So whilst I was wasting time and generally not getting any work done (the usual), I decided to rewatch a movie that is part of my favorite series. The movie is called Furious Love. If anyone is interested in seeing this movie or the other two in the series (Finger of God and Father of Lights) hit me up, I have them and I’d be stoked to share or watch them with you.
My focal point: how can I reach out to a group of people that don’t know, or maybe do know but just don’t care, or people that blatantly go the wrong way? What can I say, what can I do, how can I make them see their error, how can I make them change? What usually ends up happening is I come to the conclusion that I don’t know what to do, so I do nothing. I don’t have the answer, so I just go about living like vanilla.
I relearned something that I already knew, and fueled some deeper thought, and I would like to just transcribe some quotes and point you to where I’m at and see what you can come up with.
I think that’s where we missed it. I had a dream many years ago… It changed how I do church. I grew up in the church and in a: keep this, keep this, keep this; and this is what you are. [In my dream] I saw the Lord show me this picture of this church filled with drug addicts, with prostitutes, with drug dealers, with gang bangers, with people from all different forms of crime life. And they were in this church and they were doing everything wrong! They were having sex in the pews, they were drinking, they were doing drugs in the pews, they were selling drugs to each other…. Everything they were doing was wrong… And I was trying to stop all that. And I remember at one point I hollered out and I said, “If you’re not gonna honor God’s house and respect His house, then get out!” Exactly what probably the majority of pastors or leaders would say. And I remember the Lord speaking back to me so clearly and saying, “Why would you send away what I have sent in? Why would you send away what you’ve been asking for?” and I said, “I didn’t ask for this,” and he said, “You asked me for the lost! Now, keep it simple. Love them. And let me change them.” And that completely revolutionized how I thought of church and evangelism. It wasn’t about pointing out to people what they were and were not doing, but what Christ was inviting them to. “Love me, and I’ll change you…. I just want you coming after me.” -Robby Dawkins, Vineyard Church
So what do we do?! What’s the point I’m getting at? Long blog post, I know, but one more quote:
As we go… lives get changed. And that’s the gospel. That’s the gospel! When we get past ourselves and love on the person that’s in front of us. So come on church… The world is standing there waiting and they don’t even know it… They are literally waiting for a God encounter and they don’t even know it. And it’s not my job to do it, it’s all of ours. -Will Hart, Hart Ministries
So we deliver “God encounters” to the people of this world by going and loving and showing that there is a Father who wants to have an intimate and love filled relationship with individuals. Too often I make it so much more complicated than that. I get stuck on game plans when I should be stuck on God’s plan, and that’s simpler at its core than most believe: LOVE and ACCEPTANCE. We have to love people, and let the Holy Spirit do a work through us, and if you do that, you’ll see miracles. He wants to reveal His love to this world. Last comment: watch the movies… you’ll be changed.
-Spencer Brought
My focal point: how can I reach out to a group of people that don’t know, or maybe do know but just don’t care, or people that blatantly go the wrong way? What can I say, what can I do, how can I make them see their error, how can I make them change? What usually ends up happening is I come to the conclusion that I don’t know what to do, so I do nothing. I don’t have the answer, so I just go about living like vanilla.
I relearned something that I already knew, and fueled some deeper thought, and I would like to just transcribe some quotes and point you to where I’m at and see what you can come up with.
I think that’s where we missed it. I had a dream many years ago… It changed how I do church. I grew up in the church and in a: keep this, keep this, keep this; and this is what you are. [In my dream] I saw the Lord show me this picture of this church filled with drug addicts, with prostitutes, with drug dealers, with gang bangers, with people from all different forms of crime life. And they were in this church and they were doing everything wrong! They were having sex in the pews, they were drinking, they were doing drugs in the pews, they were selling drugs to each other…. Everything they were doing was wrong… And I was trying to stop all that. And I remember at one point I hollered out and I said, “If you’re not gonna honor God’s house and respect His house, then get out!” Exactly what probably the majority of pastors or leaders would say. And I remember the Lord speaking back to me so clearly and saying, “Why would you send away what I have sent in? Why would you send away what you’ve been asking for?” and I said, “I didn’t ask for this,” and he said, “You asked me for the lost! Now, keep it simple. Love them. And let me change them.” And that completely revolutionized how I thought of church and evangelism. It wasn’t about pointing out to people what they were and were not doing, but what Christ was inviting them to. “Love me, and I’ll change you…. I just want you coming after me.” -Robby Dawkins, Vineyard Church
So what do we do?! What’s the point I’m getting at? Long blog post, I know, but one more quote:
As we go… lives get changed. And that’s the gospel. That’s the gospel! When we get past ourselves and love on the person that’s in front of us. So come on church… The world is standing there waiting and they don’t even know it… They are literally waiting for a God encounter and they don’t even know it. And it’s not my job to do it, it’s all of ours. -Will Hart, Hart Ministries
So we deliver “God encounters” to the people of this world by going and loving and showing that there is a Father who wants to have an intimate and love filled relationship with individuals. Too often I make it so much more complicated than that. I get stuck on game plans when I should be stuck on God’s plan, and that’s simpler at its core than most believe: LOVE and ACCEPTANCE. We have to love people, and let the Holy Spirit do a work through us, and if you do that, you’ll see miracles. He wants to reveal His love to this world. Last comment: watch the movies… you’ll be changed.
-Spencer Brought