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Hit and Run Christian Service

By Jeremy Myers
6 Comments

Hit and Run Christian Service

love the homelessThe way that some churches try to “minister to homeless people”  is by driving up to the park where all the homeless people gather, opening the side door, throwing out a bunch of crates of food onto the sidewalk, and then peeling off down the road to get out of there as quick as possible.

Then they give a report at church the next Sunday at how they served and fed the homeless… just like Jesus.

Such ministry is “Hit and Run Christian Service.” We drive up, hit some homeless people with food and Gospel tracts, and then get get out of there with tires squealing.

Or maybe it is closer to Christian drug dealing. We pull up in a windowless van, and handout sandwiches and gospel tracks from the back, and then tell them we’ll be back next week.

Part of the problem is this whole “ministry to” idea. Loving others is not exactly when we do something “to” people. Loving like Jesus means that others serve and minister to us just as much as we serve and minister to them. Or maybe more.

love homelessTrue Christian ministry begins with developing relationships with others, and more often than not, we find that we are the ones ministered to, rather than the ones doing the ministry. That’s why I put “minister to homeless people” in quote marks above.

Christian service actually means loving people and being loved. Christian ministry is not something we do to people, but with people. 

Showing love to the homeless people often means receiving love back. Love from Jesus.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship, homeless, love like Jesus, love others, ministry

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14 Practical Ways to Love Others Like Jesus

By Jeremy Myers
33 Comments

14 Practical Ways to Love Others Like Jesus

Love others

One of the most popular forms of ministry today is the ministry that makes a big splash, garners a lot of attention, and possibly gets reported in the news. 

And while good does come from “Go Big” forms of ministry, there are other ways to love others like Jesus. If we think the big splash ministry is the only way to minister, then we will ignore all the small, effective, practical ways of loving others that might actually make more tangible and lasting impact on the lives of others for the Kingdom of God. This is partly why Jesus spoke of giving a cup of cold water in His name (Matt 10:42) and liked the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed (Matt 13;31-32).

It is often the small, easy, cheap, affordable, insignificant, simple acts of love and kindness that do the most to help people experience the love of Jesus through your life. 

What sort of things? Below are 14 practical ways to love others like Jesus. There are thousands of such ways, but the following are 14 of the things that my family does to try to show love to others. They are not things you necessarily have to do, but are simply offered as examples.

If we want to simply love others, then we can love others simply.

Please feel free to share some of your own suggestions in the comments below. 

14 Ways to Love Others Like Jesus

  1. Love the person right in front of you. There is so much pain and loneliness in the world, you can be pretty sure the person next to on the bus or the checker at the grocery store could use a kind word, a smile, or a helping hand. Get off your cell phone and talk to them. Get to know them. Ask them how their day is going… and mean it. Remember their name. 
  2. Take food to your neighbors. Like what? Nothing fancy… a plate of cookies, a loaf of fresh-baked bread. When you give it to them, don’t drop it in their arms and run. Stand and talk for a bit if they seem to want that. Don’t invite yourself in and don’t invite them to church. Just be friendly. 
  3. Have neighbors over for dinner or dessert. Don’t make it formal or fancy. Just pizza and pop. Or BBQ and beer. Don’t try to turn it into a Bible study. Just laugh, tell stories, and listen. 
  4. Hand out homeless bags to people you see on the street. We carry 2-3 bags  around in our car and hand out them out when we see people begging on street corners. The ones we hand out contain a tarp, a pair of socks, some non-perishable food, a bottle of water, a scarf, and whatever else we can find.
  5. Watch the children of single mothers so they can go shopping alone. Or, men, offer watch all the kids so your wife and the other woman can go get some coffee and chat.
  6. Take up gardening so you can talk to your neighbor who is all alone.
  7. When you take your kids to activities, don’t retreat to your car and listen to the radio or text on your cell phone. Stick around and talk with any other parents who are there.
  8. Do the Twelve Days of Christmas for a friend or neighbor. What is this? It’s Twelve Days of “Secret Santa.” Every day, you sneak over, leave a gift or present on their doorstep, ring the bell, and run! If you have children, they LOVE doing this around Christmas time.
  9. Put together Shoe Boxes with Samaritan’s Purse.
  10. Help raise money to rescue girls in slavery. Sell candy or treats, not for a band trip to Hawaii, but to raise money to rescue girls from slavery or some other human need.
  11. Help a missionary family overseas by doing things they cannot do where they are. Download podcasts and load hundreds of them on a CD and send it to them. Help them set up and run a blog. Send them clothes and crafts they cannot get overseas.
  12. Pack and deliver boxes of food and presents on Christmas Eve to families in the community that are less fortunate. Just give them the presents. No gospel tracts.
  13. Volunteer to help feed the poor and homeless in your area. Bring crafts to do with the children.
  14. Buy food for a homeless person on the street, and then sit and talk with them while they eat (If they don’t mind). Hug them!

