SimpleChurch Journal

The Insider, Part II

In Part II of "The Insider," Jim Petersen explores four obstacles to fruifulness in our ministry to those around us.

The first obstacle he describes is fear: "I'm not comfortable around unbelievers," "I don't know enough," or "I don't have it together myself." He describes these kinds of fears as inevitable, but he encourages us to deal with them by, 1. becoming transparent about the fears, 2. asking God for the words that we need, and 3. accepting fear as an opportunity to be "weak" so that the Holy Spirit can work more powerfully in us.

The second obstacle he describes is isolation. Christians tend to isolate themselves from unbelievers for fear of becoming "tainted" by them. Therefore, we often live our lives within the walls of "church." We live by religious, cultural codes that create walls between us and them. Petersen encourages us to use our freedom in Christ when it facilitates serving others.

The third obstacle he describes is the lack of time. Petersen describes how we have patterned our lives after the world around us causing our lifestyle to be harried, splintered, and consumer-driven. He encourages us to embrace simplicity and to re-focus our lives around the home. We have chosen to live according to the values around us, and we can likewise choose not to.

The fourth obstacle Petersen discusses is our sense of personal inadequacy. "How can I tell anyone about 'peace with God' when I worry about my job, our finances, and the company my kids are keeping?" Petersen encourages us to find healing for areas that have been broken; at the same time, we are able to, like Paul, boast about our weaknesses and in this way give glory to God.

Petersen's next section will give us more on the practical of what it means to live fruitfully as in insider.

House Church Conference

If any of my readers are unaware of the Labor Day Weekend House Church Conference in Colorado... I recommend that you take a serious look at it!

Servant Evangelism

Haven't had time to get back to "The Insider," but I intend to soon. In the meantime, here's a wonderful article by Steve Sjogren on servant evangelism. I particularly like his focus that evangelism is a process:

Paul saw evangelism as a process, a view unlike our American mindset, which focuses mainly on “closing the deal.” According to his agricultural analogy, harvesting comes only after much planting and watering. Our natural bent is to value the harvest aspect of this process—the bottom line—above all else. Paul, however, valued the early stages of bringing someone to Christ as well as the final loop of seeing someone converted.