In light of the coming release of one of my favorite movies, Ice Age, I found unique parallels to life. The biggest of which is the desire to be part of a group, a community. A notable quote from the first Ice Age movie is from Sid the Sloth: "This is the weirdest herd I've ever seen." And if we look closely at what we call the church today, we could say the same thing.
Church is a collection of people from many walks of life who are all united by one thing: Jesus Christ. We find old to young, introverts and extroverts, musicians, jocks, punks, artists, and everything else in between. One of the most beautiful things about the body of Christ (when it is functioning properly) is the acceptance of all.
There are three main principles of action in Christianity: Evangelism, Discipleship, and Missions. The simplified version of this is: Ask One, Teach One, Serve One. Of these three principles, only one gives people a bad feeling: Ask One (evangelism). The reality of what evangelism originally was meant to be is simply sharing the excitement. The apostles couldn't help but tell everything they possibly could about what they experienced in Jesus. It is not about hitting people over the head with a Bible, or going door to door, or even large conferences with big alter calls. The Ask One principle is about having something of great value, in a place with great value, while keeping good values. What we (should) have is love, an accepting church, and goodness. Do we?
If you have a great story, you find places to tell it. I talk about movies that I love like Ice Age all the time. I have been challenged lately to tell of the best story I know: my encounter with Jesus. Be looking for that story to come...
Church is a collection of people from many walks of life who are all united by one thing: Jesus Christ. We find old to young, introverts and extroverts, musicians, jocks, punks, artists, and everything else in between. One of the most beautiful things about the body of Christ (when it is functioning properly) is the acceptance of all.
There are three main principles of action in Christianity: Evangelism, Discipleship, and Missions. The simplified version of this is: Ask One, Teach One, Serve One. Of these three principles, only one gives people a bad feeling: Ask One (evangelism). The reality of what evangelism originally was meant to be is simply sharing the excitement. The apostles couldn't help but tell everything they possibly could about what they experienced in Jesus. It is not about hitting people over the head with a Bible, or going door to door, or even large conferences with big alter calls. The Ask One principle is about having something of great value, in a place with great value, while keeping good values. What we (should) have is love, an accepting church, and goodness. Do we?
If you have a great story, you find places to tell it. I talk about movies that I love like Ice Age all the time. I have been challenged lately to tell of the best story I know: my encounter with Jesus. Be looking for that story to come...
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