Sam Riviera Archives - Page 5 of 10

In this post, Sam Riviera continues his series of posts on how to be the church in your community. He asks what it looks like to proclaim the Gospel to your neighbors.

Many talk about being the church, but few know how. We understand church as those who follow Jesus, not just in “doctrine” or “belief” but out into the streets, among the people, mingling with them and loving them where they are. Being the church is as simple as loving the person in front of you right now.

Here are some examples of how this looks in our own life as we “preach sermons of love” where we live.

The Cheeseburger Lady

Yesterday I needed to pick up a couple of things at Costco. Since I had a little extra time, I visited all of the free food sample tables. I even tried a few of the samples, but mostly I talked to the people working the sample tables.

My first stop was the cheeseburger lady. Ravenous people who obviously hadn’t eaten in weeks grabbed wedges of cheeseburgers midair before the cheeeburger lady could even set the tray on the table. The tray was empty by the time she sat it down. Other people loudly complained to the cheeseburger lady that they didn’t get any. As she cut up more cheeseburgers behind a Plexiglas shield, one man reached his hand behind the shield, grabbing a chunk of cheeseburger, even when the cheeseburger lady asked him to please not do that.

The rude, unappreciative mob departed when the cheeseburgers ran out. The cheeseburger lady looked frazzled. I figured we had two or three minutes to talk while the next batch of cheeseburgers was warming in her little oven. I asked if she was having a bad day, and told her I understand because I used to be a caterer and experienced similar things – rude people grabbing food. She said it is true, that people are not nice to her, and that no one ever says thank you.

As the cheeseburgers finished cooking, we laughed together like old friends. Before the next mob arrived, she told me I could have as many samples as I liked. I took one, and made a special point of thanking her and telling her how much I appreciate her being there. The entire scenario probably took less time than it took you to read about it. I made a dear friend in less than three minutes. She was laughing and smiling and waved goodbye as I left.

I visited four more sample people. All were smiling or laughing when we parted. They made my day. I hope I helped brighten theirs. No Bible tracts, no Bible verses, no invitations to a “church service”. Just noticing and loving people. Maybe Jesus doesn’t visit Costco. If Jesus did, He’d probably stop by and chat with the cheeseburger lady (before going to the park).

Jesus Came to the Dance

After Costco I went home and my wife and I got ready to go to our weekly dance in Balboa Park, the largest park in San Diego. The building where we dance is often frequented by homeless people. After the dance had begun, a filthy homeless man walked into the room where we were dancing.

Standing near the door where he entered, I greeted him. He said “God bless you.” Homeless people frequently tell me that, so I didn’t think much about it. I headed to the kitchen where I was preparing ice cream for the break, and the homeless man appeared to be heading for the door.

However, after I left the room, he mingled with the dancers and told them he is Jesus. My wife recognized that he is probably suffering from mental illness. She asked him if he would like to step out on the patio with her and tell her about himself. They went out on the patio. The man told my wife about his doctor and treatments and then walked toward the zoo.

Was he a filthy mentally ill homeless person who thought he was Jesus, or was he in some sense Jesus? We may never know, but I know the church was there to treat him honorably and kindly and to listen to his story.

As we continue this series, we will continue to look for the church in the streets of San Diego “preaching sermons of love.” Have you seen the church in your community? Have you been the church in your community? Have you seen Jesus in your community? Please feel free to share your stories below.

Be the Church in Your Community

Want to be the church in your community but don't know? Here are some posts which not only explain what it means to be the church in your community, but also gives concrete, practical examples of what it looks like and how to be the church whatever you do and wherever you go. Remember, you ARE the church, and wherever you go, Jesus goes with you!

If you have questions about how to be the church in your community, please let us know in the comment sections below, and we will try to write a post which answers your question.

How to Proclaim the Gospel to Your Neighbors

By Jeremy Myers

4 Comments

In this post, Sam Riviera continues his series of posts on how to be the church in your community. He asks what it looks like to proclaim the Gospel to your neighbors.

