I have been struggling with the question, “Is this Coronavirus pandemic an interruption or a disruption for the church?”  I learned early on that to help the church move forward missionally, I needed to hear the voices of people with prophetic gifting. Reading and talking with those who might give me some clarity, I have come to the conclusion that it is both.

Let me try to shed light on this with an illustration. Years ago, in the days of network only TV, I lived 65-70 miles from the city where our television broadcasts originated. Back in the days of no viewing on-demand, we received only three channels, ABC, NBC, and CBS. Often in the spring, as I was watching one of my favorite shows, there would be an interruption as a newscaster would break in with a severe weather warning. After the warning was over, an announcer might say, “We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming already in progress.”

In contrast, a disruption would be when a tornado hits your house, and everything changes.

Interruptions bring a pause in our normal routines, but disruptions bring dramatic change to our lives.

As an interruption, COVID-19 has put some things on pause that will eventually revert back to “regular programming.”

As a disruption, COVID-19 has drastically changed the way we will go forward, not only in the church but in our personal lives and in society as a whole.

I encourage missional pilgrims to be aware that God often interrupts their daily routines to show them where He is working, but today I want to focus on the issue of disruption

Our landscape has radically shifted

We are living in disrupted times. The landscape around us is shifting, and these shifts are affecting the church. From the Coronavirus to racial unrest, to political upheaval, our ministry and missional rhythms have been shaken. 

We must not ignore the disruption. We must ask ourselves if God has allowed or even brought these events upon us to advance His mission.

Let’s be brutally honest. Even before the disturbance of 2020, the church in America found itself at the margins of society. We have struggled with ways to address the changes around us in a culture that has increasingly grown disinterested in the church and in Christian values. But we should be encouraged because the church has always done its best work when it is on the fringes.

God works through disruptions

We might be tempted to say that God does not disrupt our lives, but if we examine scripture, we will see that He makes it a habit of showing up and disturbing steps and plans. We cannot thumb through the pages of the Bible and not see, that time and time again, God disrupts His people.

Let’s look at some biblical examples of disruptions that were more than interruptions:

• Abraham was going about his normal life in Ur, but God disrupts and calls him to journey to Canaan. (Genesis 12:1)
• Moses is minding his own business tending sheep when God disrupts and sends him to Egypt. (Exodus 3:10)
• The lives of the Israelites were disrupted, and they leave Egypt and journey to the Promised Land. (Joshua 24:5)
• Mary and Joseph are making plans for their marriage when their lives are disrupted with the news that Mary will be the mother of the long-awaited Messiah. (Luke 1:29-31) (Matthew 1:20-25)
• Peter, Andrew, James, and John are living the normal lives of fishermen, and Jesus says to them, “Follow Me.” (Matthew 4:18-22)
• Ananias is safe in his home when God’s call comes, “Go to a man named Saul.” (Acts 9:15)
• Saul is comfortable as a Pharisee, but God sends him as the apostle Paul. (Acts 22:21)
• The church in Jerusalem is disrupted and scattered by persecution. (Acts 8:1)

God works through disruption over and over again, and once you see it in the Biblical record, you cannot un-see it.

God changes the world through disruptions

We love the status quo, and we relish our comfortable routines, but God wants to bring our thoughts into line with His thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9) and prove His abundant ability to do all things (Ephesians 3:20-21). 

God changes the world through disruptions.

1. Disruptions are not obstacles to be avoided, but God’s invitation to join Him where He is working. 
2. Disruptions turn lives upside down. 
3. Every time God disrupted lives, He sent His people on His mission to redeem the world. 
4. When God’s servants accepted His invitation and stepped over the threshold, there was no going back, and things were never the same. 

Paul was able to deal with his ever-changing situations because he was clear about his mission. He could never get God’s ever-echoing call from his ears, “I am sending you…” (Acts 26:17-18)

Mary sees her plans crumble and then affirms, “I am the Lord’s servant. May your word to me be fulfilled” (Luke 1:38). 

And the world was never the same. 

Perhaps God, right now, is trying to show us that there might be a way to move forward in mission that we ever imagined.

What will we do when our status quo is disrupted?

