Uncategorized Murray McLellan on 10 Jul 2007 09:39 am
Loving the city
Tim Keller writes an article on church planting in which he says the following …
“1. Locating
You need to live in or very, very close to the community of people you are trying to reach.
Some of the most heart-breaking church plant failures involved folks who simply would not follow this incarnational principle. Jesus didn’t commute from heaven every day, he moved in!
If you do not live in the community, you will tend to talk to issues the people do not have; and you will miss issues they do have. You won’t really know them.
If you do not live in the community you lose lots of time commuting!
If you do not live in the community, there will be fewer natural connects for evangelism.”
As Cheryl and I take the plunge to moving to and living in the city, I am praying for God to gather and make us a people who love the city of Saskatoon and will purpose to live here and impact this city with the gospel of the exalted Lord Jesus Christ. There are many who are seeking comfort and in the city you have to mix with sinners and they mess up your stuff and complicate your life. However, unlike the life goals and agenda of the world that is passing away, Jesus calls us to follow Him and live for His mission. May we live for the comfort and blessing of others.
Many of us love to talk about the mission of the church, but very few want to live the mission of the church. People at their core want peace, comfort, ease, and little effort. You can’t build the kingdom on these values. The kingdom is constructed on values of sacrifice, service, and selflessness. People don’t want to go to the difficult person to love, the hard person to reach, or even the neighbor across the street. Do I love my city? Do I love my neighbors? Do I love and trust Christ enough to be a vessel fit for His use and good pleasure in this city? Lord, work in my heart such that the cry would be a resounding, “Yes.”
on 11 Jul 2007 at 4:19 pm 1.Michael said …
Some of us know that news in a small town travels fast. And knowing this, I feel, as my beloved and I prepare to move to Wilkie, I almost need to put on a poker face and act like I’m one of them. One of them being a devout, drunken Catholic, not some Bible thumper.
But I have not learned so in Christ! I cannot cower beneath the blankets and watch this world backslide deeper and deeper into it’s perversity and sin! Amy and I must make stands for Christ at every opportune moment in Wilkie, fully knowing that it may cause us but a “light affliction, which is but for a moment” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
I know that Wilkie is a very strong Catholic town, and according to the Pope as of Monday, “There is no salvation outside the Roman-Catholic church” (seriously, those were his exact words). I pray Amy and I will stick out as sore thumbs because we will not submit to a man in a bath robe and a false god whose love is bought for a small fee.
I have found two great things written by Paul in Phillipians. First, in Philippians 1:29, he states, “For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake…”. What a privilege it will be to move to Wilkie and shine as ambassadors of Christ knowing of our greater reward in Heaven!
Secondly, in Philippians 4:4 Paul states, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”. Naturally, we are to rejoice because it has all been taken care of! Just looking to Revelation 20:11-15 and I see a reason to rejoice in Christ (keep reading into Chapter 21 for more tingly sensations). God knows what He is doing, I don’t.
So I guess what I am trying to say is this, I want to live my life for my King and I want to proclaim His glorious name. I want the folks in Wilkie Town to see something different about me, and I want to relate to them in all manners of life. I hope Amy and I will be able to share our faith out there, and I just pray that the Lord God would strengthen us with His might to make us so bold as to proclaim the Gospel.
To the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ,
Mikey
on 12 Jul 2007 at 1:05 pm 2.Jan said …
snip “Lord, work in my heart such that the cry would be a resounding, “Yes.””snip
And so…your house is sold;
go therefore and make disciples….
Blessings as God directs you and Cheryl to be used for God’s good pleasure in Saskatoon.
Our prayers are going up for you every day.
Jan and Larry
on 17 Jul 2007 at 3:06 pm 3.K.Manz said …
Here is another article by Tim Keller regarding Christianity and culture I thought you might like to check out:
http://www.christianvisionproject.com/2006/06/a_new_kind_of_urban_christian.html#comments
on 24 Jul 2007 at 9:42 am 4.Jan said …
Hey K.Manz- this was a really good read! Thanks for the link.
Jan