Tag: Missional

Are You Doing a Great Work?

Two Sunday’s ago I preached on the verse, “I am doing a great work and cannot come down”. You can download it here.

The main point was that I encouraged the church to ask God what their great work was. I really believe that God has something for each of us, old or young. What you and I may be called to can be quite different, but whatever God calls us to is important and a “great work”. So I invited the church to write down on a small card what “My Great Work Is…” Then as a way of committing to it I gave the church a chance to bring their cards forward during the service. My promise to them was that anyone who brought a card forward, I would pray for them, for their calling, and believe in them. We believe that prayer changes lives. And I truly believe that through prayer we can help to change others’ lives and to support them in their “Great work”

What I didn’t realize would be how much my life would be changed by reading these short little cards. Over the last week and a bit as I’ve read dozens and dozens of them I’ve been overwhelmed by what God wants to do in this little place. People are committing to make their  marriages the best ever. People are committing to lead others to Jesus. People are committing to launching a new ministry, a new business, or launch their kids well. I thought I would be able to help change their lives by praying for them; but now I’ve realized that my life has been changed by reading these little cards. These cards represent just some of what God wants to do in and through us and for us. It’s exciting, it’s amazing, and it’s overwhelming in a wonderful way.

So I thought I’d give you the same invitation I gave to the church on that Sunday. To take a moment and think about what your great work is. If you had a card saying “My Great Work Is…” what would you write down?

I believe God wants us to do great things with him. The question is, “what is he asking you to do”? And if you know and want me to pray over your great work too, just let me know and I’ll pray.

So over the next few months I’ll be praying about God doing “great work” in and through us. I know that people will be changed because he’s already used these little cards to change me…

by Andrew Mills

Failing Communities = Failing Churches

Here is a general rule I live by:

If your church is doing well and your town isn’t; your church is not doing well.

The point is that the church can’t grow and thrive as the community that surrounds it and supports it fails. If the church is growing but your neighbors are drowning in debt, depression and difficulty, the church isn’t really growing.

  • The church cannot be doing well, if our neighbors are struggling.
  • The church cannot be doing well, if the youth of the town aren’t valued.
  • The church cannot be doing well, if single mothers across the street aren’t loved.
  • The church cannot be doing well, if people don’t know one another’s name…

The point for me is to change our perspective. My goal isn’t to have our church grow massive; but to have a deep impact in the people and places that we are a part of. My goal isn’t for the church to be the biggest church in the area but to truly be the church to the area; meaning that we bring life, love, and grace to people needing it.

I think this is what Jesus gets at when he calls the church salt. Salt is supposed to change things. It’s supposed to preserve good things, enhance flavor, and bring out great taste. This is what the church is to do too. So today why not bring a little flavor and life to your community. Help a neighbour, start a conversation, invite someone over for coffee…

Because I think the reverse of my rule is true too. If your community is being filled with grace, life, God’s love, and is doing well…then your church is doing well too…

by Andrew Mills

Disciple Making Rather than Decision Making

Mother Teresa wrote this:

You, in the West, have the spirituality poorest of the poor much more than you have the physically poor. Often among the rich are very spiritually poor people. I find it easy to give a plate of rice to a hungry person, to furnish a bed to a person who has no bed, but to console or to remove the bitterness, anger and loneliness that comes from being spiritually deprived, that takes a long time.

I think that this is true and deep. Being spiritually deprived leads to anger, bitterness, and loneliness. And changing that reality doesn’t happen through a tract, it doesn’t happen through one conversation, it doesn’t happen through one big event. Changing that reality takes time, commitment, conversation, and, most of all, Jesus Christ.

I’ve often said that we here are much more interested in people becoming disciples of Jesus, rather than just making decisions about Jesus. Making disciples takes a while. It means addressing people’s spiritual deprivation, their hurt, anger, bitterness, and loneliness. It means being Jesus to them over the long haul. Not just a few weeks, but months, and years.

So here is my question for you: who are you committing to long-term?

It’s not just about giving someone a plate of rice. It’s about giving a plate of rice each week, sitting down for conversation, for connection and for a shared commitment. So that’s my question, who are you committing to be there with, watching, hoping, and expecting Jesus to become real in their life.

Because remember we’re here to make disciples, not just help people make decisions…

by Andrew Mills

Come to Christ, not just the Church

I’ve been thinking a lot about how we present Jesus. I’ve really noticed something of late.

What I’ve noticed is how much of our language focuses on “church” as the destination. That people are seeking to get others to go to this church service, program, speaker, worship event, etc. There is nothing wrong with any of these things, in fact, I think they are important. But we must be clear, the goal of life is not to get people to go to church, but to go to Christ.