The fact that the status quo has been disrupted calls for creative forms of advancing the gospel in the places where we live, work, learn, and play. We must find our gospel voice and speak into our culture lest we become “children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes” (Ephesians 4:14 NIV). 

Will we go and change the world?

We wrestle with knowing how to live missionally when our going is limited by barriers such as the fear of getting sick, government restrictions, and limited public gatherings. Many people are even afraid to stop and speak in public places.

During the upheaval and disruptions of Covid-19, the way we go about our missional journey may change, but our identity and our call to go has not. We are still sent. We are still a missionary family, sent to join the Father where He is working.

Mark 6:7-11 records Jesus sending the twelve, and He would later send the 70 and ultimately send us.

Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits. These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

Sent by Jesus

Because God is a missionary God, we are a missionary people. Individually and collectively, we are sent to join the Father in His mission.

If mission defines who Christ is, and if Christ sends us as He was sent, then missions defines who we are.

Unable to control the outcome

Jesus sends them and gives them authority, but look at what He takes away. He removes control. Jesus authorizes and sends them on a task and then takes away the ability for them to control the outcome. Part of being sent is being people with authority who are no longer in control. 

They have no money, no food, and they don’t even know where they are going to stay. They are completely dependent on the condition of the times, the environment in which they find themselves, and the disposition of the people to whom they are sent. 

One of the things that trouble us the most in this pandemic is the loss of control. As much as we want, we cannot determine the outcome. We’re not calling the shots, and we don’t like it.

We do not know what the future holds, and one way we seek to regain control is by going back to the past. We long to go back to the safety of what we know. We urgently want to restart all the things we did before.

But what if losing control is a good place to be? What if to be obedient to Christ’s call, we have to go forward into uncharted territory. Is God using this pandemic to make us depend not on ourselves, but the one who saved us and sent us? 

Just as the twelve found themselves stripped of their clothing, food, and money, we find ourselves stripped of the familiar and are forced to yield and surrender the situation to the Holy Spirit and trust the one who sends us. 

We may not be able to control our uncertain times, but we are secure in Christ. We are not powerless, we are not victims, and we are not without purpose, and our direction is forward – not backward.

A team effort

Jesus sent them two by two. We are not smart enough, wise enough, and strong enough to do this by ourselves. We are never called to do this alone. We need the relationship of brothers and sisters in Christ. 

As we look for new ways to fulfill the mission, we need to find someone to talk through what it means to be sent in our current circumstances. Find a partner or group of fellow travelers to talk with, listen to, and plan with. Don’t go it alone.

Impacting households

Jesus is inviting us to engage in something that goes against the grain of what we want to do. We want to spend all our time with others who are like us, people we know and feel comfortable with. But Jesus is sending us to spend time with and to depend on strangers who need to know that God’s kingdom is near. 

When you find someone who will open their lives to you, stop, stay, and impact those who welcome the messenger, and ultimately the message.

Our identity and call has not changed

Isolation and barriers do not negate that we are a missionary family, sent to join our missionary Father in His work. Change isn’t easy, but it is inevitable. What will we do in this time of change? Steve Addison writes:

To fulfill their mission, the most effective movements are prepared to change everything about themselves except their basic beliefs. … Movements embody their vision and values in systems that are effective, flexible and reproducible, outlasting and even surpassing the influence of the first generation of leaders.

Missional Challenge

Find at least one other believer and begin to pray and talk about what it looks like to live sent in a pandemic and then in a post-COVID world. 

Then: 

1. Keep living sent 
2. Surrender control of the outcome 
3. Find ways to move out in the current situation 
4. Impact people groups

This call was simple and was given to sinners and unbelievers. Men, women, the poor, the rich, the religious, and the nonreligious were invited to come discover who He was. Many who responded came to realize that they were following more than a great teacher. They discovered Him as the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the living God.

Caesar Kalinowski writes:

“Discipleship is the process of moving from unbelief to belief, concerning what is true of God, and now true of us, in every area of life”

Jesus said, “Follow me.”

Today spend some time and read through the invitation to follow that Jesus gave in the gospels.

