I couldn’t sleep the other night and found these while surfing the net. I truly believe that these points are very important for anyone who calls themselves a Christian (or Xn). It’s actually some of the most important and succinct things I’ve read in a while. Miller has a great way with words.

Thirteen Paradigm Shifts we encountered doing Christian ministry in a pagan environment…

1. Other People Exist: Simply coming to the understanding that the world does not revolve around “me” but that everybody is having an experience, created by God, loved by God, and that we needed to repent of showing partiality…

2. Nobody will listen to you unless they know you like them: We began to understand that people, subconsciously, merit a religious or philosophical idea not on logical conclusions, but on whether or not the idea creates a “good person”…the definition of a good person being whether or not a person is kind to them, tolerant and understanding, able to listen without arguing and so on.

3. Nobody will listen to God unless they know God loves them: We came to believe there was usually a hidden pain behind hostility, that many people have been hurt by the church, or people or perspectives they believed to represent God. Many times it’s as simple as an interview they saw on CNN, but an apology and kindness went a long way in helping people understand God was loving.

4. Other people have morality and values: We came to understand that Christians do not own morality, that everybody lives by a moral code, not always informed by an ancient text, and yet it is there. Calling people or even thinking of them as immoral was, then, inappropriate. In fact, we often found that people who did not know Christ lived a morality close to his heart in many areas we had ignored, ie;  community, tolerance, social justice, fairness and equality, freedom, beauty and so on and so on.

5. Find common ground: Often the morality of others overlapped Christian morality, and we came to understand that in these cases, we would focus on the overlapping issues. We came to see this as kindness, just as though we were on a date or making friends, we did not focus on what we didn’t have in common, but rather on mutual feelings about life. We would not say or do anything to combat people unless they knew we loved them, and this takes a great deal of time.

6. Define terms in their language: We were careful about Christian sayings and phrases that might be offensive: Crusade, sin, immorality….we came to understand that concepts were more sacred than terms…

7. Telling somebody about the gospel is about them, not us: We were careful not to try to “build our organization” and respected peoples freedom and space. Sharing the gospel became an exercise in friendship, rather than an attempt to grow a machine. Often, people feel used if they feel they are being recruited. The gospel, we learned, is really about them, their feelings about God and truth, about sin, about life.

8. Don’t let spreading the gospel feel any different than telling somebody about a love in your life, about your children or a great memory: We realized that in telling somebody about Jesus, we were telling them about somebody we have come to love and need, and about something that had happened to us, an encounter. This keeps us from sounding preachy, and allows us to share part of ourselves in a friendship.

9. Include lost People in Your Community: Our organization was not exclusive. We invited non-believers into the community if they wanted to be invited. We were careful not to not be ourselves with them, but they were certainly invited and enjoyed being a part of the group. We explained terms that we used, what we believed, but other than that, continued as normal.

10. Apologize for what you represent: We discovered that many people have been offended or hurt by what they perceive Christianity to be. We allowed ourselves to stand in the place of “Christianity” and apologize whenever necessary.

11. Be authentic: We discovered the need to be as honest about our lives as possible. We did not feel the need to sale Jesus, as much as share what He has done in our broken lives. We had no problem sharing our doubts and fears about faith, along with our commitment and appreciation for what God had done.

12. Pray for the Salvation of others: We discovered the need to pray for others. This would insure God was working in peoples lives, as we asked Him to. We discovered the work of evangelism is something God lets us watch, but very little of it is what we manipulate. We repented of not believing evangelism was a spiritual exchange between a lost person and God, rather than believing it was a series of ideas we were supposed to convince others of. 

13. Ask people if they would like to know Christ: We decided to initiate, whenever the relationship called for it. We were not afraid to ask people if they would like to know God.

[Courtesy of DonaldMillerWords.com]

This is in response to a blog I wrote last week about living the Kingdom life. While that is all true, the analogy isn’t complete. So I’m here to add another story.