The bottom line is that simple (not big and glorious) acts of kindness are effective ways of loving others like Jesus. None of these are glamorous. None of them will get you recognized in church. None of them will get you interviewed on television, BUT they don’t cost an arm and a leg and they won’t burn you out either. They are just simple ways to be kind every day to friends and strangers so that we can offer light and love and hope to the people around us.

love others

Oh…. And please, please, please, do not ever do any of these things with the intention or goal of getting people to attend your church. This is where most Christians screw it up BIG TIME. If we go help our neighbor mow his lawn because he broke his leg, and then after you’re done you invite him to church, he is going to know that you don’t really care about him at all. All you really care about is getting his butt in a pew on Sunday morning so you can brag to all your Christian friends about how you mowed his lawn and rescued him from the fires of hell.

As I have said before, Christian love does not consist in asking someone to come to church with you. If your only reason for loving people is to get them into church, just stay home and watch TV. 

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: church, Discipleship, evangelism, love like Jesus, love others, ministry, mission, Theology of the Church

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18 Questions for Re-Imagining the Church

By Jeremy Myers
18 Comments

18 Questions for Re-Imagining the Church

imagining the church

I spent a few posts this week (Questioning the Church, Extreme Church Makeover, What if You Were God?) talking about how you and your church and figure out what God wants you to do in your community with your time, energy, and money.

Part of this process involves imagining different ways of being church, different ways of loving others, and different ways of serving our neighbors.

Some people calling this “casting vision” but in my opinion, the word “vision” is one of those overused churchy buzzwords which makes most people gag. So following the ideas presented in books by Walter Brueggemann and Greg Boyd, I invite you to imagine what the church can be and do.

Imagine new ways of being the church, living within the Kingdom of God, loving others, serving the needy, and revealing Jesus Christ to others.

Here are some great “What if” questions to move you in the right direction: (Note: So I don’t pull a Driscoll… These 18 questions for re-imagining the church originally came from a post by Kevin Bussey in 2008, but I can no longer find that post.)

What would happen if…

  • Followers of Jesus concentrated on sharing their faith with a lost and dying world?
  • Followers of Jesus prayed for the church across the street?
  • Churches didn’t see other churches as competition but as allies?
  • Churches rejoiced when another church is thriving?
  • We realized our view might be wrong?
  • Their church is just as important to God as yours?
  • We recognized God likes variety?
  • Followers of Jesus didn’t shoot their wounded?
  • We acted like Grace really is amazing?
  • We give Grace beyond the point of conversion?
  • We realized God likes worship–no matter what the style is?
  • Churches in a community partnered with each other to reach the lost and hurting people that God has given to them?
  • Churches didn’t criticize other churches?
  • Followers of Jesus didn’t nit-pick other believers, churches or ministries?
  • Followers of Jesus became part of the solution rather than being the problem?
  • We really prayed…?
  • Followers of Jesus could put aside differences in order to minister to a dying world?
  • Followers of Jesus really became one?

Do you have any questions to add to this list? Include them in the comments below? How do you and your church seek to find new ways to share the love of Jesus with others?

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: being the church, church, loving others, ministry, mission, missional, service, Theology of the Church

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Most Christians are afraid of the dark

By Sam Riviera
10 Comments

Most Christians are afraid of the dark

A while back Jeremy wrote:

If the church wants to join God in storming the gates of hell, in defeating the darkness … We must find the mean places, the dark places, the dangerous places, and take the church there. We must go to the greedy, the liars, the cheats, the thieves, and show them generosity, truth, and honesty. We must find the places that even the cops won’t go, and go there with Jesus instead. Where do the most murders occur? Where do the addicts and prostitutes hang out? Let’s meet there.

Why Don’t We Enter the Darkness?

Most of us are afraid.

We’re afraid that we’ll be harmed physically.

We’re afraid we’ll catch a disease.

We’re afraid we’ll get dirty.

We afraid we’ll be robbed.

We’re afraid people will want our money or our stuff.

We’re afraid that somehow “those people” will break through the walls we’ve built around us, tug at our heart strings, and we’ll end up giving them our money, stuff and time.

Dwell in DarknessWe’re afraid we’ll be contaminated by their sin.

We’re afraid we’ll stop seeing their sin and start seeing them.

We’re afraid we might start loving them, sin and all, but we think we’re supposed to hate their sin.

We’re afraid we might learn to like them.

We’re afraid we might remember that Jesus loves them, but it is our arms Jesus uses to wrap around them.

Why Do We Think They Will Come to the Light?

My wife and I had moved. We visited a church service at a local church. One of the men confronted me at the front door. “We believe men should wear suits and ties to church to show respect to God.” I wasn’t wearing a suit and tie. I told him I didn’t believe that way, and went in anyway. 

At another church, an elder told me, “We don’t want people attending here until they get themselves cleaned up. We don’t want couples coming here who are living together but aren’t married. We only want good Christian people here.”