Matthew

• “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”  At once they left their nets and followed him. Matthew 4:19-20 NIV (Emphasis added)
• But Jesus told him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead.” Matthew 8:22 NIV (Emphasis added)
• As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him. Matthew 9:9 NIV (Emphasis added)
• Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:38 NIV (Emphasis added)
• Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Matthew 16:24 NIV (Emphasis added)
• Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21 NIV (Emphasis added)

Mark

• As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him. Mark 2:14 NIV (Emphasis added)
• Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. Mark 8:34 NIV (Emphasis added)
• Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Mark 10:21 NIV (Emphasis added)

Luke

• After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, Luke 5:27 NIV (Emphasis added)
• Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:23 NIV (Emphasis added)
• When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Luke 18:22 NIV (Emphasis added)

John

• The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” John 1:43 NIV (Emphasis added) 
• When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 NIV (Emphasis added) 
• My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27 NIV (Emphasis added) 
• Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will John 12:26 NIV (Emphasis added) 
• Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, “Follow me!” Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me.” John 21:19-22 NIV (Emphasis added)

Who Do You Follow?

All seekers are invited to come, follow, and discover who Jesus is. 

Have you ever thought about what it means to follow Jesus? If not, you should, because Jesus’ invitation is still offered today. 

If you have accepted this call to journey with Jesus, do you have friends who need to hear His invitation? Why not simply invite them to join you on your journey of discovery. 

Do you have a small group of fellow seekers you are traveling with on this journey of discovery?

Contact Called to the Journey for more information about the invitation to follow Jesus and Discovery Communities.

It feels we live at a time when everyone is talking, and no one is listening.

Do you, like me, struggle with listening well? Whether it is because of laziness, selfishness, busyness, or whatever, so often I just don’t get it right. I want to move past what Paul Tournier called “dialogues of the deaf.”

In our troubled times, we must learn to listen well because the Bible says:

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry.

This is Part 1 of a three-part series that hopefully will help us gain some skill in Listening Well.

Part 1: The God Who Listens
Part 2: The Importance of Listening to Others
Part 3: Listening that Makes a Difference

God, the Great Listener

Our God is a God who speaks. But He also listens.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes,

God’s love for us is shown by the fact that God not only gives us God’s word but also lends us God’s ear…Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been committed to them by him who is himself the great listener and whose work they should share.

Yahweh Listens

Yahweh, the LORD, is a listening God. He heard the cry of Abel’s blood from the ground after he was slain by his brother Cain. He hears the prayers of childless and abandoned women. The LORD hears the cries of the oppressed voiced through the psalmists and prophets as they call out for justice, righteousness, truth, mercy, and deliverance.

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

The Messiah Listens

Jesus, the deliverer, was a listening Messiah. He heard the cries of those on the margins of society; the lepers, the blind, the sick, and the crippled. He heard the struggle of a sinful woman beside a well (John 4). He listened to the pain and confusion of two distraught disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 23:13-15).

Jesus, gave us the example of listening to the Father when He said,

For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me to say all that I have spoken. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

The Danger of Not Hearing

The deliverance of the Hebrew people from the slavery of Egypt did not begin with the Passover, the plagues, or even when Moses entered the halls of Pharaoh and declared, “Let my people go!” It did not even begin when God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. It started with God hearing the cries of His people.

During that long period, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned in their slavery and cried out, and their cry for help because of their slavery went up to God. God heard their groaning and he remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac and with Jacob. So God looked on the Israelites and was concerned about them.

Some have called the story of the exodus the duel between two kings. On one side, Yahweh, the King of the Universe, and on the other Pharaoh, the king of the Egyptians. There is a warning in the contrast between these two kings. The king of the Egyptians did not hear the cries of the oppressed, the voice of God spoken through Moses and Aaron, nor even the cries of his own people as they suffered during the plagues.

Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard and he would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.

Pharaoh lost the battle. We must not ignore the consequences of not hearing.

Growing in the Image of the Listening God

Listening is an activity of our Heavenly Father in which we get to participate. Missional Christ-followers have the opportunity to reflect the image of the listing God. We live in the likeness of the Great Listener when we listen well.

Will we be like our listening God and “turn our ear” to others and hear their cry?

A song from the early years of my ministry that continues to have meaning for me is Fill My Cup Lord. It was written in 1953 by Richard Blanchard, a Methodist minister.

