Salvation Now

Comment

Comment by Jeff Stewart on January 7, 2011 at 8:06am

I strongly suggest that today's church read "Nudge" by Leonard Sweet (released in Dec.). He urges that we go about "evangelism" by identifying with the sinfulness of the "sinner" instead of pointing theirs out. The propositional aspect has not and does not work.

Comment by Mark Collings on January 6, 2011 at 10:57pm

I suppose the programmed world of modern church life contributes to the idea that there is a start and finish, with accompanying milestones, to the many facets of the Christian walk, as if it were a project.  A friend of mine once remarked that he could never be a Christian because it is too complicated.  I can now agree with him because I now understand he was looking at the religious practice called Christianity.  Religion is always complicated.  Jesus is simple, and so is our faith. I did not grasp this until I found organic church.  I now see salvation as a process, not a destination.

Comment by Jeff Stewart on January 4, 2011 at 12:14pm

I've encountered the same. I think one of the factors missing with me, is the expectation attached to a paycheck. There's no pressure to perform, so I'm able to yield when I sense I am prompted. It would be nice to have the income, but I'm much richer allowing God's work to flow through the giftedness of others.

Comment by Jim London on January 4, 2011 at 11:57am

Jeff, that quotation from Sweet is interesting. Some time back, in a blog posted on my page ("What do we do when there's no group to join?"), I put it this way "People generally experience the Truth through God-lovers before they understand verbally expressed truth." Incarnated love, Christ expressing Himself through us, is much more powerfully "evangelistic" (they will see your good works and glorify Your Father who is in heaven) than we often recognise. It's Christ presenting Himself through life! But Jesus also speaks Himself and His kingdom, and so do we speak Him! And it's a delight to do so!

What we're noticing is how active the Spirit of God is in and around people before we see it. Just being as attentive about that as we can helps us to be responsive/ aligned/ atuned to being participants with God in their lives. He is so gracious! Many times I'm ready to speak into an "opportunity" but sense His shutting me down, only to experience a riper moment later that bears wonderful fruit. Those are among the moments when I have it impressed on me again that I am not to operate by my smarts, but to just fit in with where He is bringing things. I find that it corrects the temptation to pat myself on the back, and instead stirs my heart in wonder at Him -- much more fun!

Comment by Phil Willis on January 4, 2011 at 10:48am

Jim, I love your reply below.  I've been discovering that more and more, myself.  While I certainly do not put anything past God's ability, my personal observation has been that transformation does take time.  Many of those who receive Christ or get baptized in a church were seeds planted and watered long ago by other 'workers in the fields.'  Of course, it is God who gives the increase and grows the crops, so to speak.  Like you, I wish I was more active in this earlier.  Now that I'm involved, I'm finding that being out in the fields is a lot of hard work!  By his grace, however, it is a blessing.  There's nothing more satisfying than seeing God grow seeds which we have planted and watered.

Comment by Jeff Stewart on January 4, 2011 at 8:23am

Jim - You have nailed something symptomatic when you say "There is no curriculum for this beyond love, truth, and the activity of the Holy Spirit." That's a control problem. Leonard Sweet alludes to this in "SoulTsunami" when he observes "Everybody is out looking for people and places with 'soul.' People can't define it, but they know it when they see it and feel it. And they respond to soul powerfully, more than rational discourse as the exclusive basis for the pursuit of truth."

Comment by Jim London on January 3, 2011 at 11:46pm

Thanks, Jeff. One of the motivations for my wife and I (just one of them!) to move into a lifestyle devoted to engagement with people in our neighborhood, is that we were recognising that nurturing relationships require more personal investment in people's lives than happens through events and gatherings. The first neighbor whom we baptised in his inflatable backyard pool slipped into life in Christ during our three years of our reading the bible together 2-3 times a week -- a partnership that was launched by his initiative after being exposed to our simple love for him and his wife. Now he has taken another neighbor under his wing, his wife has begun to worship God through frequent spontaneous public exclamations about His wonders (doesn't have the church lingo for it!), and his twenty-something daughter has moved toward wanting to know more about the God her father demonstrates. Our household and theirs have recruited a diverse bunch of neighbors to serve meals at a local homeless shelter -- a setting where those neighbors are recognising what our compassion is rooted in, with a consequent raising of interest in Jesus. Etc, etc -- the point being that all of this networking emerges as we live Him wherever we are, in ways that insinuate into people's lives. It is wonderfully refreshing, deliberate while unscripted, over whatever time it takes for seed to grow. There is no curriculum for this beyond love, truth, and the activity of the Holy Spirit. We wish we had entered this many years before we did! But we're in it for the long haul now!