Their goal was to follow the spirit of 1 Cor 1: 28, 29 – “For God chose things despised by the world, things considered as nothing, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers to be important…” They invited the entire neighborhood to participate, including several gardeners, many of whom were skeptical of the project’s success. Over the year, more and more volunteers contributed their efforts. There was a good sized harvest (for first time gardeners!) and all the grown produce was enjoyed by neighbors and during the house church gatherings. It was beautiful.

In November 2011, that house church gave birth to another house church, which brought in the neighbors who had worked on the garden – now they knew that there was a Christian church behind the garden, and they wanted to be a part of that kind of church – so this new house church is planning in 2012 to expand the veggie garden, and they are dreaming of opening up a new farmers market to invite regional farmers to sell their produce alongside this little urban garden’s yield.

All this, from an abandoned lot.

“God chose the things despised by the world, the things considered as nothing, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important – so no one can boast in the presence of God!”

“The solutions to the biggest problems in life will not be complex, only difficult.”

This is SO true.

When we look at the brokenness of our world, from the savage violence in Libya to a father abandoning his family to cling to his drink, you get the sense that things are very, very wicked – and turning this burning ship around will require more than well-crafted policies or enticing tax incentives.

There is no law that will make me love my neighbor as myself.  There is no external motivation that brings me to my knees in prayer.

We have been trying to end poverty, war, hunger, homelessness, spousal abuse, gang-violence…well, the list goes on and on.  The evening news shows begins each night with “Good evening…” then tells you all the reasons in the world why it isn’t!

But that’s not the end of the story –

The solutions to the world’s biggest problems…to the biggest problems in your own life… are not complex rules or well-managed institutions…no, they are quite simple…they are just difficult.

It is not a matter of the head figuring out the solutions – it is now down to a matter of the heart.

Can we trust our neighbor?

Can we love them?

Can we forgive them…and ourselves?

Can we love our family as God loves them?

Can we offer troubled youth a place in our family before they are sucked into the vortex of a gang?

Can we rend ourselves of our wealth so that urban food deserts disappear?

When Jesus quoted, “There will always be poor among you,”  he was hoping that his disciples would be convicted by what was obviously an ironic and tragic reference to Deuteronomy 15:4-11, The text begins: “There should be no poor among you…” Is Jesus misquoting Scripture?  Is he confused?  No – he’s making a point; that the end of poverty comes not with well-crafted laws of tithing, but by overcoming one’s self-centered selfishness.  ”There will always be poor among you,” was a rebuke of the disciples.

“Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.” (Deut. 15:11)

Did a command do the job? Did that verse end poverty at the stroke of a pen (or chisel as it were)?  No – there were plenty of people in Jesus’ day that were poor – thousands of years after the Law of Moses was written.

Jesus knew this problem, like so many others in his world, and in our world today – can only come from overcoming the most difficult hurdle in the world — the human heart.

It is one of the oldest parks in the city, and it is located in our neighborhood, one of the most diverse neighborhoods on the West Side of Chicago.  There is a lot of work to be done.  Graffiti and all kinds of bio-hazards awaited us as we began cleaning up the park’s gardens on Saturday.  We tried to invite some of the homeless to join us in the clean-up effort…but alas, maybe next time!

In any case, we had a fantastic time – and it is saying to our neighbors, “We love you so much that we want to share with you not only the Gospel, but our lives as well.” (1 Thess 2:8)

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Every church, whether small group or mega-crowd, should have a mission.

I think its more powerful if everyone in the group has the same mission, but that is not always feasible.  In fact, in our organic church network, we ask each house church NOT to begin gathering as a church family until there is a notion of what God is calling you to in his mission.  Every church must be called to mission – we are the ekklesia - the “called out” ones.

We are the people of God on the move!

What is your mission? Could you share it with your small group?  Could it become the raison d’être for your congregation?  There is a famous quote,

“God’s church does not have a mission, God’s mission has a church.”

Without it, you might say that your church has nothing to do but collectively navel gaze.  It can become pretty consuming.  Each church is called to “make disciples of all nations.”  But notice – Jesus says, “As you go…”  Your disciple-making is done “on the way.” On the way to the local park for spring cleaning, on the way to to Mexico to care for orphans, on the way to your lunch break.  Your mission quickly becomes your purpose for living – the Gospel becomes the white space between all the words you say.

What might it look like for the mission in your heart to become the work your church focuses on each time you gather together?  Would your church become healthier if it lived with the chance they would have to give up everything they had in order to follow Jesus faithfully into that mission?