In the first stanza of the song, the writer identifies with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well (John 4:5-42) and her search for life and meaning. The chorus cries out for the Lord to fill up the empty thirst of a meaningless search of both Blanchard and the woman.

Like the woman at the well, I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy
And then I heard my Savior speaking—
“Draw from My well that never shall run dry.”

Fill my cup, Lord;
I lift it up Lord;
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul.
Bread of Heaven, feed me till I want no more.
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole.

In the second stanza, Blanchard recognizes the search of all humankind when he pens,

There are millions in this world who are seeking
For pleasures earthly goods afford.
But none can match the wondrous treasure
That I find in Jesus Christ my Lord.

Discovering the Way the Truth and the Life

In the first chapter of John’s gospel, as Jesus begins His public ministry, two of John the Baptist’s disciples come to Jesus and ask an open question of discovery, “Lord, where are you staying.” And Jesus’ simple reply is, “Come and see.” 

Their acceptance of the invitation was the beginning of their journey, and they discovered the Word made flesh who revealed the Father and made Him know.

Jesus continues to invite men and women to come and discover who He is and how He speaks to their search for meaning and life. He invites them to come with their emptiness, restlessness, and hopelessness. He welcomes the seekers trying to make sense of their broken hearts, crumbled dreams, and misdirected lives. He offers them the possibility of the life-changing discovery that He is the way, the truth, and the life.

Discovering How to Live in Christ

But the discovery does not end with professing faith in Jesus. Those who know His as savior are still seekers longing to discover more about how to let Him live in and through them. They long to discover how to celebrate Him in community, pursue His mission in the world, and be transformed into His likeness.

Discovering Fellow Seekers

Christ-followers are sent to invite others to follow and discover. Their mission is to find fellow seekers and call them to the journey and make disciples who make disciples.

Jesus calls His followers to be discoverers of the truth that He reveals through His Word. Those discoveries are made in listening rooms, on the paths of everyday life, and in discovery communities of fellow seekers.

Missional Challenge

Think of someone that you know who is struggling with the issues, problems, and needs of life, and invite them to join you on your journey of discovery.

The simple invitation is, “Would you like to read the Bible together and discover what it has to say about life?”

Some consider the first use of the term missional to be by Dr. Francis DuBose, a former professor at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, in a book titled God Who Sends published in 1983.

The word “missional” is the adjective form of the noun missionary and can be used to describe words like church, activity, characteristic, etc. It can also be used to describe the lifestyle of Christ-followers who embrace the identity of missionaries.

A missional Christ-follower is one who identifies himself or herself as a “sent-one’” and lives accordingly.

A missional Christ-follower is one who identifies himself or herself as a “sent-one” and lives accordingly.

Missional is a lifestyle

Missional is a lifestyle. It is not adding some new activity to an already overcrowded schedule. It is about intentionally pursuing the mission of Christ in the everyday rhythms of life.

We sometimes have difficulty connecting the words mission and missionary with everyday living. Our church vocabulary has given the image that a missionary is someone who has a specialized job and who travels to some distant location to pursue the work of God. We tend to think of mission as being something so important that we can’t connect it with the everyday routines of our lives.

But, being missional is being a missionary everywhere you are – in the places where you live, work, learn, and play. Our mission field is not far away, it’s in the routine of our daily lives.

Alex Absalom writes:

“Every Christian is a missionary sent to carry the hope we’ve found back to the places we live, work and play. We do this by actively loving our neighbors – those we are living next to (at home, work, school, the gym, etc.) – through intentional blessing and sharing with the hope we have found in Christ”

Why live missionally?

Because we are called to follow a missionary God.

How do we live missionally?

By coming along side people and engaging the them the same way Jesus did.

Missional Challenge

Ask yourself daily in your regular routines of life “Who has God sent me to love?” And, “How can I share the hope I’ve found in Christ with those among whom I live, work, learn, and play?

Grace and peace to you on your missional journey

On this journey, you will explore values that that missional Christ-followers must embrace if missional practices and rhythms are to be formed.

