That is how Jude closed his epistle. Out of all of the things that have compelled my heart to love God in the moment, this is one that will never spoil or fade. One for which I hope for and is promised to me, yet will I never recieve till I die. It is the faintly visible truth that I, wretched one that I was, will indeed stand before God as His righteous one. Sometimes it is too wonderful for me to understand. But never does it fail to frustrate my enemies. Being in a constant reflection of that day is what it means for me to abide in the Spirit. I’d ask you to picture it but our imaginations can be a hit or miss type of thing. So, consider this parable instead…

There was once a man, the leader of nations, who was righteous and benevolent, intelligent and creative, compassionate and awesomely powerful. Yet, because he was so different, this man was utterly despised by all people. Every child, man, and woman created reasons to hold offense against him. Out of love and respect for their dignity, he resigned himself to provide, protect, and guide these people from behind the scenes. Many convinced themselves he never existed, others claimed to know him personally, yet distorted who he really was. Oh, but this man had a plan to never be alone. He had his eye on a particular woman. This woman was meant to be something beautiful, he could tell. She had some twisted remnants of the same qualities that he found within himself. The very ones that made him love her. So, this man chose her out of the world and set in motion a costly plan to make her ready for marriage. He told her his plan, many others heard of it as well. In fact, over time it became a laughingstock as her ugliness and immaturity were seen by all. What people couldn’t see, and even the woman herself had difficulty grasping, was that the man had already completed his work. The regeneration of this woman’s heart and body was like a slowly unfolding chemical reaction. Difficult to see, but impossible to stop. Then, on a day like any other, he appeared with his bride. Every mouth was shut up. Shock filled every mind. There she stood, as gorgeous as can be. And there he was, majestically full of joy. No one, absolutely no one could help but be impressed by what they saw.

That day is coming, brothers and sisters. We are the bride of Christ and we WILL be made worthy by his blood. Do whatever it takes to get hungry for that day when even demons will give God honor and glory for what they see. Shake things up, add a catalyst, stir, fan the gift into flame. And, keep reminding each other of our wedding day.

-John B

I want to be a part of a group (a ministry team, non-prof, whatever) that is devoted to helping the church lay the groundwork for the Gospel. I believe that things like unity, love, compassion, service, bearing the truth, and sharing God’s wisdom are some of the means that God has designed for this task. I’m especially willing to challenge norms and pursue some creative and innovative ideas to sharpen these tools, and any others that God intends to use. Though I can’t say I know exactly how these values and principles ought to be applied, I do know that this is a job for the Body of Christ, so even determining our mode of operation must be a community project.

So, the “plans” I’ve thrown out so far, like the e-commune thing and the strategic social service stuff, are really just a couple of methods that may indeed make us more effective. They are ideas that excite me and that I still want to consider but it would be foolish and ironically counter-productive to dive headlong into creating an organization without a much more coherent and collaborative effort at pursuing God’s plan. Therefore, deciding exactly how to best include the proper parts of the Body is our next step. I think gathering people experienced in social ministry, clergy from other denominations, and a diverse crowd of experience “cultivators” is wise at some point. But, what better place to start than with you? So, I have two questions:

1. What are some things that the Church ought to do to effectively improve people’s soil for the seed of the Gospel? Use scripture if you can.

2. I need a Prayer and Planning Team, can you lend your time and mind to help me proceed with this wisely?

By the way, if you’re wondering exactly what I mean by “cultivating”, think of it in terms of all the different ways that Christians can help soften someone’s heart. Think of your own testimony. It may also help to look at the Parable of the Soils, the example of John the Baptizer, who went ahead of the Word and prepared the way, and the example of the early church as recorded in Acts and the Epistles. I’ll be looking forward to your response.

