Meeting People Where They Are - The Missional Path

Jesus provides a subtle yet powerful example of how we should engage with our cities. When reading about the beginning of Jesus' ministry, you will discover that He is always going and seeking people. This is how He found His disciples. Matthew 4 notes that He found Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John simply by walking by the Sea of Galilee. He did not expect them to come to Him while He sat in His house or the city square, but He was proactively searching for His disciples.

Likewise, Matthew notes that Jesus went throughout all of Galilee (think going throughout Central Arizona) teaching in the syngogues (he went to where people gathered). As His famed grew He continued going to different regions and cities. He went to Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and beyond the Jordan river.

It seems that this can be very instructional to us. Jesus was on a mission to save His people from His sins and in order to accomplish His mission, He had to go and seek out His people. He had to let people know who He was and why He was there. Some would argue that this is what present day evangelists do (they go region to region and city to city proclaiming the Gospel) which certainly is true, but do they reach your neighbors, friends, co-workers, or family? Possibly some of them, but not all of them.

This is where we come into the picture. God wants to use Morningside as His instrument to reach those we know and there are two ways of accomplishing this: either going and seeking them individually or going where they gather as a group. Notice that either option involves going and seeking, it does not involve them coming to us.

Moringside is each of us...it is you. It is not a building...it is you. God want to use you as His instrument to transform the city of Phoenix for Christ...one neighbor, one family member, one friend, or one co-worker at a time by following Jesus' example and going and seeking them. Let us do that very thing.

The Difficulty of Being Missional - Love in Hard Places

Often times in the midst of severe trials and tribulations, our hearts lose sight that the Lord is good and that He knows what is happening in our lives. There are times that it seems like the Lord has abandoned us or forsaken us because of the suffering and pain present in our lives.

In the context of being missional, that is going out into the culture and seeking to be used by God to transform it, our hearts can quickly become discouraged because of the pervasiveness of sin and hopelessness in some segments of society. Take for instance the the capital of the pornography industry in and around Northridge, California. If God placed on your heart to love those tied to that industry and you felt compelled to impact that industry for Christ, you would have plenty of heartache. Certainly, you would have victories, but they would pale in comparison to the setbacks and disappointments that you would encounter. (The porn industry is huge. It makes more money per year than the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB combined.) It is tremendously difficult emotional work that would drain the best of us.

This is where our hearts must be lifted up by our minds. Our minds know that our Heavenly Father rules and reigns from above today and forever more. Our minds also know that the earth will perish, but God will remain. We know that Christ has broken the power to sin by being victorious over death. Yet, our hearts often do not understand those truths in the midst of our trials. Our impatience wants immediate action, our zeal for good wants sin to go away now, and our hearts desperately desire deliverance.

If you find yourself in this situation, please remember to read and meditate on the Lament Psalms (like Psalm 102. There are about 50 Lament Psalms throughout Psalms.) You will be comforted and be able to identify with the emotions and experiences of the Psalmist, and you be reminded that God is good, in control, will ultimately triumph and will deliver you from your heartache.

The Minority Report

Because we live in a post-Christian culture in big cities (not to say the post-Christian culture is not in smaller cities and towns), it is easy for Christians to become discouraged as they see the culture move further away from Christian values and beliefs. After looking through some statistics, I estimate that about 15% of the Greater Phoenix area have trusted Christ and that is on the high end. We are certainly a minority, yet we believe that we have the one thing that will renew minds, transform hearts, and inspire and equip souls: the Gospel.

Many of us are intimidated and feel inadequate because we are in the minority and some us may even think, "what's the point?" because the tasks of changing culture is just too daunting. Well, here is the good news. It not because we are strong or righteous that our cities will change. It's because God has gone before us and prepared a way for His Word to be received with softened and broken hearts. It's because of God's everlasting promise that He has made that He will redeem His people from their sins. It's because He wants to root out the evil and wickedness that is so pervasive in many segments of our culture.

