enjoyed for at least 1 hour… not shoving food down their face while in the car or standing at the kitchen counter while everyone else is eating and then eating all the leftovers as well.

Everything they eat is rich and real….the creamiest cheese, the best bread, the most decadent chocolate and the richest wine…..every day!!!!!

But…….they only eat very small portions of each.

When this woman who wrote the book got off the boat after being in America for 1 year, she had gained 20 pounds and her father told her she looked like a sack of potatoes!!

She observed that as Americans we eat huge portions, we rush through our meals and we settle for whatever is put in front of us.

We think that 10 snack size Snickers are the “good stuff” when really 1 piece of decadent dark chocolate is much more satisfying.

We have been lured into believing what the “good stuff” is!

Power, position,  possessions…. According to our culture that is the good stuff.

Even in our Christian life we are confused about the “good stuff”….

We think the “good stuff” is living a carefree life, being healthy, having good kids, attending a good church, being in a good small group

But what is the good stuff according to Jesus? In Matt. 19:16-22, a rich young ruler comes to Jesus and asks him what good thing he must do to get eternal life.

Jesus tells him if he wants to enter life he must keep the commandments especially the ones that have to do with social relationships and he must be perfect by selling all his possessions and giving them to the poor.  The good stuff is entering into life with people and sacrificing that which we value the most for the sake of following Jesus.

What’s interesting in this text is that an “if” clause is used twice in this short story. Jesus does not give him the 5 essentials to eternal life nor does he judge him. Rather, he leads him to make his own conclusions about his life. He helps him to see that a decision is required.

Jesus’ style of evangelism should be informative for us. Jesus is not pushy, arrogant or self-serving. He is giving this kid options…if you do this…if you make this choice…if you decide to follow me this is how it will be. There is no arguing, defensiveness or trying to persuade this young man to follow. Jesus lays it out for him and gives him every opportunity to respond.

When we think about our friends who are asking the big questions of life, do we feel it is our responsibility to save them? Or, are we like Jesus, laying out the options and allowing the Holy Spirit to work in that person’s life?

Too often we have taken the burden of evangelism and made it a human centered activity.  We think we have to convince, convict and conspire to get people to follow Jesus.

Evangelism is God’s work.  He will do the drawing, leading and revealing.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, people will see what is really the good stuff of life.  We just need to cooperate with the Spirit and let him do his work.

What's Your Mission?

The new school year has begun and if I hear my daughter who is a senior, taking an advanced placement course in economics, say one more time…I have no idea what I am doing… I think I am going to scream! And this is only the third week into the school year! I feel for her because it must be frustrating to sit in class every day, listening closely to the teacher, processing new concepts and then, come home and attempt to complete homework you really do not understand because you are totally lost.

I just finished a day long meeting with pastors and leaders from across the country to dialogue about the future of evangelism for the Covenant Church. It was engaging, energizing and exciting as we dreamed about how to call people in our churches back to what we were meant to do as Christians…share the message that Jesus saves, heals, proclaims good news to the poor, sets the prisoner and oppressed free and brings us back to God again.

One of the pastors said, “We need to ask ourselves the question, have I responded to the mission of Jesus?” The problem is we have forgotten or are confused or are misinformed about what that mission is.

Perhaps we have been a long time church member, attended Bible studies or small groups, sang in the choir, served as chairs of important church committees and ushered on Sunday mornings. We have somehow come to believe this is what Christians do. No wonder we are frustrated, grumbling and joyless.   We have no idea what we are supposed to be doing!.

Let me be clear…there is only one mission of God not many missions. The mission of God is to seek and to save lost people. We are called as Christians to participate in that mission by being faithful witnesses in our every day lives to the work of God in the world. Evangelism is God’s work. God is the one drawing people (John 6:44) to himself and we cooperate with the Holy Spirit and others to proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel to those who do not believe.

Therefore, this means we are called to be in the world rubbing shoulders with our neighbors, friends and co-workers and anyone else God brings into our lives. God’s mission is our mission.

We should not be confused and act like we have no idea what we are supposed to be doing. We have a call and have been given the ministry of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18). It is time for us to stop being concerned about so many things…only one thing matters…that all may know Jesus is Lord.

Lisa Orris

My name is Lisa Orris. I am new blogger so you will have to bear with me but am excited to get connected with people in this new mode of communication. I thought it would be great to start by telling you a little bit about myself.

I grew up in a very nominal Christian home. Church was something we did on Sundays because we were supposed to – it was tradition. However, on a daily basis it never really impacted our lives. I began to search for something more. I knew there had to be more than just stand up, sit down and recite a few memorized prayers. But what was “it” and how did I get “it”? A few friends of mine talked to me about what it meant to know Jesus in a real way that could actually make a difference in my life. The summer going to my senior year in high school, I prayed and gave me life to Jesus…making a commitment to follow Him totally and completely. It changed me forever.

I am sure this is why I am so passionate about people who do not know Jesus yet. If it weren’t for my friends who loved me and took time to share with me about who Jesus really was and that he just didn’t exist on a wall in a church building, I am not sure where I would be today.

These were friends… people who I played sports with, ate dinner with, went out to movies with and genuinely liked being around. They were gentle, kind, loving and caring. They did not fit the stereotypical caricature of people “doing” evangelism. They were not pushy, rude, arrogant or judgmental. They were just my friends who really cared about me. I think this is why I was willing to listen to what they had to say about God. I trusted them. I knew they were out for my good and would always be truthful. They were not “doing” anything to me. They were just interested in me as a person.

So often when it comes to evangelism we think it is something we “do” to people. It is like we have been told we have a mission to conquer people and win them for Christ. Just think about that language for a minute…doesn’t it sound scary? Perhaps this is why evangelism has gotten a bad rap in the last few decades. We have gotten so caught up in our conquests for Jesus that we have missed the importance of putting the relationship first and allowing the Holy Spirit to do the work of evangelism.

We have complicated evangelism to the point of being afraid that we are going to say something wrong and therefore, we fear rejection. Furthermore, we have beaten ourselves up with embarrassment and guilt because we did not win enough people for the Lord. Since when did the work of evangelism become a human activity?

My friends’ love for me was so obvious, there was no way they could have ever said anything wrong! They liked me for me and hung out with me because of who I was. This kind of love is ultimately what lead to me to Jesus.

Evangelism is not complicated or scary. It is about loving people where they are at, accepting all of their shortcomings and weaknesses and being friends with them because we genuinely like their company. Anything short of that and people will know that you are just trying to sell them Jesus but you really don’t care about them.