A decent portion of my education dealt with the controversial task of introducing new and complex innovations into established cultures. There are, predictably, approaches to this issue that hail from disciplines as varied as psychology, sociology, marketing, ethics, political science, and anthropology. As I sat in class or had my nose in books I always tended to imagine what the Unchanging One would think of these perspectives on change. Isn’t it interesting that God is sanctifying his children in a world that is going to burn one day? We can have so much hope for peace in Him, yet this world will have wars and suffering until the end of time. My education couldn’t offer satisfying practical advice, but just provided dilemmas of its own. In Political Science we learned to brandish as Fundamentalist any notions that something in the past, like the early church, is worth emulating. Yet any radical musings that hoped for positive change called for the stamp of Progressivism. I find this paradox especially delightful when I consider how innovation in Christian sub-culture might improve our unity, well being, and influence to the extent that we resemble the early church. This is no “Hark!” to olden times, but neither is it an attempt to harness human potential in a march to utopia. Remember, it’s no goal of mine to solve the world’s problems, but to join God in advancing His kingdom. So, let us dare to place one eye on Acts 2: 44-47, and 4: 32-37, while we consider if the following innovation could serve to help our churches be MORE UNITED, WELL CARED-FOR, and INFLUENTIAL …

With these goals in mind, let us put to use some sort of interactive website to communicate the supply and demand of goods and services among Christians. Side Note #1: I think the best way to create and manage such a thing is a non-profit organization, but that discussion is for another day.

Now for the nuts and bolts, keep the above goals in mind when thinking about these: One function of the site could be as a “Registry of Help”. The agency could encourage Christians in a group to register their material belongings and non-material skills, services, and expertise, making them available for others to borrow or utilize as needed. A person with a particular need can communicate that need to the agency, by either searching the site or directly contacting the agency, whichever is most appropriate. The users most immediate sphere (small group or team) will first be searched for the desired help, if this group cannot meet the need, the search will continue to the user’s church, followed by the user’s community of churches, until the need is met. If no solution is registered with the agency, then a request for help can be sent out via the same order of priority. Also, when unexpected and especially urgent needs arise the agency could mobilize a rapid and strong relief effort through its member network.

God has blessed His body with many human resources. These spiritual and vocational gifts can really serve to meet our goals if properly utilized. Just a few examples of services that the agency could network include the following:
-Counseling: Both lay and clergy counselors could register their particular gifts and experiences so Christians in need of such help could efficiently and confidentially find the best help for them.
-Mediation/Arbitration: Connect Christians in conflict with unbiased third-parties who are willing and able to assist in solving differences outside of the public’s eye (1 Cor 6).
-Childcare: Connect volunteers with other users who may need but cannot afford childcare. (Could some church offer a class to train and endorse the childcare providers?)
-Employment: Connect the Christian employers with users who are unemployed/underemployed.
-Business: Register the Christian-run businesses in the area so users can choose to patronize them.

Many needs and resources are, however, purely financial. By allowing users to donate and request money, the site could fulfill a similar role as that of the “Apostle’s feet” from Acts 4:34-35. Money may be received, managed, and distributed according to needs as interest free micro-loans, emergency funds, or ministry donations. Of course, the intention would not be to replace regular tithing to users’ own churches. This function could be especially helpful if it ran a consignment shop that, for a fee, sells peoples goods for them (on eBay or Amazon, for example, as a way for the agency to have earned income). It could also receive goods as a donation in-kind, sell the items, and place the proceeds into the “Apostle’s feet” account to be distributed.

There are two other possible features that others have mentioned would be useful, both of which would serve well to get groups initially involved with the agency, especially the website. The first would allow users to coordinate social activities through an interactive calendar program that allows them to automatically sync their church or small group events calendar with their personal schedules. The second would be to host some kind of work-flow collaboration program that, for example, could help student organizations work together to draft new constitutions and by-laws in accordance with the new ISU Student Organization Recognition Policy.

