Missional in the Suburbs: Part 9 – Sharing Our Faith

Having spent a great part of my Christian life in Fundamentalist and Evangelical circles I am very aware of the importance that is placed upon evangelism. (And believe me I know the distinctions and distinctives inside and out, both the good and the bad. I will write about just that sometime, but not now.) It does not take a Greek scholar (I am no scholar but I did have four years of the language) to see that “evangelism” and “evangelical” come from the same root word. That Greek word is euangelion. The word actually means “gospel” or “good news.” So in essence, being an evangelical or practicing evangelism has a lot to do with sharing the gospel of Jesus. This is probably best described in 1 Corinthians 15:1- 8 and other places in the New Testament.

In some folks mind, it appears that all that matters is the person’s soul. The material body is nothing more than an abode for a person’s immaterial soul. If that is the case, what happens to the body does not matter. Do we think Jesus just fed the hungry so he could feed the soul? Do we really think he did not care that they were indeed hungry? Did he heal the body of the sick just so he could heal their soul? Do we really think he did not care that they were sick? Of course he cared. When you see it that black and white the answer is clear. Jesus cared for the whole person. He was concerned with the poor and the oppressed and not simply because they had an eternal soul. He was concerned with their entire being, with their whole humanity.

The other week I received an email from a friend of mine in Ohio who shared a true experience that caricatures this in the extreme. The woman who wrote this is a Christian and is sympathetic with their belief in Jesus. But . . . well the point becomes clear easily enough.

I was walking Otto in the park behind our house and a younger couple approached me. She was wearing a long skirt, had long hair - looked like she came from one of the holiness churches. She was carrying an enormous Bible. He came toward me with a tract saying he wanted to give me some information. I told him I wasn't interested and he kept coming toward me talking. Fortunately Otto kicked into attack dog mode and started snarling and growling and they left me alone. I can't imagine that this approach really works. It's a Friday night at the park, you have two ball games going on, a birthday party in the picnic pavilion by the pool, and an assortment of people walking dogs and biking. The last thing anyone wants is to be accosted by people bearing tracts. David and Claire had two guys come up to them in the park so obviously some church is doing a push in the park tonight. Later they'll probably all get together to talk about how persecuted they are and how no one is interested in Christ and we're all going to hell. With no clue that their approach is a huge turnoff. Cornering a woman walking alone in an area near the woods is never a smart idea no matter what you're trying to give out. When I left they were chasing down an old lady walking up the hill.

When you read that, what comes to mind? My feelings are all over the place in that one. Not only have I had the similar experience, I had it from both sides! I have been both the recipient and the person doing the “evangelizing” in this manner. There may have been a time when this sort of cold evangelism worked well, but those days are rapidly becoming a thing of the past . . . if they are not already.

I fully believe if we are to be missional, we should share our belief in Jesus. We should share our faith journey clearly when the opportunity presents itself. If Jesus is the hope of the world, and I believe he is, we should be sharing his message with others. But that is not all that I believe. I also believe we should care for people in the here and now in addition to caring for them in the ever after. Call it holistic. Call it total person ministry. Call it whatever you wish. I call it Biblical.

If we are to be missional in a suburban setting we have to evaluate how we minister to the whole person and not just seek another “notch” in our gun. This will mean ministering in our suburbs, but it is going to mean venturing out of our suburbs at some point too.

This blog has had a bit of a ramble to it, and that is okay. It is my blog. But, I fear that some reading it may feel that I make light of the fact that Jesus died so we could be with Him in eternity. I do not make light of that fact. I am betting my eternity on it. I just do not want us to get so bogged down on eternity that we miss today.

Missional in the Suburbs: Part 8 – Missional and Steroids

I am back from vacation and trying to get re-engaged fully in what is taking place. Unfortunately with all that is going on presently with our worshipping community I never fully unplugged. Even though there was no Internet access, I had numerous phone calls last week addressing issues. So once again, I confess my sin and promise to “work on” learning how to better unplug. (That even sounds funny doesn’t it?) It is a lifelong process for me.

This past weekend in worship we were looking at the 9th in a series of messages from the book of Deuteronomy. This choice of studies was very intentional. You see, Fountain Park, as a new church, is very transitional. We are moving from a temporary location to a more semi-permanent one in this next phase in the life of our church. (Read about buildings in Part 5 of this series.) The comparisons to the nation of Israel in Deuteronomy are not difficult to make. Where the nation of Israel had lived their entire existence up to the context of the book of Deuteronomy as nomads or slaves, we have had a similar feel of being nomadic. Likewise, where the Israelites were moving into a new land we are moving. (Seeing how the people drifted from God often after arriving, I have to pray we do not follow suit on that!)

By now you are probably wondering what the heck is up with the title of this blog. Okay, here goes. Last week I was at a denominational meeting where I was giving an update on our ministry. In my explanation of what it means to be missional I, off the cuff, made a couple of statements and comparisons that rang true to me as I stated them. I repeated them this past Sunday in our worship gathering.

For many years we in the organized church have heard discussions on what was deemed “Lifestyle Evangelism.” (I have a book on my shelf by that exact title.) In the 1980’s the Christian Businessmen’s Committee did an excellent video series displaying that very theme in human characters. The basic premise of Lifestyle would be what is deemed “bloom where God has planted you.” As you live your life at work, at play, at home, etc., you should seek to be the presence of God in those locations as you seek opportunities to share your faith with others and hopefully see them come into a relationship with Jesus.

