Over the last few weeks, I have focused on driving home the point that God desires to be present to and in his creation, has chosen especially to be present to us through the Holy Spirit, and that we should develop the awareness to be present to his presence in all that is going on in the world. We gather in the presence of God where Christ is host at the Lord’s Table. We receive his presence to be a church on mission in the world. We share Christ’s presence at the tables of our homes where we are host to our neighbors. This is where real relationships are kindled, and the gospel is lived on display for them to see and experience. As a church on mission, we enter the spaces of the world around us with God’s presence as guests at their tables. As guests, we show up as servants, ready to reveal God’s power of love in how we engage in their lives.
This Sunday I am going to introduce the seven practices/disciplines that we will study for the coming months that will help shape us into a church on mission. These are ongoing practices that are at work in the three circles of our lives. There are other practices where God is especially present that are left out of this list, like baptism and marriage. These practices of the church are one-time rites. We are focusing on practices that continue to shape us as people who are attentive to God’s presence in and around us. There are other important practices/disciplines for the transformative growth of Christ followers that are more inward focused by their nature, like meditation and scripture reading. The seven practices we will focus on are intentionally communal and are practiced in every area of our lives.
These seven practices have impact first in the close circle where committed followers of Christ gather. They then impact the neighbors who surround the Christ follower in the dotted circle of life. These practices then move into the world where the church joins with God in the half circles, especially in and amongst the hurting and marginalized. These practices create space for organic growth in the church toward mission as we encounter the presence of Jesus and then extend that presence faithfully into the world.
The Practice of the Lord’s Table is the time where followers of Christ gather with others to participate in God’s story of redemption and allow God’s presence to continually baptize our stories into His story.
The Practice of Reconciliation puts us at the heart of the message of God as we live in a sin-scarred and divided world. Reconciliation takes community and is our witness to the work of Christ in the church for the world to see.
The Practice of Proclaiming the Gospel is the announcement that God is Lord over all things. This announcement of hope is that all things will be made right, and God’s presence is breaking in even further into this creation. We are the people of hope who get to point to what God is doing amongst the mess!
The Practice of Fivefold Gifting invites us to receive and use God’s gifts poured into different people for the sake of God’s mission. Being attentive to the presence of God in one another, we equip each other to use the gifts God has given for the building up of the church and the reconciliation of the world.
The Practice of Being with the Least of These is the way in which God makes his presence known among us. He has a special place in his heart for the forgotten, marginalized, and dejected. When we are attentive to God’s presence in their lives, we commune with Christ himself.
The Practice of Being with Children puts the values of the kingdom on full display. In children we find wonder, honesty, joy in the little things, and a playfulness many of us have lost in our adulthood. Being with Children helps us rediscover the simplicity of being a Child of God.
The Practice of Kingdom Prayer is our continual acknowledgment of our submission to God as Lord, our desire to be more available for His mission, and a longing for more of His presence.
We will take each of these in a three-week series, looking at their biblical basis and how they are lived out in the three circles of our lives. My prayer for this year is that our imaginations will be ignited as a church and we will take steps with these practices to transform who we are as a church on mission in NoDa.