Thus far, those are the ideas that have arisen for using innovation as an aid for better UNITY, CARE, and INFLUENCE in our churches. There are, of course, some things we need to be cautious about. For instance, we ought to take measures to protect the security of people’s belongings, and to discourage this service from becoming just another marketplace. The organization must also be sure it is serving to strengthen, and not to undermine, each of the church families it partners with. There may also naturally be some negative connotations with this since its basically an e-Commune. That said, solutions are workable and no doubt I’ve missed some other possible functions or considerations, so now is your chance to communicate them.

Side Note #2: The potential scope of the site really excites me, but realistically it would initially serve just a few interested small groups. In time, however, it could expand church wide, and eventually encompasses many Churches within Ames. If things prove effective, it seems reasonable to eventually expand into other cities, maybe starting with those with Great Commission Churches.

There is a “second” aspect of this potential ministry that is essentially the OUTWARD effect of achieving greater unity, compassion and influence: being used by God to prepare people for the Gospel through networking and equipping social ministries. The website concept may also have some functions in that realm but I’ll leave that to my next post. I will then discuss the niche that the outreach ministry will fill, how it ought to partner with existing ministries, and why I believe its mission is unique. I will also attempt to lay out a sort of scriptural defense of why I believe God is interested in using social ministry to prepare people for the Gospel, and why the particular approach I’m suggesting is likely to be used by God most effectively, as an addition to what the church is already doing. Till then, PEACE, LOVE, UNITY, and EFFECTIVENESS.

And then there’s God’s grace. You know, that immaculately reassuring truth that is so much more than a second chance. Grace teaches me that the years of mental drifting had a purpose. They were meant to build my character, to prepare me for…that’s right, something great. It sorta makes sense now. I did learn a thing or two down those dead ends. And indeed, I’m not the boy I once was. Still weak, but not a boy for sure. This sharp sense of God’s control and goodness gives me the faith to pray “LORD, just show me yourself doing something…ANYthing, and I’ll join you. I trust that you have a plan for me, and I’m finally willing to hear what YOU say that plan is.”

Side Note #1: When God finally gets our heart like that, and begins to really guide us, I wonder if even the clearest directions have to be checked against the mirror. So often I seen way too much of my desires, my preferences, my self in the plans I make. The Spirit may pour new love in my heart and open my eyes to see God in unexpected places, Scripture may come alive in fresh and exciting ways, my little brother my actually not say “That’s the stupidest idea since the spring-loaded intersection”, but none of this means I can trust myself. None of this means I can be proud of something. This is why I need the family I have, and this is why you can help me.

So, here’s the results of that “just show me…” prayer: For one, I believe God wants us to reconsider how we’ve made ourselves available to Him for the task of preparing people for the Gospel. Specifically, that God really uses stuff that we might recognize as “social-ministry”, but it ought to be more purposeful, or strategic, than is often the case. However, before we get too carried away with what we can offer others, we also should improve in our service and love for God’s family, starting in our small groups, but actually including Christians in other churches, if necessary.

Side Note #2: Yup, that’s basically it, I hope you weren’t anticipating anything new or flashy. Actually, I was anticipating that kind of thing. It is kind of humbling to see that this task may resemble that same old well-wishing-sappy-load-of-garbage that denominational Christianity has been using for decades to water down the Gospel. However, I firmly believe God has something far more real and Spirit led than “let’s join hands and love the world.” Forget that, let’s go make disciples of all the nations.

In my next blog, I’ll start to outline some of the principles and convictions that have come up as my eyes have been opened to how God uses His church to cultivate people’s soil. I want this to spur a conversation, and I don’t really care if it takes place here, or if you want to call me or grab me in person. The point is, you have a unique story of how God prepared you for faith, and even now, you have needs that some Christians around you were probably designed by God to help with. We all have a stake in this, and we all have something to offer. And I understand if I sound frustratingly vague, stick with me here, I have plenty of specific ideas that I’ll be throwing out for you to chew on, and spit out, hopefully, much improved. And by the way, it means so much to me that you care enough to have read this, so thank you. I’ll be talking with you soon…