New Perspective

Two changes of perspective to help us live meaningful lives on mission.

This article is based on the third sermon in the “Be the New” series I preached this past fall at Kuna Church of the Nazarene.

View this sermon below, starting at minute 21:22. Keep scrolling to read the article.

God’s Kingdom

Our Father who is in heaven,
uphold the holiness of your name.
Bring in your kingdom
so that your will is done on earth
as it’s done in heaven.   
—Mt 6:9-10 (CEB)

God’s kingdom is here and now, and those of us who have been born from above are citizens, living our lives as a witness to all that has been done in us and for us in Jesus Christ.

God’s kingdom has an open-door policy for all who would come in faith,
and surrender themselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God’s prevenient grace—the grace God gives to all people before they turn to Him (while they are still in their sin), allowing them to turn, trust, and believe—has been poured out on all humanity. No one is exempt. No one is left out.

• not Cornelius or the woman caught in adultery,

• not wee, little Zacchaeus, or the woman at the well,

• not Nicodemus or other religious people,

• not you and not me,

• not your neighbor next door,

• not even the person we assume to be furthest from the kingdom.

No one. Nobody. Zip, zilch, nada.

In the kingdom of heaven where Christ is Lord, we are free to love our neighbors without limits or restrictions, with excuses or strings attached.
If we must err, may it be in the direction of loving too much rather than too little.

Living in the kingdom is not about having our ticket to heaven in hand, hunkering down in our churches and homes, and praying for the Lord to quickly return so that we can go to heaven. No, life in God’s kingdom is a life lived on mission. The Church (those sincere, authentic believers set free by the Son) is the vehicle by which that mission is carried out. And, friends, there is a lot of work yet to do!

God’s kingdom is about a commitment to gather together as real family—brothers and sisters in Christ, the Church—to worship God in heart and soul, to sing praises and give thanks, to teach and be taught, to disciple and be discipled, to love and be loved, to encourage and be encouraged, to give generously and receive abundantly…

…and then, together as sent people, to scatter and disperse into the streets and neighborhoods where each of us has been placed, like a city on a hill that ought not to be hidden.

Living in the kingdom means walking with the Spirit of God into the messiness and muddiness of our broken world, and into all that is unfair, unkind, untrue, and unholy…

…unafraid of being infected, but rather infecting our world with the things of heaven—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control. That is, all that is good, just, holy, and Christlike.

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.

—Colossians 3:1-2 (MSG)

I’ve been attempting to present an image of the Christian life and the Church from the perspective of God’s kingdom because Jesus was always talking about the kingdom of God, not as a place where we will all get to go someday (although we do believe that we will be with him again someday), but as a reality here and now in this world.

In and through all of this, I’ve been trying to introduce a change of perspective. How we perceive ourselves, the Church, the world and its people plays a massive role in how we live our lives. So, let’s talk about perspective.

Perspective

From the perspective given, what do you see?
(Don’t scroll down too fast).

What is happening?

What do you imagine has happened?

What thoughts and emotions come to mind as you see this photo?

Now, go ahead and scroll down…

…

…

…

…

…

…

Now, let’s change our perspective.

How did your thoughts, understandings, and emotions change?

Let’s look at another difference of perspective:

Both of these people believe they are saved because of the arrival of the other. But as they get closer to each other, their perspective changes. Reality becomes more apparent.

When we get closer to people, we understand their situation better. And when we understand peoples’ situations better, we know them more deeply. When our perspective changes, our perceptions change, too.

Over the past few years, I’ve played around with photography. I am an amateur in every sense of the word, but I have found photography to be a great way to rest, refocus, and relieve stress.

I have found that when I walk, camera in hand, I look at the world differently than when I don’t have my camera with me. I notice things that I would not otherwise see.

S.E. Fairbanks

Without my camera, there is so much I don’t see – the colors, intricacy of flowers, the bees (which are really hard to photograph), and even the unexpected beauty of a dying flower, color lost, but still with its own, unique beauty. Without my camera, I would never stop to see the butterfly, stopped for only a brief moment, or the single drop of water gleaming on the sun-brightened fall leaves.

The world is beautiful. People are, too.

The Letter to the Colossians

Paul gained a new perspective from his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus. You might remember that Saul was on the scene, overseeing the stoning of Stephen. He was passionate about the persecution of the followers of the Way (that crazy band of believers who claimed Jesus was the Son of God), and he was actively trying to wipe out this movement before it got off the ground.

Then Stephen, as he’s being pelted with rocks, cries out, echoing the words of Christ—

And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.”

—Acts 7:60 (CEB)

And then later, on the road to Damascus, Saul (who became Paul) has a perspective-shaking encounter with Christ. Paul is forgiven, and in Acts 9:15 we read that he is a “chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”

Continuing in Colossians, Paul writes:

Keep on praying and guard your prayers with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray for us also. Pray that God would open a door for the word so we can preach the secret plan of Christ—which is why I’m in chains.

—Colossians 4:2-3

Look what Paul says here—keep praying, pray for us, pray that God…pray, pray, pray! We MUST be a people of prayer!

Early in the book of Acts, Peter and John are arrested and taken before the high priest. They are released but given an unmistakable warning to never again speak and teach in the name of Jesus. So, what do they do? They return to the others, tell them what has happened, and pray not for protection, favor, or new legislation to protect their rights. No, they pray for boldness to continue sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ!

New Perspective #1

After these things, the Lord commissioned seventy-two others and sent them on ahead in pairs to every city and place he was about to go. He said to them, “The harvest is bigger than you can imagine, but there are few workers. Therefore, plead with the Lord of the harvest to send out workers for his harvest.