…Remain Centered on Christ – 1 Corinthians 2:2

The identity and life habits of a missional Christ-follower must be firmly centered on the leader, Jesus Christ. Paul set the example when He declared, “For me to live is Christ.”

…Celebrate Christ in Community – Acts 2:42-47

Missional life is best lived in the context of community with fellow travelers. You are not called to follow Christ alone. Christian community is the best argument for the Christian faith.

…Pursue the Mission of Christ – Luke 4:17-19

Those who follow Christ are called to bless others and carry out God’s mission of reconciliation and redemption in the world. This mission is pursued in the everyday rhythms of life in the places where you live, work, learn, and play.

…Grow in the Likeness of Christ – 2 Corinthians 3:18

Focusing on Christ leads to being transformed more and more into His likeness. Your Christlikeness influences your relationship with your fellow travelers and with those you encounter in the world.

…Make Disciples of Christ – Matthew 28:19-20

Missional Christ-followers take seriously the commission of Jesus to make disciples who make disciples and reach pockets of people with the gospel.

Missional Challenges

From time to time, you will be called to action to move you from theory to practice.

Your Next Steps

1. Register to receive the latest posts with email delivered straight to your inbox.
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3. Spread the word by sharing on social media.
4. Invite others to join you on this journey

Grace and peace to you on your missional journey

In the Gospel of John alone, either from John’s stories about the things Jesus was doing or from Jesus’ own lips, there are near 40 references to Jesus being sent.

Jesus not only sees himself as one sent, but also as one who sends. He commissions His followers with this declaration, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21).

God’s people are a sent people

Christ-followers draw their identity from Jesus, the one they follow. And as He was sent, they are sent. Among other things, they are sent, both individually and collectively, to declare and demonstrate God’s Good News to a broken world. They are God’s servants, carrying the message of the cross.

The Father is always working, and He sends His people to join Him in His work in the places where they live, work, learn, and play.

This is the missional path.

Grace and peace to you on your missional journey

On January 13, 2003, I climbed into my pickup and drove away on one of the most challenging journeys of my life.

As a minister and pastor of more than 30 years, God was calling me to step out of my comfort zone into unfamiliar ground. At age 53, I found myself moving toward a dream God had placed within me.

My heart was in my throat as I watched my wife, Beth, waving from the sidewalk. For the first time in 30 years of marriage, we would be apart for more than a few days at a time. She was going to continue teaching until May and get our house ready to sell while I worked at a new job 400 miles away. For the first time in more than 30 years, I would be employed in a position that was not ministry-related.

As I drove, the story replayed in my mind. My experience in professional ministry had been mainly positive. In my current pastorate, I had a good compensation package along with all the perks, plus a good ministry budget. I had the freedom to lead. By all external appearances, I had it pretty good.

But Christ was calling me to follow in a new direction. An enthusiasm for church planting and starting simple, organic churches was increasing.

I was disturbed by the inability to impact the current North American culture through the system in which I worked. At first, I criticized this emerging way of life. It was becoming more difficult to reach people with the Gospel with my current methods. Retreating behind the walls of the church was still another option, but God began to show me another way of sharing His Good News. I was not to curse the culture or retreat from it. I was to use it.

I found myself hungrily reading anyone who was offering fresh ideas for ministry. I began to see the possibility of God’s people connected in simple, relational gatherings, supporting and encouraging one another. Although I hadn’t even heard the word missional, I was moving toward a way to reach those who would not attend our traditional churches. It wouldn’t be long before I would learn that living missionally was about more than church attendance.

I was facing a crisis of belief. Was I going to yield to the invitation to this new adventure or suppress it? I could wait until the picture became more clear, or I could cross the threshold and take a step of faith. I could not escape the call of Christ.

My seven-hour drive ended, but the journey was just beginning.

In His time, Christ brought together a group who would establish a simple, organic church in the north Dallas area. I will forever be indebted to those early adapters who shared this journey with me.

On this journey, the church, as Christ’s body, has become so precious to me. I understand more fully how the priesthood of believers works in practical and missional ways. I see disciples daily living as Christ-followers rather than merely having head knowledge. I have discovered that entangling people relationally in the net of God’s love is a dynamic form of spiritual transformation. People with little or no church background are responding to the Good News of Jesus.

