Bearing Fruit: Extravagant Generosity

Generosity is not something that always comes easy to us. Nor is passionate worship. Risk taking mission and service. Intentional faith development. Or Radical Hospitality. Being a vital congregation and faithful disciples of Jesus is hard at times. And sometimes, just sometimes, it requires a radical shift in our priorities. In the words of Bishop Schase, “To fulfill the ministry of Christ, congregations must change and grow and adapt in ways that are purposeful, thoughtful, and faithful.”

How are we willing to change as local churches in order to proclaim the power of Jesus Christ? And how are willing to change as invividual disciples in order to bear good, abundant , fruit for the Kingdom of God?

Bearing Fruit: Risk Taking Mission and Service

   One of two things usually comes up in congregations when we start to talk about mission and service:

1.) People want to know the outcomes before they even get started. They want to make sure that their energy and commitment will be worth it. Its easy to understand this human need - but that is also the rub of where the "risk taking" part of mission and service comes in. When we engage in mission and service we risk not knowing the outcome. We risk not getting it right. We risk failing by the worlds standards. But in the midst of all of that we trust that God is going to use us, even if we can't fully understand how before we start. Some of the most beautiful moments I have had being involved in mission and service were unscripted and unforeseen - yet they were also the moments when I knew that God was fully present and in charge.

2.) People have a list of reasons they cannot go somewhere in mission or service - be it health, age, family, finances, etc. Here is the thing - we cannot all go. But we can all be a part of the mission and the service. Some of the best gifts I was given while serving in mission were cards and letters containing prayers of those who financially supported me and were now lifting up the trip in prayer while I was away. We all have different gifts in the body of gifts and different abilities. We need to examine how we can live into who we are while still being involved in mission and service.

How is God calling you to risk taking mission and service? What do you need to set aside in order to follow?

Bearing Fruit: Intentional Faith Development

    How many of us have noble goals for our faith development - like reading through the Bible in a year -  only to abandon then in January with Genesis? As important as our faith development is in private, we need to come together in small communities so that we can do a number of things: learn from one another, have someone to encourage us to keep growing in the faith, and have people pray with us for our needs. Small groups are not a new trend - they go back to the early church - but how they can look can change from generation to generation.
    However, there is one thing that small groups cannot be - they cannot be cliques. Small groups must be safe spaces where we can come together to grow, and that is impossible when we feel like we don't belong, even if that is not the message that other people mean to send.
    Small groups are the basic building blocks of the faith - where we come to love the Lord and love one another. No matter how small the worship attendance may be on Sunday, it is hard to know the hearts and needs of everyone present. Small groups give a place to radically care for one another and to spur one another on in the faith. What type of small group would you like to start in your church?

Passionate Worship

   When I was in college I spent a semester studying abroad in Australia. While there I was blessed to be able to worship in all sorts of place - a small traditional church that took me in as their unofficial  intern. A Hillsong concert. Anglican Evening Song. A non-denominational church plant held in a theater. As different as many of those experiences where from one another, what mattered most was that the worship was about passionately seeking God.
     People assume that since I am in the age group described as "Millenials" that I only like praise bands with guitars. That is not true. I was brought up in a traditional congregation with an organ and choirs. Handbells and no screens. For me I can be comfortable anywhere where the people are gathered to praise God.
   What I struggle with more than style of worship is when there seems to be a lack of passion. When worship is described as "the way we do things" instead of the way we connect with God and one another. What do you love about worship and how does it help you deeply connect to God and other people?

Radical Hospitality

  I love cooking for friends. Inviting one or two families over to share a meal around the table. During seminary I would host dinner parties with people in our apartment building in order to get to know them better. Nothing was expected of the guest but to show up. I would spend days picking out a menu of items the guests would like and cooking in our oh-so-tiny kitchen. The table would be set and we would simply spend time with one another.
   Sometimes I worry that the church has lost the art of hospitality. If church was a dinner party we only make the type of foods that we personally like. We don't invite people over that often. And the room looks like we didn't expect them to show up. Then we don't really want to spend time getting to know who comes.
   We need to rethink hospitality. Its about having a place that we invite people to and genuinely care about them for them, and not what they could possibly give us. What has been your best experience of hospitality and how can we extend that to the local church?