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February 7, 2010 by Chaplain Mike
Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it.
I am weak in the faith; strengthen me.
I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor.
I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust you altogether. O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in you.
In you I have sealed the treasure of all I have.
I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor.
I am a sinner; you are upright.
With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fullness of righteousness.
Therefore I will will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give.
Amen.
Interesting get the “I” out of the way and God can work through you and all the glory is His. What a simple, but amazing thought!
10 Tips for Missional Community Leaders
1. Know God
* Cultivate a steady devotional and prayer life.
* Participate in gospel-centered accountability, like a Fight Club.
* Serve with the strength God supplies (2 Peter 4:11).
2. Know Your People
* Pastor your Missional Community. Don’t just lead discussions.
* Take notice when somebody disappears and make sure they are loved well.
3. Know Your Neighborhood
* Know the culture and relate to it well.
* Know your neighbors and invite them into your community.
4. Don’t Go Alone
* Share leadership by appointing leaders for hosting, meals, prayer, and mission.
* Participate in monthly leaders’ meetings.
* Participate in monthly coaching meetings.
5. Say Who You Are (And Who You Aren’t) Every Week
* Graciously deconstruct the small group/Bible study/social group approach and reconstruct your Missional Community.
* Reaffirm your Missional Community practices each week.
6. Get Out of the Living Room
* Be on mission every month as a community.
* Celebrate life and good culture.
7. Live the Missionally
* Read and apply the 8 ways to be missional.
* Live out loud. Let gospel talk be ordinary talk, not obnoxious but genuine.
8. Eat, Laugh, Pray, and Serve Together
* A healthy group does all four.
9. Share Your Stories
* In the living room.
* On the blog.
* In social media. Use Twitter or Facebook to facilitate community (not replace it).
10. Come to Serve (Not Just Be Served) on Sundays
* Missional community doesn’t stop on Sundays.
* Always be the church.
Just to put some thought out there without writing a book about the subject. It’s easy to claim to be a Christian and hide in the church going through the programs Sunday to Sunday. That the easy part, just falling into the pattern of things missing the mark and the happiness Christ really has to offer. I really enjoy being around those who have just accepted Christ as Savior, there is a excitement about them. Sometime I think all the church stuff snuffs that out. To follow Christ means we need to just do that, be Christ like in our walk, make him be real to those around us. It’s easy to be the ordinary Christian, but be the Christ follower is calling believer to sacrifice. What is God calling you to as a Christ follower?
Is God alive and well or is HE hemorrhaging? Today as churches engages culture are we presenting the real gospel as Christ intended or are we presenting the gospel with a bias addenda? With church planting becoming a popular movement and trying to reach the masses through nontraditional methods is the church missing the mark?
Chech this out it’s worth your time: http://www.greatcommissionresurgence.com/
Do believer’s live Christ centered lives? Give me some whys and why not answers. I’m interested in your thoughts….
O God humble our heart to serve you, call forth your armies of believers to put flesh to and live out the gospel to make it real to the nonbelievers around us. We are no different than them, we’re just covered by your sacrifice and today we celebrate your resurrection!
