Spotlight
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EvangeLectionary
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What happens when the school bell rings at the end of the day and children can’t just go home because Mom and Dad aren’t there? Is there a safe haven for the kids where they can go to an environment of safe play and homework time? A Phoenix church has come up with an answer that seems to be working.
The church is working hard trying to live out its mission: “The Church that Loves Their Neighbors.” Most recently the idea of an “after-school” ministry to children in the neighborhood is underway. The program is called “After the Bell.” The principal of the nearby elementary school and the Sunburst Elementary School program director were consulted and gave their blessing.
Less than a dozen students currently attend, but it is very early in the program, and, if enthusiasm can count for as much as experience the casual observer can’t help but “catch the spirit” of the children, the leaders and volunteers.
Over two decades ago I was sitting in a chapel service at a Christian university. A young man, barely twenty, walked tentatively to a microphone and stared out at the gathered crowd of 5,000 students and faculty. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
“There a lot of things I could say to you today. I could tell you about the times I did drugs and nearly died. I could tell you about things that should have landed me in jail. I could tell you about running away and living on the streets at fourteen.”
He paused dramatically and continued.
“I could tell you all those things… but they would not be true.” Then he and the audience burst out into laughter. He continued saying, “I grew up in a Christian home and never experienced any of those things. God blessed me to avoid many of the pitfalls that my friends experienced.”
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Despite the snowfall, 57 persons gathered in the warmth of a Vermont church hall for a two-day training conference offered in February 2008. The conference on Community Conflict Transformation (CCT) attracted a diverse group of participants, with only a few coming from religious communities. Most attendees came from area social service agencies, the local court system, the area health-care system and business and nonprofit sectors. Why did this workshop, sponsored at an American Baptist church and endorsed by the area’s interfaith council, attract so many persons from differing, yet primarily secular contexts?
“You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.”
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Written by Jonathan Shively |
 Dear Sisters and Brothers:Greetings in Jesus’ name! If you were given five minutes to tell your story right now about how Jesus’ love has impacted your life, could you do it? If I were to spend the next five minutes telling you about the love of Jesus in my life, would you recognize God’s work and could you be patient enough to listen? If we encountered one another on the street or in the store or over the phone today, would you be ready to express Jesus’ love for you, and for me, in meaningful ways? Evangelism is not a program or a project. Evangelism is a way of moving about in the world. In my humble understanding the word evangelism means that as we join in God’s work in the world we help others recognize the power and presence of God. We want to be equipped with eyes to see, ears to hear, lips to tell, hands to serve, and hearts to compel us into such loving relationships with the world. We want to recognize God’s reconciling and redeeming work, made flesh in Jesus Christ, in our daily lives! Sharing in the Good News is risky business because it means not only that the lives of others might be changed, but also that our lives might be transformed. God’s witness may show up in us to impact others, or in others to impact us. We can never be sure, but we endeavor to be ready.
“Here is the church, and here is the steeple. Open the door and see all the people.” So the saying goes. But on a recent Sunday morning a church in Phoenix, Arizona, was a notable exception. The parking lot was full of cars, but the pews were empty. The church sign said: AM worship cancelled; it’s time to “be the church.” Scores of the church members in ten to twelve teams scattered throughout the immediate community with rakes, shovels, garbage bags, weed whackers and lawn mowers to fulfill the message on their common identifying T-shirts: “The Church that loves their neighbors.” They trimmed palm trees, cut grass, pulled weeds, raked yards, picked up trash, washed cars and even did some dry wall repair at one home; all completely gratis, to the astonishment of those served by the church’s teams. |
Long before the worldwide web and the information age, the Apostle Paul recognized the value of training, and networking with others. Paul was an exceptionally gifted evangelist and teacher, and he saw the value in equipping others to do the work of the ministry. He encouraged those he trained (like Timothy) to follow his example and train others as well. The impact of this strategy caused the church to grow exponentially in the first century. Many people used, and continue to use their gifts to strengthen the kingdom of God. However, giftedness in evangelism is not what characterizes most believers. Evangelism is not first and foremost an issue of gift; it’s an issue of discipleship. The first thing Christ ever taught His disciples was “Follow Me and I’ll make you fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19).
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