Ok so I’ve suggested several building blocks for effective missionary work here the burbs.

1. Proximity – being near people

2. Regularity – spending significant time together

3. Depth – going beyond the fluff in relationships

4. Conflict – being prepared to disagree and realise that’s ok and necessary

So here are my final two ‘building blocks’ if people are to become Jesus followers.

Building Block 5. The Message – This is where I believe some ability to articulate the gospel is essential. At some point we need to be able to share with people who we are and why we have chosen to orient our lives around Jesus Christ.

At the moment I see some interesting things happening. There is the typical conservative evangelical position that sees the gospel very much as ‘God loves, you sinned, Jesus died, you repent, all good’. I oversimplify but you get the gist. Then there is the more ’emerging’ position (for want of a better term) that says ‘hang on – there’s more to the gospel that Jesus dying for your sins’ – and gets into ecology, justice, environmentalism etc.

While one may seem a bit narrow my observation of the holistic approach to the gospel is that at times it can err on the side of being too fuzzy. It can neglect to mention the central aspect of Christ’s atonement and in that misses the mark. So while we speak of being ‘Jesus followers’ there is a requirement to understand what he calls us to and what he calls us from.

At the risk of making this sound like a specialist business, I do think it takes a bit of skill to articulate the gospel in a way that is both holistic and personal as well inviting and simultaneously repellant. By that I mean any gospel that only delivers the ‘goodies’ of eternal life and forgiveness, but doesn’t tell the whole story of ‘taking up your cross’ is ultimately doomed. There is a ‘repellant’ aspect to the gospel because it calls for self denial and that is not natural to us folks.

I do think its about here that the gift of evangelist comes into its own. That is not said to negate all of our responsibilities, but to affirm that some are created by God to do this work more specifically. For me one of the most envigorating things I ever do is talk with people about Jesus and the hope he gives to life. I could talk about Jesus, answer objections, lead people towards him all day every day and feel as happy as a pig in mud. This is where my own sense of being comes alive.

I also have a standard policy that with people who enquire respectfully and gently I respond accordingly. However if someone wants to be argumentative and difficult I will often respond to them in kind. Different people communicate in different ways and knowing what works when speaking with a person is critical.

All that said, at the end of the day we just need to be able to speak about who we are – and why. Its that simple. And if we can’t then I’d suggest we need to do some work to develop in that area.

Building Block 6 The Supernatural – I do realise the ‘supernatural’ is at work the whole time, but what I mean is simply that I cannot open anyone’s heart to the Holy Spirit.

Even after I have done ‘my bit’ it may not result in a person choosing to follow Jesus. As much as I would like my friends to share the journey with me its like trying to make someone ‘fall in love’. You just can’t force it.

So while we can do our bit ultimately it still comes down to a work of God in someone’s life that causes them to want to change the way their life is focused.

This is the bit I find hard.

The rest I can control to some degree, but this bit is totally beyond my control. But that’s a reality we need to deal with also. Does prayer influence this? Absolutely! I would hope so! So I pray for those who don’t Jesus, but it seems that sometimes God hears and responds… and sometimes well…

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So – there you have it!

Hamo’s thoughts on how mission develops in suburbia.

I’d be interested to hear people’s reflections on their own experiences of trying to mission with both passion and integrity.