Who is My Neighbour

What does being 'missional' mean: "Jesus told us to go into all the world and be his ambassadors, but many churches today have inadvertently changed the "go and be" command to a "come and see" appeal. We have grown attached to buildings, programs, staff and a wide variety of goods and services designed to attract and entertain people.

"Missional is a helpful term used to describe what happens when you and I replace the "come to us" invitations with a "go to them" life. A life where "the way of Jesus" informs and radically transforms our existence to one wholly focused on sacrificially living for him and others and where we adopt a missionary stance in relation to our culture. It speaks of the very nature of the Jesus follower."
---Rick Meigs

Do you sometimes wonder how you can engage with people without Christ. Where should you 'go' to be Christ to those without Him? How far should we be looking when being a 'witness' to the Lord. Perhaps our vision is too short, our horizons too close. Are we prepared to, not just stay within our normal natural 'neighbourhood' to be missional. Who is our neighbour?

In scripture God gave Abraham the great commission right back in Genesis 12:2

"I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you."

Then in Matthew 28 Jesus gives us the great re-commission:

" 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go.
17 When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted.
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."


This reminds me that the God we worship is God of the world. His commission makes us world people as well. We cannot have mission only in our 'backyard' or only 'overseas'; mission should be both, an integral part of our life as the Body of Christ. Mission is the 'reason for our existence' as a church otherwise we might as well pack our bags and collect our free pass to heaven!


Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to "Love God with all our heart and love our neighbour as our self". The Christian church must be outward looking; love for God doesn't come, by forever listening, reading, talking about the finer points of doctrine. We might appreciate the sovereignty of God, the imminence and transcendence of God and other 'foundational' truths (These truths are important) but that should not become the sum total of our Christian experience.


To love God is doing what he loves and what is so prominent in the Scriptures is Gods concern for the world and the poor marginalised people in the world. God is even bringing the world to our doorsteps but if you want to meet them you still need to get of your 'bum'!

So who is your neighbour; try the following quiz to gauge your position.

Who is Your Neighbour? A Crossing-cultures questioner.

1. In the story Jesus told about the ‘Good Samaritan’, in today’s setting who would you liken the key characters too:
a. The Jewish victim
b. Priest
c. Temple Assistant
d. Samaritan

2. In the above story, Jesus is talking about loving your neighbour. Who would you consider to be your neighbour:
a. House next door
b. People in your Suburb
c. Close friends
d. Closest country
e. Anyone we meet who is in need

3. Where do you work/study?

.......................................................................................................................................

4. At work or study are you aware of other nationalities:
Yes/no

5. In your neighbourhood are you aware of different ethnicity's
Yes/no

6. How many different nationalities are you aware of in your work/study/neighbourhood place:
1 2 3 4 5 6

7. Can you name any of their country's:
UK, Canada, Denmark, Chile, Germany, India, Israel, PNG, Samoa, China, Fiji,
Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, Peru, Thailand, Russia, Turkey,
USA, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, France, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya other.........................

8. How many of the above have you ever talked with:
No. ........................... Nationalities...................................................................................................

9. How many people from other countries would you term as your friend:
No. ................ Nationalities ................................................................................................................

10. What are some of the activities you would do with them:
State.......................................................................................................................................................

11. Have you ever talked to someone of a different nationality about your faith?
Yes/no

12. What stops you engaging with someone from another nationality:
Describe.................................................................................................................................................

13. If you were to travel overseas what country/ies would you choose to visit & why:

.................................................................................................................................................................

14. How would you describe the following in relation to yourself:
a. Your ethnicity

b. Your nationality

c. Your culture

15. If you were to travel overseas and wanted to take one thing that best described NZ culture what would that be?
..........................................................................................................................................................................

16. Read the statement below
“Being colour blind is a well-meant attempt to address racism and prevent the wrongs committed in the past from being repeated. But it also denies people who they are and the reality that people with different cultural backgrounds often have very different experiences in life. It also excuses us from really getting to know each other as whole persons when we say, “Race doesn’t really matter; I’m colour blind! I see everyone as the same.” The same as who?”

How would you like NZ to look in 10/20 years time

Multicultural; how would that look............................................................................


Segregated;...................................................................................................................

Monoculture;.................................................................................................................

Bi cultural;.....................................................................................................................

(Send me your answers and I will give you my unbiased score!!)