Every day people are dying and going to hell around us.
I don’t mean to over-generalize every part of the global church in this next statement, but far too often we — as the church — are complacent in allowing this to happen around us. The truth is, if we’re not actively pointing people to Jesus and making disciples, then we’re actively watching them perish. We’re standing around with our hands in our pockets, knowing the one single thing that can truly save them.
I don’t know about you, but there has only been one time in my entire life somebody told me the Gospel and assumed I didn’t know it. Once. If I had not grown up in church and with parents who loved Jesus, that would have been the only time somebody witnessed to me.
I tell that story — and a few other ones — in my new book. I would be honored if you would support us as we go on mission by buying it. (Link to buy the book)
Here’s the deal: to actively engage in the hope of the Gospel means that we will be telling the Gospel. Literally, I mean what I’m saying. We will be telling it. We need to open our mouths and share its transforming power aloud. This is our proper response to the Good News.
People who have been transformed by the Gospel realize that we’ve been given a command. That command is not optional for either you or I. We are told to live on mission, and that is why I’ve titled this book /Our Mission In Christ/. The mission is His; we have been instructed to play a role in it, and we need to take up our sword and play the role given to us by God.
The solution to your neighbor’s hopelessness is Jesus. The Good News can change their eternal destination if they choose to respond to it. But it is not your pastor’s job to share the Good News with them. It’s yours.
Maybe you’ve tried to share the Gospel. What happened?(*Link to an email sign up and text box, where I ask them to tell me a story or pose a question from when they shared the Gospel.)
Did you get shut down by somebody before you could even start? Did somebody ask you a question about a topic you don’t fully know how to articulate? Did you feel like you should share the Gospel with somebody, but then fear took over and you just kept your mouth shut?
These are normal, everyday responses I hear when I ask somebody if they’ve shared the Gospel this week. Our propensity towards sharing the Good News is often slowed down by a stop sign from the enemy, which we willingly obey.
We don’t need to listen to Satan’s lies. Instead, we need to recognize that the message we have to share is backed up by actual power. The literal power of the cross!*I talk more about the authority by which we’re sent to change the world in the book, but you can also read this blog post about how different our perspective on the cross is from the rest of the world. (*Link to a short blog post on “the message of the cross is foolishness”)
I’ve been sharing the Gospel around the world since 2006. I have watched as it has changed peoples lives. But what I want you to see is that sharing the Gospel has changed my life as well. When I share the hope of Jesus aloud, I am made more aware of my own need for Jesus. When I am aware of my own need for Him, I am filled with more compassion for others who don’t yet know Him. That drives me to want to share Him. Again.
*I’ll be posting videos and blogs on this facebook group about somebody I (or one of my friends) shared the Gospel with.* I’ll tell you how it went down, look at what I could have said or done differently, and give you some strategies to try when you share the Gospel next. (Also, we will be discussing the book and sharing updates about it there. You want to be in that group, I assure you.)
The result of living on mission with Christ is a greater understanding OF the mission of Christ.
You can (and should) be a part of this response. The invitation is not solely for the spiritually mature, but for everyone. You don’t need to know every page of the Bible to share its main point.
In Our Mission In Christ, I look at three things:
1. Understanding the Mission of Jesus (What did Jesus tell us to do?)
2. Preparing to live on Mission (What do I need to do to get ready?)
3. Becoming People who will change the World (How do I start making disciples?)
I’m a sinner. You’re a sinner. Jesus saves.
That’s what we’re saying. Over and over again.
As we understand the command we’ve been given and learn how to live our lives as maturing disciples, we will be people who will change the world.
This book aims to help you and I live together on mission. The more we understand what Jesus intended when He sent us into the world, the easier it will be for us to do this together.
It’s a practical guide for living out OUR MISSION IN CHRIST – Becoming People who will change the World.