Should the church proclaim the Gospel to the community? Does the church need to teach the Bible and even correct theology to the community? Are sermons and Bible studies the best way to do these things? Are they the only ways to proclaim the gospel?

We have discovered that there are other ways to proclaim the gospel to your neighbors.

How we Proclaim the Gospel

For example, today I spent the afternoon at my neighbor’s house, trimming, mowing grass, sweeping, watering and other similar chores. This neighbor has been out of town for several months, spending time with his family after the death of his wife.

Almost everyone on his block knows that my wife and I have been taking care of his house and yard while he is gone, and that we spent time with both of them on a regular basis after her cancer returned. Many of them wave as they pass us while we’re working, and some stop to talk.

Today at least a dozen neighbors drove or walked past as I worked. Several stopped to talk. I greeted them, and they asked me questions. They asked when our mutual friend is returning and how he is doing. They thanked me for helping him and keeping the house looking nice.

They asked about the Resurrection Mass for his wife after her death. They asked about the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism. We discussed communion and why Catholics are so careful with the bread and wine. (I explained that some of them believe it is the body and blood of Jesus.) They asked what I think the significance of communion is. (I answered that it reminds me that God became human, walked among us and loved us so much that He died for us on the cross.)

They asked about prayer, and prayers ascending to God. They asked about why God lets bad things happen to good people like our friend. They told me that when our friends needed someone, they believe God sent us to be there for them and wondered if God will do that for others. I discussed and commented on all of these issues, issues that the neighbors wanted to discuss. Some of these people are not followers of Jesus. One told me she is a Buddhist. Then she asked more questions about Jesus and Christianity.

The pastor of the last institutional church we attended told me he doubted that more than two or three people remember much of anything from his sermons one week later. On the other hand, these neighbors are watching and listening to our “sermons” of love, are remembering and are asking questions.

There are Many Ways to Proclaim the Gospel

There are many ways to proclaim the Gospel. The good news can be taught in many forms. Sermons can be shown as well as preached.

Somewhat accidentally we have discovered that people watch, listen to, remember and want to discuss “sermons” of love, “sermons” that indeed proclaim the Gospel.

We’ve also discovered that when they’re asking us questions, they’re interested in listening to the answers. Even people of other religions don’t flinch in the slightest when I say “communion reminds me that God became human as Jesus, walked among us, and died for us on a cross” and that “we are followers of Jesus.”

Do you have examples to share of sermons of love you have “preached” or have seen or heard “preached”? Can you think of ways to proclaim the Gospel using something other than just words?

Be the Church in Your Community

If you have questions about how to be the church in your community, please let us know in the comment sections below, and we will try to write a post which answers your question.

How to Be the Church In Your Community

By Jeremy Myers

26 Comments

It is popular today for people to say, “Don’t go to church; BE the church.” Everybody nods their heads at this, but few actually know what it means or how to truly “be the church.” With this post, Sam Riviera is starting a series of posts on how to be the church in your community. If you have ever wondered how to be the church in your community, you don’t want to miss a post. I will try to put one up each Monday for the next several weeks.

When most people in our culture think of church, what comes to mind?

Most people think of church as a location with buildings and property, or as an organization. When asked about our relationship with “church”, people usually ask us “Where do you go to church?”, “What church do you belong to?” or “Where is your church”?

While that understanding of church is common, my wife and I think of church as “those people who follow Jesus.” For some, that may include properties, buildings, programs, staff, and all the other accouterments that go with the organizational, institutional understanding of church. For some of us, it does not.

While we find it important to gather with other believers to share the common hope we have in Jesus, we do not limit that to the organizational, institutional scenario. We try to “be the church” in the community – every single day.

What Does It Look Like To “Be The Church In The Community”?

As we proceed through this series, I will give various examples of what this looks like for us and encourage you to share examples of what this looks like for you in your community. None of these examples are intended to be a model for you to follow. Instead, they are only instances that will not only help us to dream of what it looks like to be the church in our communities, but also help us to live out our calling to follow Jesus in our communities.