Why would anyone want to “come” to church if those are the attitudes they find? The people who most need to hear won’t come near. We make certain of that. Why would anyone have even the slightest interest in going any place where they know they won’t be accepted?

What’s The Answer?

Jeremy’s answer is simple. “We must go” to them — to the adulterers, prostitutes, thieves, tax collectors, Gentiles, sick, needy, poor, greedy, selfish, and to all who dwell in darkness.”

It is safer, warmer, less-threatening and more comfortable to keep our distance from those who dwell in darkness. But if we really do follow Jesus, if Jesus really is our Good Shepherd, need we fear evil? Is Jesus with us or not? 

Perhaps the question I must really ask myself is “Am I with Him?”

If I’m with Him, I don’t need to be afraid of the darkness. So go with the sinners are. Don’t be afraid. Jesus will go with you.

So don’t be afraid of the dark. When you’re with Jesus, no sin can harm you.

There is so much need in the world!

And YOU can help.

Fill out the form below to receive several emails about how to love and serve the poor and homeless.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

God is Redeeming Church, Redeeming Life Bible & Theology Topics: Christmas, church, darkness, Discipleship, evangelism, following Jesus, guest post, homeless, looks like Jesus, love like Jesus, ministry, mission, missions, poor, prostitutes, Sam Riviera, Theology of the Church

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The Refuge in Denver

By Jeremy Myers
20 Comments

The Refuge in Denver

the refuge communityIn a previous post, I mentioned that I visited The Refuge in Denver, CO. They describe it as a home for spiritual orphans, a place to gather hope.

Here is some of what I learned about “how” they do things at The Refuge. I don’t share this with you so you can copy it in your context, but simply to show you what others are doing around the country.

Main Meeting

Their “main meeting” is on Saturday night at a grange hall which they rent. The building is rather run down, but that is okay with everyone, since following Jesus isn’t about having nice buildings.

Since I was not able to attend one of their main meetings, I asked what they were like. Everybody told me that they were never the same. Sometimes they sat in rows. Sometimes in chairs around tables. Sometimes they sang songs, but not always. Sometimes there was a sermon, other times a group discussion.

One thing they do every meeting is communion. But even this is out of the ordinary. Those who come take turns providing the “elements.” In most churches, the elements consist of grape juice (or wine) and an unleavened wafer. But at the Refuge, the elements can be anything. They have used coffee and donuts,coke and pretzels, chips and salsa, and milk and brownies.

Frequently, after the meeting, many of the people get together for a meal, but I didn’t get any details on how this works.

Weekday Houses of Refuge

They currently have two Houses of Refuge, which function like a house church.

Kind of…

They meet in a home, and consist of a meal and some sort of group activity or discussion. The night I was there, we had lasagna. There was also coffee and dessert.

After about an hour of eating and chatting, we moved to the living room and sat on couches where we introduced ourselves (for the several new people that were there), and then discussed that the way of following Jesus was not upward mobility, but downward mobility, into the muck and messiness of life.

The discussion was facilitated by Kathy Escobar, but she is not always the facilitator. As with most everything else at the Refuge, leadership is shared. I was told that they often pick a theme to discuss, and then take turns over the next several weeks or months leading the discussions.

Near the end of the discussion, Kathy also passed around a sign-up sheet for people to bring food for the future gatherings.

Leadership at The Refuge

Currently, there are four co-pastors at The Refuge. They do not believe that there should ever be a single “senior pastor.” These four co-pastors do receive a tiny, tiny income, but nothing that anyone could live off of. I don’t know amounts, but I doubt it comes to much more than an average honorarium.

And the co-pastors are not “pastors” in the way most churches think of them. They seem to be closer to organizers or administrators of the church. When someone has a need, rather than call around asking everyone for it, they call a pastor, and the pastor organizes a way to help meet that need. Certainly, they also provide vision and spiritual direction to the church, but they are not the only ones who speak, or do ministry in the church.

Ministry at The Refuge

Many of the people I talked to spoke of the community they have fond at The Refuge. Most have never experienced any sort of community like what they have found here. I saw this first hand and sensed it as I watched them interact. In many ways, they are family. They are not perfect, but love each other anyway. They laugh together, cry together, and live life together.

As such, this is their ministry, and it is a compelling ministry for those who see it. I know I was drawn to it.

They also provide opportunities to reach out with love to other hurting people in the wider community. I heard some people talk about a service opportunity in a low-income apartment complex, and a few other things, but ultimately, their ministry seems to be each other.

When you are real with each other, as the people of The Refuge seem to be, this ministry is more than enough, and also draws other people in who are longing for communal love like this.

What do you think about all of this? Is it still too “churchy” for you? Are they not “churchy” enough? What do you think about how they have communion and co-pastors? Are there any other questions you might have? 

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Church planting, Kathy Escobar, ministry, mission, The Refuge, Theology of the Church

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