It not because of us, for we are stubborn people, but it's because of His name and His glory. For me, this takes much of the pressure off my shoulders because I know that I am not ultimately responsible for changing culture, that's God's job. My responsibility is to say "Yes, Lord" when He calls and respond by being obedient even when I have doubts because of my weakness and the perceived strength of the culture. We are to be used as "Instruments in the Redeemer's Hands" as Paul David Tripp's book title suggests, nothing more and nothing less.

Nepal - Part Two

Many of us know this in our heads yet it is one of the most difficult things to do well and consistently: pray. I had the privilege of spending several hours with the pastor of flourishing Nepali church and he said that one of the first three teams he developed was an intercessor prayer team. If you have participated in any church planting conferences, this is one of the first things they address.

The unique thing about this pastor's team is that they pray together from 4 am to 6 am everyday. How many of our people are willing to pray at that time in the morning, much less two hours a day?

It is such a great encouragement to me to hear how God is working through economic hardship and government restriction in an overwhelming Hindu country. Make no mistake, the transformation that they are seeing with entire households turning to Christ is fueled by God's people crying out to their Heavenly Father and interceding on behalf of those whose lives have yet to be transformed. May we follow suit.

Being Missional - Nepali Style

We have had the privilege of hearing a first hand account of the wonderful work God is doing through a group of obedient Christians in Nepal - the home of Mt. Everest. Working with a fraction of resources that we have in America, these Christians are beginning to transform the country. We were so inspired to hear how God has used one family to impact the lives of so many.

A Nepali Christian man who was working with Campus Crusades for Christ in Nepal received a word from God to start a church in his town back in 2004. Four short years later they have scores of people coming to know the Lord, have set up 8 different schools on doctrine which has led to 7 church plants in the surrounding villages.

The thing that struck me the most is how these Christians are beginning to transform their community. The have started My Father's House, a safe refuge for children who have been kicked out of their homes and disowned because of their Christian belief and The Princess' House, a healing and educational refuge for prostitutes.

They have set up a rescue team who goes into the red light district to find prostitutes who want out of the trade, but are trapped in it. They bring the ladies who are interested into caring place that helps heal the emotional and spiritual wounds of their profession, teaches them the Bible, and a skill that they can use to become self-sufficient all within six months. They have had about 70 go through the program and now many of those former prostitutes are now ministering to their friends who haven't left the profession and encouraging them to go to the Princess' House.

I know many churches here in America do similar things, but wouldn't it be cool if more of us did more things. Many of our people are yearning to get involved to do something significant. Let's provide them avenues that align with their passion and set them free to do immeasurably more than we can ask or think.

How a Missional Ministry Starts

O.K., so I am having breakfast this morning with one of our core group men who has a burden for the homeless. He seems to be drawn to the inner city wherever he worships. We are located about six miles from downtown on the cusp of the super wealthy, the upper middle classs, the working class and the poor. We had Precept run demographic information for a five mile radius of location and 45 out of the 50 people groups in the U.S. (as identified by Claris) are represented in that five mile radius. The only groups that were not represented were the rural farming types.

Quite a place to do ministry if you like diversity which brings me to my point. Because of the density and proximity to so many different types of people, we are strategically located to do some great "missional" things.

This man has identified an underserved need downtown...transitional homeless housing. The homeless need a stepping stone between the shelter and mainstreaming back into society. That's the role of transitional housing...it helps the homeless get their feet wet to once again live independently and responsibility while having accountability measures in place to help them stay independent and responsible. It's tough where the rubber meets the road ministry, but it is a critical link for getting the homeless out of the cycle of homelessness.

This ministry opportunity would not be pursued, if not for the passion of this man. We want to equip people to pursue their God ordained passions to transform the city of Phoenix for Christ. Add this homeless project to the tutoring program at Camelback High, the possible small group study at Police Headquarters, and the work we are doing with needy families at the local elementary school and we are off to a good start. Please pray that God will bless our efforts, strengthen our resolve, and fuel our passion for the people of Phoenix.