A Day in the Life of Being the Church

What does a typical day of “being the church in the community” look like for us? I doubt that there is such a thing for us as a typical day, but I will describe what it looked like for us today.

After spending the morning on jury duty, I came home and changed to go running. First, however, I watered plants and pulled weeds for a neighbor who is out of town. Then I talked with another neighbor whose wife recently left him. I invited him to our upcoming block party.

After running, I talked to another neighbor about some details for the upcoming block party that she is helping us organize, then greeted another neighbor, a widow who told me her phones had not worked for two days and she could not call anyone because she had also lost her cell phone. A couple of hours later, we had determined that there was a problem with her phone system, and had found her cell phone so she could report the problem with her landline to her landline provider.

After my wife came home from work we walked through our neighborhood before leaving for our evening class. We greeted several neighbors, then drove to class. After class, we discovered a backpack in the parking lot next to our car. We opened it (No, it didn’t explode) and found a driver’s license, credit card and other personal items for a person vacationing from out of the area. With the help of a friend who has a smart phone app that found a phone number for the address on the driver’s license, we reached the owner of the backpack and arranged for her to pick up her backpack.

It Takes Nothing Big to Be the Church.

As you can see, nothing about our day would be material for a book or a mini series. It would never be the sermon illustration for a mega-church sermon. Yet we see days like this as a somewhat typical day of being the church in the community.

To be the church, all we do is keep our eyes and ears open to the people around us, and try to show them love in whatever way we can.

In future posts we will look at various other ways we have sought to be the church in the community, will give examples of other people we know who are being the church in their communities, and will encourage you to give examples from your experience.

Be the Church in Your Community

If you have questions about how to be the church in your community, please let us know in the comment sections below, and we will try to write a post which answers your question.

How to Make friends by Hosting a New Year’s Eve Party

By Sam Riviera

Lemon Meringue Pie and Wasabi Peanuts

Last year’s New Years Eve party was literally a last-minute effort thrown together that day and the day before. One of our neighbors was dying. She was very discouraged. We knew she wouldn’t be here for another New Year’s Eve. When she agreed to drop by for a few minutes, we quickly invited other neighbors to join us. But what to cook? We settled on take-and-bake pizzas from Costco, complemented by other prepared foods. Our guests loved it!

This year’s menu was somewhat expanded, but take-and-bake pizza was still the centerpiece. Almost everyone, on their own, brought along pie, cookies, wine, breads, cheeses and so on. The big hit: lemon meringue pie. The big dud: my personal stash of Wasabi peanuts. Although clearly labeled, some people ignored the label (they thought they were getting green Jordan almonds maybe?) and took some anyway. Consequently, all but one person (a true Wasabi fan) happily put their Wasabi peanuts on my plate when they figured out what Wasabi peanuts are.

Eating and Talking

We have no agenda for our neighborhood parties. We set them up and let them happen. Once neighbors get together, they love to eat and talk. Unless the food is bad or there is not enough food, they don’t remember a few weeks later what they ate. However, they do remember who they talked to and what they talked about. We hear people comparing previous places they have lived and worked, what wars they fought in, what’s happening in the neighborhood and various other topics. For the most part, they’re just getting to know each other better.

Moving to Hawaii?

Here are some of the comments people give us in between parties:

”When you have another one of those neighborhood parties, we’d like to be invited.”

“We missed the block party, but plan to come next year.”

“We got to know some of our neighbors better. Even though we’ve lived on the same street for over thirty years, we really didn’t know each other very well.”

“Great party, just a great party!” “Don’t move away! Who’d organize our parties? We love them!”

Most people love getting to know their neighbors. We do! Though we had planned to move to a warmer climate when we retired, we recently decided to stay right where we are. Why? We have lots of really great neighbors!

We care about our neighbors and they care about us and each other. We’re choosing that instead of Hawaii or Florida. If you’re wondering about the spiritual significance of all of this, I will close out this series with a post on that very topic.

Do you want to share Jesus with your neighbors?

There's more to it than inviting them to church...

