How does a community of faith begin?  What is the motivation?  Who are the people involved?  Some of the people we’re in connection with here in Chicago are looking for a community, and some know they’re supposed to help form one, but don’t know where to begin.

We usually sit down for a cup of coffee, and pretty early on I make sure to say, “Church begins in the fields, not in the barn.” What do I mean by that?

At one level, I mean that churches are healthiest when their minds and hearts are honed in on the harvest field from Day One.  If they form around another idea (being a place for contemporary worship, or being an intimate community for each other,) they will never get around to mission as a primary raison d’être, and usually fold in on itself as it continues to center inward rather than outward.

At a second level however, I mean that God designed the church to begin in the harvest field, meaning among the harvest.  The first churches were made up entirely of non-Christians, who became Christians in the process through participating in common life with the church family.  Paul went to town after town, finding just one person or one family that was passionate enough for God that they invited their friends and relatives over for dinner to hear about him, and before long, they were ready to sign up for the Revolution of Love.

Most church planting today starts “in the barn,” meaning they go for a large group of churched Christians and ask them to parachute into a new context and be the “launch group” for a new community of faith.  New believers may come to faith at this church plant, but individually, and not usually as whole people groups or families.  The launch group from the barn influence the culture, worship, and leadership of the new church so much that there is little wiggle room for new unreached population segments.  All of this is fine, and has worked in amazing ways in the past, but we are beginning to see that starting in the fields allows God to take his gospel across wide cultural chasms, soften hearts and develop radically organic churches.

Give it a try!  The church begins in the harvest field.

Somehow, one of my posts on the Chicago Spiritual Map made it to the Chicago Sun-Times.  If anyone knows how, let me know!   You can see the article here.

I’m beginning to think more specifically about strategies for sharing the gospel with those God has put in my life here in Chicago.  The first few months seem to have been marked by our getting settled, and being awake to who God was putting in our path.  So many have come and gone – friends came in to visit virtually every week since we moved in!  But who are those who God is strategically placing in our life share the Good News with?

Thinking organically about mission, how much initiative does the missionary take?  Where does the efforts of the missionary stop and the “divine appointments and connections” of God begin?  Is that a false question?  What I’m wondering is: how much do I involve myself in “advertising” what I’m doing to an anonymous audience (flyers, public events, etc) to find those who are ready to take the next step, and how much do I simply let those interested find me?

My instinct says, “wait – just let your good deeds shine,” but I’ll be completely honest, either I don’t have many good deeds, or that strategy doesn’t actually work – because no stranger or friend has ever come up to me and said, “Wow – you’re such a (nice) (just) (generous) guy, I think I’ll become a Christian.”  Another instinct I have is to cast the nets wide, and pull in any fish that get caught, then let God do the sorting (as to who I’m to invest in).

I think about a farmer – when sowing seed, he throws it everywhere!  He “broadcasts” his message to the ground, his seed, saying, “Grow this, if you can!”  Then he nurtures the earth that shows progress – the other ground he either ignores or plants something else.  Is the same true with the work of the missionary? Then again, once the farmer has done all the work he can, all he can do is sit back and wait for the Lord to deliver.  See my previous post on work and provision here.

What if I posted flyers for a discovery bible study?  What if I hit the streets and held up a sign offering prayer?  What if I hung out at a coffeeshop with a note on my table saying, “I’ll buy your drink if you tell me your story?”  What if I performed at a ’spoken word’ messages of Christ’s love?  What if I became more candid in my conversations with co-workers about my relationship with God?  What if…

…I spoke with words and life the profound message…the alternative story…of God’s salvation?

Goes without saying, but then again, maybe it needs to be said now more than ever:   God’s love for me (or anyone involved in serving him) is not wrapped up in my works for him.  He loves his children even before they are born, before they can do anything to earn his love.

Now as one called to share the gospel, I will put my whole heart and mind to the task!  And engage God’s love and counsel every step of the way.

So our lives have been ex-TV for the last two weeks. I’m proud to say I’m not desperately foaming at the mouth, and Katrina and I aren’t about to claw our eyes out from the boredom. In fact, we’ve had more silence and peace around here than we’ve had in awhile. We’ve had a chance to read more, to talk over meals, and to pray together. The best part about us getting rid of our TV is the story – so if you don’t mind, let me indulge:

We’d been trying to pawn off our TV for several months, each time chickening out – coming up with some excuse why we still needed it. It wasn’t until our good friends were putting on a garage sale that we finally worked up enough courage to pull the plug on our TV habit.

Let me tell you, hauling a 27 inch TV down a flight of stairs and shoving it into a two door car is not an easy job – but we did it. Then we hauled it out into the middle of a field (the “best” place for a garage sale…where’s the garage!?!) and set it up next to all the other stuff we could bear to part with.

Browsers and perusers kept eying the TV, but there were no takers. One lady “bought” it, but when she illegedly tried to “plug it into her car” it wouldn’t turn on. DUH. I’m not sure what that was all about, but we were happy to give her her money back when she started yelling profusely.

Then came this great Hispanic couple. They wanted to buy our TV, but didn’t have enough to make the full purchase. It was the end of the day, and I wasn’t looking forward to carting that thing back to our upstairs apartment, not to mention have to deal with the ball and chain of a TV now that we finally felt free enough to sell it. So we sold it for less than it was worth, and even drove it up to their house for them. Their words were full of joy and excitement. They pointed to their family’s names in the concrete. I noticed a few Scripture verses scrawled into their front porch.

As I was installing the TV, the wife asked if I liked tamales. When I responded in the affirmative, she left the room and brought back a big stack of homemade tamales! She confessed she was embarrassed they couldn’t afford to pay what I was asking for the TV, but would like to pay for the rest in tamales. I loved it! Believe me, those tamales were a gift of hospitality, not just a payment for the TV. I feel like I could’ve hung out there all day. It was a real place of peace.  That’s how the world ought to work in my opinion.  A world where capitalism looses ground and communism is unnecessary.  A sharing and redistributing of personal resources, rather than living off cash.  It’s old school, but I like it.

So, much like giving away a puppy, I was glad to know that our TV was in the hands of a good family. I suppose that only reveals my covert TV idolizing, and reveals how happy I am that its out of our house.

Now its on to bigger and better things. God is too big for prime time.