There is an idea that exists; a grand sweeping idea that lives, moves, and breathes. It has the power to give life and take it. It possesses the hope of something more. Then there is us. We are a people living without a home. We are strangers and aliens in a land foreign to us. Because we don’t belong, the world around us hates us. But we live with the idea buried deep within our hearts. The idea gives us a hope that we have a home somewhere. We know it exists, but only within our hearts. It has the power to change us and those around us; even those that hate us – especially those that hate us!

The idea that I speak of is Christ. He was much, much more than simply a man. He was also a divine being that loved us beyond anything we can comprehend. This idea, this love, is what is meant to fuel us as Christians. But something has been lost.

“The weakness of so many modern Christians is that they feel too much at home in the world. In their effort to achieve restful “adjustment” to unregenerate society they have lost their pilgrim character and become an essential part of the very moral order against which they are sent to protest. The world recognizes them and accepts them for what they are. And this is the saddest thing that can be said about them. They are not lonely, but neither are they saints.”

AW Tozer

We are apart of a Kingdom, yes, but we are pilgrims who are living far from our home. We must not lose our identity and become something we are not. But we are also not called to shrink away and hide. We are called to missional living.

“Jesus comes with saving love for the world. He creates the church as a missional community to join Him in His mission of saving the world. He invites me to be part of the community to experience His saving love and participate in it.”

Brian McLaren

We are meant to live open (Missional) and yet also closed existences (Kingdom). Just as Christ was both man and God, we must remember that we are called to be both Missional (man) and Kingdom (God) minded. At times they may seem to contradict each other, but it is that tension that keeps us in check.

Wikipedia [in describing Missional livng] puts it best, “All believers are missionaries who are sent to be a blessing to the culture around them through a lifestyle that mimics God’s kingdom here on earth.”

I’m sure you’ve all heard about it already. She’s called “Pillow Angel“, Ashely a nine year old mentally and physically disabled child.

“The bedridden 9-year-old girl had her uterus and breast tissue removed at a Seattle hospital and received large doses of hormones to halt her growth. She is now 4-foot-5; her parents say she would otherwise probably reach a normal 5-foot-6.”

                                                                                                                     [msnbc]

The parents have done this to make things easier on them as they take care of her in the future.

Now, you may be thinking I’m going off on a judgmental rant - well I am. I do feel like I have some license to speak into this subject. I had a little sister who was mentally and physically disabled from birth. Haley died when she was 13. Was she a big responsibility? Yes, it was difficult on our family.

But also one thing I do know is that she was also a tremendous blessing. Having her apart of my life has greatly shaped who I am today. And as I think of it, she may be the person who most influenced me. I loved her very much.

So I read stories like these and I feel empathy towards this family, but I must also wonder what are they doing? This opens up a huge moral window, one I think shouldn’t be opened. Just because her care is difficult doesn’t give them license to mutilate her. And that’s what they’re doing.

So if there are things in our kids that we find difficult, do we just send them to surgery? My son James is loud - do I have his vocal chords removed? My daughter Aida likes to stomp - should we sever her Achilles tendons? My other son Samuel isn’t potty trained - do we sew up his buttocks so he doesn’t soil diapers? Now, I know I’m exaggerating the point, but really folks this is a slippery slope we’re going down.

What gives us the right to play God? To me, I see this situation as one of simply convenience, not necessity. If she’s that much of a burden, they should just euthanize her (I’m not advocating this - just proving a point).

We all do this is in our walks with the Lord. Adversity happens and instead of walking through it with God, we cry out “take this away!” It’s a reminder to me that God takes us through processes, not simply point A to point B. Let us find joy in our struggles. Let us find Him in our hardships. If we avoid everything, we’re left with nothing. Through adversity we find sufficiency. Life is here to show us that we all need a Savior to walk with us, not deliver us from it all.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

                                                                            Philippians 4:6

This is something I’ve been trying to wrap my head around for 29 years. It’s a passage of amazing comfort - but something I easily forget [and live likewise]. It simply reminds me that it’s not about me. Life isn’t in my hands [thank God!]. And when I realize that it’s not all on me… I’m am free to live in his abundance and grace.

Sounds great a churchy, doesn’t it. But for some reason I can’t seem to put it any other way. “Don’t worry stupid, it’s not about you” is my other alternative. I just doesn’t seem a warm and fuzzy.