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How to Host a Halloween Party

By Sam Riviera

14 Comments

Every year on Halloween, rather than go down to a local church for a “Hallelujah Party” or hide out in our house with our lights turned off, we host a big Halloween party for our entire neighborhood. This is another practical way we have shared the love of Jesus with our neighbors. (To get more outreach ideas by email, enter your email address at the bottom of the post.)

The day before Halloween we hand out quarter sheets of orange paper in the neighborhood, inviting neighbors to join us at dusk.

Here are some of the things we do:

Build A Fire In The Driveway

On Halloween night, we take our iron chiminea and put it on the driveway. Then we build a fire, put a circle of chairs around it, and hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters on the driveway.

We have also started to invite the neighbors to join us.

Last year, we put out a big pot of chili. And of course, chili needs cornbread to go with it. And since the night can be chilly, we put out hot cider and hot chocolate. While we’re at it, we make a few batches of our Secret Recipe Cookies.

Pumpkins, Cats, and Candy

We fill a large bowl with candy bars. Sometimes there is a neighbor who will not get home from work until later in the evening, and she gives us a package of candy to hand out for her. In addition to the circle of chairs, we set up tables to hold the food and carved pumpkins, fiber-optic pumpkin heads, and cats.

People start showing up just after dusk. We light the fire and people gravitate to the food tables and the chairs around the fire. Several neighbors bring their bowls of candy to hand out to trick-or-treaters on our driveway instead of at their houses. A few also bring food and drinks to share.

Some people stay all evening. Some only stay for a short while, eating a bowl of chili, and chatting with friends and neighbors. Others came by with their children, greet a neighbor or two, grab a cookie or cup of hot cider, and continue accompanying their children on their trick-or-treating rounds.

Tricking Our Neighbors?

Did we do this so we could invite people to a Bible study, church service, or give them Christian literature? – Never! People can smell this sort of fake evangelism a mile off. Don’t befriend people just to invite them to church.

We do this so we can get to know our neighbors better, and so they can get to know each other better. We’re learning to love our neighbors like Jesus, and before we can do that, we have to get to know them.

And we do! Simply by spending time with, eating with them, and sharing life with them, we get to know them. Inevitably, we have conversations about life – including the meaning of life and its problems and where God is in all of that, hopes, needs and a variety of other issues. These all take place before, during, and after these events.

What A Great Neighborhood!

Do people want community? In our experience most people definitely do.

After last year’s Halloween party, several people at the Halloween party commented that their friends and relatives have said they wish they lived in our neighborhood, a neighborhood where people know each other and have neighborhood parties. One of our friends who does not live in the neighborhood commented this week “What a great neighborhood!”

People often say, “You need to go to church to be in community.” I say, “We are the church, in our community!”

We are the church as we get to know our neighbors, live in community with them, and show them the love of Jesus.

We’re learning to love our neighbors and help them in places where they need help, in places where we are able to help. We’re helping build community, a community where people know each other and care about each other, a community where people talk about inconsequential things as well as about really important things, including Jesus.

Do you want to share Jesus with your neighbors?

There's more to it than inviting them to church...

Fill out the form below to receive several emails about how to get to know your neighbors and love them like Jesus.

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

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Being the Church is Loving the Person in Front of You

The Cheeseburger Lady

Jesus Came to the Dance

Be the Church in Your Community

How to Proclaim the Gospel to Your Neighbors

How we Proclaim the Gospel

There are Many Ways to Proclaim the Gospel

Be the Church in Your Community

How to Be the Church In Your Community

What Does It Look Like To “Be The Church In The Community”?

A Day in the Life of Being the Church

It Takes Nothing Big to Be the Church.

Be the Church in Your Community

How to Make friends by Hosting a New Year’s Eve Party

Lemon Meringue Pie and Wasabi Peanuts

Eating and Talking

Moving to Hawaii?

Do you want to share Jesus with your neighbors?

How to Host a Halloween Party

Build A Fire In The Driveway

Pumpkins, Cats, and Candy

Tricking Our Neighbors?

What A Great Neighborhood!

Do you want to share Jesus with your neighbors?

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