No Outreaches! (???)



Today I got up nice and early (4am) and went to Starbucks with my friend, Matt. So, we're talking and Matt (please, call him Daniel) says to me, "we oughta get the bbq's out front and bbq with the neighbors... like a block party..." typa talk.



And I get this really strong feeling that I definitely don't wanna do that. So I start to talk from that feeling. I say some pretty confusing (to me) stuff, trying to express what I feel about it...



But here's what it is, kinda:



I dig getting to know my neighbors and having redemptive relationships where I stand for the Gospel as a living letter--where I proclaim the truth in love and am "mailed" to them by Christ. I love that stuff dearly and love the way it pans out...



But I really don't dig "OUTREACH" as a concept of what we "oughta" do. I don't seehow that works. I know how many people's lives have been absolutely changed by a free bottle of water on a hot day from a group of Christians on "outreach". I hear the stories all the time, always told by the leaders of the "outreach", trying to get us to commit to more "outreach".



And I do that kind of stuff. I love to do just that kind of stuff. And I think that Jesus likes it when people do that kind of stuff. But there's a more 24/7 version of it that i'm getting sold out to. A 24/7 version that displaces my value for the good feelings and "beyond the comfort zone" satisfaction that "outreaches" give me.



And I'm hungry to see more people discover this 24/7 love lifestyle. To see HOMES become bases of Love and real life, keeping it real with Jesus. This is deep, and pushes out the concept of "outreach" on Saturday afternoon as satisfaction of the Great Commission.



That's it! Satisfaction of the Great Commission! It just so ISN'T "outreach". It's a life ablaze... And that's so not me. "Outreach" I can do, because it begins and ends at a certain hour and after, we all feel so good... And I will do that! I'm not quitting! And none of you should, either... But there's something so incredible that awaits us if we'll SEEK THE LORD in prayer.



We don't see this kind of "outreach" in the Bible. Instead, the book of Acts describes a COMMUNITY, ablaze with the bewildering power of God! It started with pursuit and waiting in prayer, and Galatians was written to keep it one.



Yep, a lot of what's going on there is Galatian. That is to say, flesh-inspired. Sorry. It's true.



So, we're committing to stoking up the prayer meeting and the community gathered instead of the BBQ.