That’s where the disconnection happens, because theologically you never go to church; as a Christian you are the church. You bring church with you. Our message needs to be, come to Christ and become part of the church. Our message is come to Jesus and join the adventure of following Christ together. Our message is good news to all. The church has the amazing role and responsibility of sharing that message. But the church shouldn’t transcend  or replace the message.

So all I’m saying is, the church is important, but it’s important only because of Jesus Christ. So when you invite a neighbor to church don’t stop there. Make sure you invite them to discover Jesus as well. Because the amazing thing is that once someone comes to Jesus, they become the church wherever they are…

by Andrew Mills

Where I Saw Jesus This Week…

A little while ago I was at a party and I discovered Jesus was already there.

One of the biggest guiding beliefs in my life is that Jesus is active in the world already. He is a person, he is risen, and he is already active in places before I get there. So my goal is to find out where Jesus is active and to partner with him there. I just want to join in with what he is doing and where he is.

This happened at a party I was at. I shouldn’t have been surprised that Jesus was already working there because some of his best work happens in parties in the New Testament. But as I mingled and listened, I realized how Jesus was working in people’s lives and I just sought to affirm what he was doing in their lives.

One conversation started with this, “I’m not really religious, and I don’t know if you believe in God or anything. But here is what God did in my life…” We went on to talk about how this person found a prayer answered. After a while of talking they stopped and said “enough about me, what do you do?”  I said “I’m a pastor.”  They responded with “So you probably do believe in God then eh?” Great stuff right. God was already active in their life, I just got to affirm Jesus’ part of their lives and encourage them to keep on seeking God.

A second conversation began with simple confession, that a few followers of Jesus restored this person’s hope in humanity. A few different Christians had given them grace through practical expressions of love. They shared with me that these small gifts restored their hope in humanity, and an opening to God. That’s Jesus actively working in their hearts.

So my challenge for you this week is simple. Watch for Jesus and expect that he is working in people’s lives already. And when you see him active, encourage, affirm, and bless. Partner with Jesus in the lives around you and my guess is that you’ll start seeing some beautiful change and transformation…

by Andrew Mills

Soap Boxes, Couches, and Stories

A friend of mine, Pernell Goodyear, was talking at our denomination’s regional gathering. I was recently going through my notes and really resonated with what he shared. He was talking about evangelism, as inviting people into our lives and walking with others. In his talk he said this:

“Soap boxes and pulpits are not nearly as important as kitchen tables and couches.”

This point really hit me quite hard. His point was simple. Evangelism happens best in the context of hospitality and friendship. Inviting people into your life to see how you live, to ask questions, and to live with you is the starting point. We need to be less concerned with getting our message out there, and more concerned with getting our “lives” out there. To actually connect with people, from friendships, and not only speak the message of grace, but to live it out.

Pernell’s point isn’t to invite someone into your home to “evangelize” or “convert” them. Jesus didn’t do that. Jesus entered people’s homes to hear their stories, to enter into their lives with grace. He entered their homes so that their lives became a part of his story. And we need to follow the same example, practicing radical hospitality with our friends, neighbors, and co-workers, letting their stories intermingle with ours, to see what God might do with the convergence.

So how do we practice this? Well, that’s the easy part, you start opening up your home, inviting neighbors in, inviting friends in, and welcoming others. Start listening to other people’s stories and seeking to discover how Jesus has been active in their lives, because he is. Jesus is already at work all over the world. We need to start joining him in that work by welcoming people into our homes, and starting to share our story, and listen to others…

by Andrew Mills

Called to Spread and Go #missional

This Sunday I preached on how in Acts 1 Jesus tells his disciples to spread out and be a witness to his new reign or Kingdom of grace, love, and life. He gives them the green light to literally go into new areas and places with the message of the Kingdom.

Jesus is very specific and says go to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. For me I think these are places that not only were the early Christians sent but also we’re sent today.

We’re sent to our Jerusalem’s the places around us where we have natural and established relationships. These can be at work, in your neighborhood, or even in your family. We’re called to be a witness to God’s grace there.

We are also called to move, to expand, to go to our Judea’s. These are nearby places where relationships aren’t difficult, or awkward to start. They are people who are similar to you and can be found at local coffee shops, sports clubs, in a large office, or just people a few doors down. The point is that we aren’t to be comfortable with just blessing (literally to give life) to people we know but are called to expand and grow giving life to new relationships as well.

This then also includes our Samaria’s. These are people different from us, that are difficult to get to know. There are obstacles, and boundaries maybe cultural, religious, or social. The point though is that the Gospel is too beautiful to be stopped by any boundary and is to cross over the boundaries with us as we go to give life and be a blessing.