—Luke 10:1-2 (CEB)

We live on a mission field. This local Church is a missionary church on a mission field with a missional purpose. You and I and all who have put their trust in Christ are missionary people living on a mission field with a missional purpose!

We can no longer look at missions only as people who go away to faraway places, speak strange languages, eat strange mystery meat, wear strange clothing, and carry out their ministry in unique, creative, and perhaps even strange ways. 

We need to support and encourage those who are called to go far away! These ministries are an unmistakable part of God’s mission and purpose in this world. But we cannot for a second think that we are not also called and sent!

There was a time when most people in the US had at least a foundational understanding of basic Biblical stories, Biblical worldview, and foundational theological concepts.

That time is gone.

And so we are faced with a choice: We can lament the loss of what once was. We can grumble, complain, and try to go back to what once was. This reaction is entirely understandable, but ultimately unfruitful. Our other choice is to change our perspective, start singing new songs, drawing new pictures, and doing new things in new ways to meet new people.

We must begin to creatively imagine what God might be able to do in and through a people living on mission, living out their witness through Christlike love, everywhere they went, all the time, and with everyone they met.

Like all mission fields, there is a percentage of people (an increasing percentage) who are not looking for a church family. The Church, for various reasons, is irrelevant in their lives. A growing percentage of people have been hurt in some way by the Church or who, for some reason, have been turned off to Christianity for some reason or another.

Many people have never seen a sincere, authentic, humble Christian witness. All they know about Christians is what they hear on the news, the unflattering stories they hear repeated by others, or their own disappointing experiences. These people (and again, the numbers are increasing) are loved by God. God prefers them, and Jesus died for them, just as he did for each of us.

These people are not going to show up on Sunday and are not likely to come to any event we plan. This does not mean, however, that they have necessarily rejected Jesus.

A mission perspective understands that we cannot look back and try to keep doing things the way we’ve always done them. Like it or not, our culture and society have changed and will continue to change. Church growth and evangelism strategies and methods that once worked are no longer relevant, meaningful, or effective. We must be ready and willing to do new things in new ways to reach new people.

And it begins with each of us—those who claim to follow Jesus—living sincere, authentic, Christlike lives as we let our lives become the foundation of our witness. And then, as opportunities arise, sharing meaningful words that introduce Jesus, helping people get to know him for the first time.

We cannot assume that if we create a better Sunday morning experience and plan bigger and better events, these people will come. Jesus sent 72 of his followers into the harvest field and declared that it wasn’t enough.

Not everyone is called to be a cross-cultural missionary sent to far-away lands, but every born-from-above believer is called live a holy, Christlike, wonderfully conspicuous cross-cultural life right here where we live!

Not everyone is called to full-time ministry…but every faithful CHRISTIAN is called to minister—to use their spiritual gifts (every believer has them),
their unique talents, abilities, and interests (every believer has them),
their personalities (every believer has a unique one), and the opportunities right in front of them (we all have them every day in many ways).

Pray that I might be able to make it as clear as I ought to when I preach. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Your speech should always be gracious and sprinkled with insight so that you may know how to respond to every person.

—Colossians 4:4-6 (CEB)

New perspective #2

Opportunities lead to relationships that lead to opportunities. We all have different spiritual gifts, talents and abilities, personalities, strengths, and weaknesses. We are all very different. This is part of the beauty of the Church.

There is one thing that we all have. We all have 24 hours each day and sprinkled throughout those 24 hours, we find ourselves with opportunities. Opportunities to :

• Share or be selfish.

• Help or turn our heads.

• Build up or tear down.

• Fire off a social media missile or practice peace/

• Speak graciously or harshly.

• Reflect Christ…or not.

The relationships in our lives lead to opportunities to share Christlike love!

Jesus was asked to define who our neighbors were, and he responded by telling the story of the Good Samaritan. I’m not going to tell that story now, but I want to add to Jesus’ answer with a short song—

Oh, who are the people in your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
In your neighborhood?
Say, who are the people in your neighborhood?
The people that you meet each day

Who are our neighbors, the people that we meet each day?

This is our mission field.

We have been placed in our neighborhoods, like a city on a hill that cannot be hidden. We have been placed in these places—the places where we live, work, and play—to let our little lights shine! This is where we have opportunities to build relationships, live wonderfully conspicuous lives, allow people to see an honest, sincere, authentic Christian life, and have a meaningful impact in our world and in people’s lives.

When we build relationships with people, taking the time to listen to them and understand their perspectives and their understandings, we will find ourselves with opportunities to—

• love them as our neighbors with authentic, sincere, Christlike love – letting our life be our witness.

• pray for them and with them.

• come alongside them to help meet their needs or to work together to meet the needs of people in the community.

• share our stories of God’s goodness and grace in our lives….or the opportunities to ask meaningful questions that lead to meaningful conversation.

• respond to questions, concerns, or difficult situations that people are facing in their lives.

• be present when “life-shaking” events arrive unexpectedly – death, tragedy, loss, and more.

If we are already present in their lives, and in close proximity relationally, we have an opportunity to bless, encourage, sit with, cry with—whatever is needed—and let the love of Christ be poured into their lives. We are the Church, the people of God, on mission in our world and in our community.

As we gather, let us be the best worshippers we can be!

Let’s plan and promote events and programs that lead to spiritual growth and meet the needs of our Church and the community!

Let’s be a meaningful presence in our community, a place with a reputation for uncommon caring and compassion.

And let’s be a people who scatter and disperse well, living out our wonderfully conspicuous witness as we build relationships and look for opportunities to bless, encourage and extend Christlike love to the people in our neighborhoods, the people that we meet each day.

---