Live Your Faith! Share Your Life!

We need to engage our communities, they need to see something attractive in the Christian lifestyle. What do we stand for not always against.

“The world watches and often only sees our protests against certain activities or people. We will always have an audience. People watch what Christians do and don’t do, and on that basis decide whether or not they are interested in what we have. What unbeliever wants to spend his life praying, skipping meals, and giving his money away? It’s not our religious activities we want people to see; it’s the grace and mercy that comes from God’s love that needs to show.”. Jim Petersen & Mike Shamy The Insider (Navpress 2003)

We need to overcome the mentality that we are only being successful in our 'witness' when we get someone along to the church service. If we want to engage with people who do not know Jesus then we need to be where they are, learn to communicate (not just talk, tell or criticize them) with them using language they understand.

Why do we need to go door docking when there are people at work, next door or at the gym who already know you; that would love to be your friend and will learn about Jesus from you. We have these natural centers of influence waiting for us to engage in meaningful relationships. Our witness must be geniune and transparent. I came across a wonderful comment recently that summarized what I'm trying to say:

"We were taught to "Share our faith. Live our life." As such it was very important to be busy witnessing - sharing our faith. Sharing the Four Spiritual Laws, or pointing out sin, or pushing for a commitment were all part of sharing our faith. Good arguments about creation, abortion, the inerrancy of scripture, plus exposing the cults, humanists, atheists, liberals, socialists and communists were also part of sharing our faith. We were schooled in how to make our "testimony" fit our theology of "say the prayer and get your free ride to heaven".

Live your faith! Share your life! This is what the world needs. It can't be done in a building where the church meets for worship. That is, not if it is to be done the way Jesus did it. Rather, it is done in the everyday ordinariness of life, in the commonplace, where we live every single day. It is small things done with great love. It is overlooking faults and forgiving without condition. It is responding with kindness. It is radical hospitality and love of neighbor and enemy. It is laying down our lives, that others might live. It is bringing peace and seeking justice without regard to reputation. It is loving as Christ loved, no strings. When people who live like this are seen, people say ... "that's what Jesus is like." I want to be that kind of follower of Jesus." (For more information check out the Outside The Gate blog atOutsideTheGate.TheCommonplace.org )