And lastly God wants to send us to the ends of the earth – places we haven’t been or even dreamed of going. But God has. And his plan to save creation, is to send us, if we are willing.

So for me the question is are we willing to go, and where is God sending us. Who are we to meet, to connect with, to bless? Who is in our Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria that this week we can show love too?

And are you willing to do it?

Discussion Questions from this Week Sermon

  • Adult Questions
  • Where is your Jerusalem? The place you find yourself in often and are comfortable.
  • Where is your Samaria? A place where you meet and mingle with different people who stretch you?
  • Where is your “ends of the earth”? Where might God be sending you?
  • Questions for Young Families
  • Talk to your kids about the idea that God sends us out to make the world a better place. Ask them to think of places that God might send them to make better. Maybe it will be their class through accepting a lonely boy or girl. Maybe it will be at a friends who doesn’t have a lot. Maybe it will be to grandma and grandpa in the nursing home. But start them thinking that they are sent out to make the world a better place. And if they have ideas how make sure to do them.

Weekly Challenge: Go to your Jerusalem and Samaria with the intention to bless…

by Andrew Mills

We Are to Be Sent ~ #missional

This upcoming Sunday we are going to be talking about movement.

Many things are based on movement, and momentum. For example, it’s almost impossible to learn to ride a bike if its not moving. Moving is part of its nature. The same applies to the church. The church is a movement. Part of its very nature is to grow, expand, and move.

So on Sunday we are going to explore the sent nature of the church. How just as God sent his son, he is now sending his church.

The question for us is where is God sending you?

We often think of “where” God is sending us. We focus on maybe going overseas, or on short-term missions, on being sent somewhere else. But we no longer need to go across an ocean to find people who need Jesus in their life. They are all around us. They are our neighbors, our co-workers, our family, and our friends. Now people of each tribe, nation, and religion are coming to live in and with us. So the question then isn’t “where” God is sending us; but to whom.

Who is God sending you to bless? Who is God sending you to give life?

Is it the person across the street, one cubicle over, or that friend at zoomba?

Because the church is meant to be on the move, we are sent to be a blessing. Not only across the sea but also across our street, backyards, and offices.

So who is God sending you to? Because make no mistake he does want to send you…

by Andrew Mills

How do you make disciples? #missional

How do you make disciples?

It’s a great question and an important one too. Last Sunday I shared that Jesus didn’t leave his disciples with a 7-step program to making disciples. This is true.

But he did give his followers the Holy Spirit and some guidance. Maybe not a 7-step program but a relational way of life that builds bridges, creates connections, and start the journey of discipleship.

So this Sunday we’re going to discover together a characteristic that is intrinsic to the very nature of the church. We’re going to discover together something we are all called to be that is often the beginning of making a disciple.

Before we get there though: what do you think? How do you make disciples? What’s worked? What hasn’t? What have you learned that you might share with us?

by Andrew Mills

Go and Make Disciples…being #missional

This past Sunday I left the challenge to go and make disciples, as a way of life. You can hear the sermon here.

In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus gathers his disciples together for one last time. What he doesn’t leave them with is a reminder to pray. He doesn’t remind them to be holy. He doesn’t really remind them about what he’s taught them. Instead what he leaves with them is an invitation. An invitation to adventure, mission, and to go out into the world and make disciples. And he leaves behind one promise: “I will be with you”. He doesn’t tell the disciples how to make more disciples. He doesn’t leave behind a 7-step process. What he gives to them is an invitation and a promise.

And isn’t that all we need? An invitation to partner with God in his mission, and promise that he will partner with us. We’re given an invitation and promise that Jesus will be with guiding us, shaping us, and leading us as we follow God on mission.

The question is: are you going to accept his invitation and promise?

For me and my family we’ve made the deiscion to accept both the promise and invitaiton this year to make disicples. We are going to make 2012 a year of making disciples, living out Jesus command and believing in his promise. What about you?

I’m excited to see how this year unfolds and what God does. So this year I’ll be sharing stories of how it’s going for me. And I’d love to hear yours as well!

Discussion Questions: Here are the discussion questions that came from Sunday in case you missed them:

  • Adult Questions
  • Are you ready and willing to follow Jesus in making disciples?
  • How might you start to make disciples?
  • What excites you about making disciples? What maybe makes you a bit nervous about making disciples?
  • Who might help you stay accountable in your decision?
  • Questions for Young Families
  • Talk with your kids and share about how God invites us to join him in helping people find and follow God. Ask them if they are willing to help people find and follow God. Ask them what friends you, as a family, can pray that they might become a disciple of Jesus? Spend some time praying as a family.
by Andrew Mills