By Ben Spalink
At Grace, our mission is to know Christ and make him known. We’ve broken that down into four main parts: gather, grow, give and go. We just preached on “Go,” but you might be struggling to figure out your “go.” A helpful starting place is understanding the difference between insiders and outsiders.
I’m not a big fan of the word “outsider.” I’ve been an outsider my whole life - growing up as a “gaijin” (foreigner) in Japan, being a third culture kid in the United States during college, then being an evangelical pastor in New York City. Part of my personal mission has been to extend hospitality to those who don’t belong and to help the church overcome those barriers which sometimes keep people from experiencing Jesus’ love.
But, that word “outsider” is actually in scripture here in 1 Thessalonians 4:
9 Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. 10 And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. 11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, 12 so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.
While “outsiders” might sound pejorative, Paul’s concern is actually that outsiders come to respect and appreciate what is going on inside the church community. We wouldn’t care to impress people we don’t care about. The fact is that Paul very much cares about the person outside the church just as he cares for folks inside. Jesus also cared about the outsider and in his famous parable of the shepherd he made the point that the shepherd would leave the ninety-nine in search of the one lost sheep. Extending hospitality to strangers was a value in Hebrew culture.
What is an outsider? What is a stranger? It is a person who has yet to discover and appreciate the grace that God has offered them in Christ. They are people, like you and me, who need the unconditional life-changing love of God.
So what is your “Go”? According to Paul, it’s not knocking on doors. Some of us are called to overseas or local missions. But many of us, like the Thessalonians, are called to live lives of such gracious and overwhelming love that outsiders see it and respect it and want in on it. Whether on the job or at home, you are called to be productive. Part of your “go” is also participating in a Christ-centered community. It starts with basic kindness to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. Do you know how many churches are filled with mean-spirited people? They’re not at all attractive because religion (which I define as man-made rules and traditions) gets in the way of basic compassion. People want more badly to be right than they do to be loving. We would go a lot farther if we worked hard, made money, shared with the needy and kept quiet. Someone said, “Preach the gospel at all times. If necessary, use words.” Words are in fact necessary - people do need to hear about a God who shed his blood to forgive sins. The Gospel needs explanation - salvation comes by hearing. But working without complaining, minding your own business, being a team player, living generously and loving people well would go a long way to furthering God’s mission anywhere.
So what is your “Go?” The church grows more by attraction than promotion. We don’t really need to promote Jesus. We need to make sure his body, the church, is attractive. Let’s agree to pour out love on one another, to be generous, to care for each other, and in this way to fulfill the great commandment, “By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:35 NIV). I guarantee you: people will want to know more about your Jesus if they see you living out your “Go.”
Good blog it’s true there are a lot of mean spirited people in the church and I have seen that be a real turn off for to outsiders. I really haven’t experienced that at Grace thankfully. Actions do speak louder than words. Thanks for encouraging us on our GO