I went to the coffee shop this morning to spend some time with my n0n-visible Best Friend. Read in his book and wrote down this journal entry:
Scripture
Soon the news reached he apostles and other believers in Judea that the Gentiles had received the word of God. Acts 11:1
Observation
Acts chapters 9 – 28 is an exciting account of how an exclusive group of people were transformed into an attractive group of people.
Application
I think Westside is supposed to be a hybrid. I think our call is to be both attractional and missional. I believe God is presently calling us to reaffirm our roots, our initial calling. Our burning platform: “If Westside doesn’t passionately fulfil her unique assignment to be contagious with God’s life, then precious individuals who would have become more and more alive in Jesus will live half-dead lives and then perish forever.”
Prayer
Lord, just as you shocked your people Israel (in the books of Acts) to return to their original call to reach a lost world with your love, shock us (Westsiders), awaken us, bring us to a new point of passion and clarity about our unique calling. Help us not to imitate other churches, but to know who we are called to become and what we are ordained to do, and to be and do that with fiery passion.
The room was full and tables were at a premium to I invited a lady and her daughter to sit at my table while I packed up to go. She asked me what I did and when I told her I was a church leader she told me she was a Buddhist. We had an interesting conversation that ended with this, “Isn’t it great that God’s bottom line is not religion, but relationship?!”