Being a witness today

I was raised in a Christian "bubble." My parents were both born-again, Bible-believing, church-going folk. In the Presbyterian background where I was raised, I was baptized as an infant, which meant to my parents that they were to raise me as a Christian with the hope and faith that I would come to my own personal faith as I grew to understand the basics of the Christian faith, with the Holy Spirit opening my eyes to these truths. The Lord honored the faith of my parents & grandparents (3 of whom were also believers).

My father was a full-time vocational pastor, with a specialty in Christian Education and Youth Ministries. Thus, I was raised in "the business." That is, I grew up in and around church. I attended lots of church activities, including Sunday School, children's church, Christian Service Brigade, Vacation Bible School, youth group, etc. My mother was an active leader of the weekly Bible Clubs at the public grade school I attended. I'm thankful for all these opportunities to get grounded in the Scriptures, to be taught by many caring followers of Jesus, and have good friends of the same faith.

I attended public school from Kindergarden through high school, as well as 2 years at a public university. Thus, I wasn't in a complete Christian "bubble." I had friends who weren't all Christians. However, the bulk of them were. After 3 years of Bible College (which was a real time in the "bubble"), I worked a couple of "secular" jobs before doing grad school, then heading overseas for the "mis*ion field" in 1988.

During the past few months, I've been stimulated & challenged by a growing number of relationships with some neighborhood people who could fairly be described as outside of the Christian faith. In the process of raising children, we've met many others in the same process.

One of my favorite authors is Andy Stanley, the founding pastor of Northpoint Church in the Atlanta suburbs. I think he has a good grasp of where a lot of "outsider" people are today. I was able to watch a couple of his messages in November and really appreciate his way of communicating.

In his book "Visioneering" (an must read book on leadership), I read a section this morning that really resonates with me. I know from many years of personal experience that it's easy to focus all our energy on "church" and making the institution go. I've done that.

But in more recent days, what has burned on my heart the most has been reaching out to those who aren't part of the "bubble." Certainly, there is the need for people to be in "full-time professional ministry" to help the church grow & minister. However, I'm concerned when I see some Christian friends who are so focused on this that they are completely out of touch with those who aren't part of the "bubble." For too long, I've been like this.

I'm going to copy the section of Andy Stanley that resonated with me this morning. It's under the title "Building Block #16: There is divine potential in all you envision to do."

God's ultimate plan for your life reaches beyond the vision he's given you for your family, business, ministry, and finances. He has positioned you to your culture as a singular point of light. A beacon in a world that desperately needs to see something divine, something that is clearly not of this world.

Above and beyond the achievements associated with your vision, he wants to draw people to himself. Our visions are means to a greater end. Namely, the glory of God and the salvation of men and women. This is his ultimate objective, his ultimate desire.

I'm afraid the majority of believers have never seen this important relationship. Consequently, our churches are filled with men and women who compartmentalize their lives. They differentiate between the religious and secular. The religious being all those duties that have to do with God; the secular being their other pursuits.

To make matters worse, they underestimate God's interest in their secular pursuits--after all, there wasn't anything very "religious" about rebuilding the wall around Jerusalem--and they overestimate his interest in their religious ones.

The truth is, our secular pursuits have more kingdom potential than our religious ones. For it is in the realm of our secular pursuits that secular people are watching. The marketplace, the club, and the salon are the environments that so desperately need a brush with the divine. It is there that God desires to demonstrate his power through those who are willing to be used in such a way. It is in the context of those arenas that the "awe factor" is potentially the greatest.

For that reason, men and women who this broader potential for their visions see no distinction between the religious and the secular. Both their sacred and secular duties are played out on the same stage with the same goal in mind. They see themselves as lights at all times in all contexts. For those unique individuals, every role, relationship, and responsibility carries divine potential.

These are the unique few who have not substituted gimmicks and tradition for the real thing. I'm afraid too many of us our content to set ourselves apart by bumper stickers and schedules. I've yet to hear a story of a Christian motorist being flagged down by another driver who was pierced to the heart by the sight of a fish on the back of a car. And our Sunday morning routines certainly haven't left the world standing in awe of our God.

Stanley continues (p. 226):

I have been privileged to know dozens of men and women who understand the relationship between the visions God has given them and what he ultimately wants to do through them. Of the people I am thinking about right now, not one of them is a professional minister. However, all of them view themselves a ministers.

Stanley describes 3 of the things that consistently attract the attention of those outside the faith:
1. Peace
2. Healthy relationships
3. Character






















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