Some reading discussions on being missional could easily confuse it as just a repackaging of Lifestyle. While there is something to those comments in that it is about your everyday life, the comparisons fall short. I expressed in both the denominational meeting and the worship gathering that being missional is really lifestyle evangelism on steroids. Where lifestyle evangelism is about blooming where you are planted, being missional is seeking to have God plant you. Often that is somewhere else other than where you would normally go. It is about intentionally being involved in the community for the express purpose of being salt and light. Being missional is about getting into the lives of others where they live them not simply where you live your life.

If there is one word that would seem to make the shift seem clear for me, it would be the word “intentionality.” Being missional is being intentional about finding places to plant yourself and being Jesus for the folks you meet while there. It is taking everything up a notch.

As Fountain Park is moving worship locations, we are getting some input from those on the outside asking about the new place, how we feel about it, what is the excitement level, etc. You know . . . the usual. As I was writing some quotes for a local community magazine, I penned these words.

“This new facility is not our ‘church.’ To us, the church is the people who choose to make Fountain Park their worshipping community. We view this move as simply Phase IV in the life of the people who are Fountain Park Church.”

“The vision of Fountain Park Church is to be a missional community that would give more back to our community than we receive from it.”

“One of our goals would be to alter how folks view the church.”

I want us as a worshipping community to be intentional about how we express our faith, and where we live it. By that I am talking about finding new places to live out our faith that may or may not be where we would naturally find ourselves.

I want us to have lifestyle evangelism . . . but on steroids!

Vacation

I am heading out on vacation. Courtesy of some wonderful folks in my church, we will be staying at a small lake in Eastern Ohio. In addition to some reading, riding and resting, I intend to do some writing (sorry even a Southerner could not spell it with an "r"!) Since there will be minimal Internet access at best, I intend to come back with the Missional series complete and a few others started. Catch you on the flip side!

Missional in the Suburbs - Part 7: People and Life Situations - Con’t.

The past week has been pretty busy for me. I last wrote about performing my youngest daughter’s wedding. This Wednesday, my oldest daughter gave birth to our first granddaughter. Her name is Téah Jane Creasy. She is a tiny thing. She weighed in at 5 lbs. 12 ozs. and only 17" long. But is she ever beautiful!

So as I think about life situations . . . as you can see, I am living them in spades!! These are good situations for me, but I am reminded that it presents an opportunity for me to be missional when others around me experience the same!

Welcome Téah! I cannot wait to get a photo of me with all three children!!! I now need to update my profile!

Missional in the Suburbs: Part 6 - People and Life Situations

If you do much reading on missional church issues you have no doubt noticed, as I have mentioned here previously, that it usually seems to be spoken of in an urban setting. I am not railing against that, the urban area was overlooked for far too long in church planting. It just seems unfortunate to me, that now that urban ministry is getting its well deserved and much needed attention, most missional discussions end there. I guess I am a bit saddened that it has caused some folks to forget that missional also extends to the suburbs. In this series of blogs, I have attempted to talk about this oversight while at the same time talk about ways we can be missional in the suburbs.

I have been absent here for about a week. With our church’s new worship location in full scale preparation for our September move things have been a bit hectic. Another event that has taken a significant amount of time in our family this past week was the wedding of my youngest daughter – that is her in the photo. Weddings are always traumatic for fathers of the bride. This one was no exception. But it does lead into what I think is one missional opportunity in the suburban church.

My daughter’s wedding was outside at a local park and a relatively simple affair. I use the term relatively because we have all seen those weddings that take days to pull off and life savings to fund. But in reality a wedding is an event, and an important event. By the time September has ended I will have performed / participated in seven weddings in eight weeks. In each case, this was a major life event for the folks involved. It was a gathering time, a family time, and a community time.

There are two primary discussions put forth in the missional discussion as it relates to urban ministry. The first discussion is the idea of being in the third place with folks (work and home being the first and second) to model Christlikeness. The third place is their spot to relax or unwind, or play. The third place is where they go because they want to. The concept that urban areas are where there are large concentrations of people who need Jesus in their lives is the second discussion. My question aloud today is “do not these same two ideas hold true in the suburbs?”

Are there not people, thousands of people, in these areas? There are 50,000 in close proximity to our worship location. Look around where you are; we in Pittsburgh are not alone in this. This is more normal than not. If people matter to Christ, and they do, then people in the suburbs matter as well. And if we reach these folks with the gospel of Christ and change their lives what impact does it have? Let’s face it, many of these people are, or will one day become the leaders in business and society. What impact can we have if those folks enter their influential roles with a Christlike perspective on life?

Finding a “third place” in the suburbs can be a bit harder. That location may mean the sports fields for their children or the local coffee shop as I previously discussed. But could it not also be important family events – like a wedding. Is it not missional to be with folks in the important issues that arise in their lives? As I have done wedding after wedding I have been keenly aware that this is an opportunity I cannot pass up to allow folks to see something in me. Standing around with a guy at a wedding reception with a beverage in my hand talking about life issues, sports, or work is a great opportunity to be missional.

Here is another example. Two weeks ago I performed an outdoor wedding. The temperature was extremely hot and the wedding was in full sunshine. As the photographer took photograph after photograph after photograph I began to notice that folks were getting very hot. I transformed myself into a water boy and began carrying bottles of ice cold water to the family members and friends waiting to be in photos. I wanted them to see someone who would serve them with no expectation of return. I saw it as a missional opportunity.

Do you live in the suburbs? Are their events on the horizon that fit this type of opportunity? Do not dread them. These are opportunities to be with people in a missional way. If we are called to be missional (and we are) and we live in the suburbs, why not seek ways to be Jesus to the people you interact with in the situations of life?