Looking back, I realize that God had been preparing me for this journey all my life, from the simple rural church I belonged to in my childhood, through my years as a pastor, student minister, and even in an administrative position at a Baptist University.

By October of 2007, God had worked through me to start a network of simple, organic churches, and I was coaching people who desired to know about this missional journey.

God has given me awesome partners, like those at Freeman Heights Baptist Church, who make it possible for me to encourage, empower, and equip everyday Christ-followers, as well as pastors and others in vocational ministry.

Through this blog, I desire to help you engage in a missional lifestyle both individually and collectively.

If God is calling you on a journey towards this missional adventure, let’s travel together. Keep reading here. Make comments on the posts. Signup to receive periodic email updates with tips, ideas, and inspiration for missional living. Share the journey with others through social media. Pray for me as I continue as a practitioner of simple, organic church and encourage others on this journey.

Step across the threshold and let’s go together.

God calls us and forms us as Christ’s Body to participate in His mission. We are well aware that we face a new frontier with challenges that our past training and experience have left us ill-prepared to deal with. If we are going to navigate the new waters of our current culture, we must nurture missional habits or rhythms to help us connect with God, one another, and what God is doing in the world around us.

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

In the past, I developed some habits or disciplines that shaped my spirituality and nurtured my relationship with God. Habits like prayer, Bible reading, attending church, Bible study, all of which are necessary for spiritual growth. These are good disciplines, but we’ve practiced them so long that it is difficult to bring new missional rhythms alongside them. To understand – you are habitual users of your cell phone. Try moving two or three apps you use all the time and see what challenges come up.

Five Missional Rhythms of “Sent Ones”

Here are five missional rhythms that every one of you can practice.

1. LINK – We need to connect to our context in the same way that Jesus connected to his. Look for people and opportunities you can link with. How can you daily intentionally connect with people?

2. LISTEN – Intentionally listen and observe others in your daily routines; listen for openings to engage in conversation and spiritual discussion. Listen to learn about your neighbors and co-workers; ask questions; listen to their stories. Listen to the Holy Spirit’s promptings.

3. LOOK – Pray with your eyes open. Normally when we pray, we close our eyes to shut out the world and focus on what we are saying to God. Praying with eyes open is a missional rhythm because as we see what is going on around us, the Spirit will prompt us to pray for things that we would probably never have prayed for. Reggie McNeal in Missional Renaissance suggests that…

If you look while you are praying, you will see that the heart of God is bigger than you imagined. You will see broken families, homeless people, lonely immigrants, at-risk children, stressed teenagers. And your heart will be shaped by the heart of God to address what you see.

As we pray when we drive to work, shop for groceries, walk the dog, God will connect us with people and reveal his work to us that we might join with him.

4. LOVE – Serve with love. Your service is a reflection of Jesus’ love. Your serving is an avenue to bring people to Christ. Look for at least one way, each day, to intentionally serve another person in Jesus’ name. Speak a word of affirmation, share an act of kindness, give a gift of love?

5. LEAVE – Leaving is actually a missional rhythm. We will have to leave to go back home or to our next appointment. But the wonderful thing is that God continues to work in and through the contact you just made.

Habits for the Everyday Stuff of Life

I believe that as we develop these disciplines, the Holy Spirit will work through them to change us and our neighborhoods and the places we work, learn and play.

This is an “everyday spirituality,” which, instead of retreating from the world, engages with the world. As we do this, our relationship with God is not compartmentalized but is integrated into the daily stuff of life.

Dorothy Bass and Craig Dykstra in Practicing Our Faith: A Way of Life for a Searching People write:

When we see some of our ordinary activities as Christian practices, we come to perceive how our daily lives are all tangled up with the things God is doing in the world. Now we want to figure out how to pattern our practices after God’s, and it becomes our deepest hope to become partners in God’s reconciling love for the world.

Missional Challenge

Intentionally practice the missional rhythm of linking for one week.  In the everyday places you go  – the grocery store, restaurant, work, walking your dog – you get the picture. Now, while there, consciously and purposefully pray, “Lord, who can I link with who might need a touch from Jesus.”

Grace and peace on your missional journey.