In a world where fear and conflict is rampant, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. It can set our heads to spinning. This time in history has impacted the way we connect, work, play, and travel. And the church has not been immune. The way we do church has been impacted beyond anything we could have imagined.
Yet Jesus’ concept of “church” and, more specifically, this notion of “being the church” never goes away and is forever relevant to the changes that have barged into our world. We believe that Jesus can help us with the knowledge, tools, and skills to “BE” the church in this new reality.
This blog will share the why, what, and how of "being" the church according to Jesus. It’s simple. It works. It’s for you. So come alongside us, and let’s discover how, together, we can be the church in an unsteady world.
Being the church in a changing world
Hello, I’m Bill Burrows. Steve Reed and I are co-founders of Play. Story. Eat. Ministries. We welcome you to “Be the Church:” A blog where together we become disciples of Jesus.
“Be the Church”…What does that Mean?
What does it mean to “Be the church” in a changing world? What does it mean to be a disciple? or be called a Christian? Steve and I continue to pray and think about these questions often.
The Barna Group does research for “spiritual influencers.” They define a practicing Christian as:
a person who identifies as a Christian
a person who agrees strongly that faith is very important to them
a person who has attended church within the last month.
According to Barna, 25% of the US population fits in this category. That's about 83 million people.
God’s definition of a “Practicing Christian”
How does God define a practicing Christian? What is God’s bottom line when it comes to being the church? We believe it’s found in His two great commandments.
Love God…Love People
In Matthew 22:37-38, Jesus said,
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.”
Very simply, it says to love God with your whole being. For me this means to be open and responsive to God. When I love God, I invest the time and energy to see the world, others, and myself from His true perspective. I work to know and understand His reality. But that’s not enough. If I truly love God, I’ll respond with action to carry out His plans and accomplish His will.
That’s what it means to love God wholeheartedly. There’s more. In verse 39, Jesus also said, "and a second is like it:
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
These commandments are interlinked. You can't do one without the other. For me to love God, I also need to love people like I love myself. Again, this means to be open and responsive to people. When I love people, I see their perspective of reality as well as my own in light of God's true reality.
My “Expertise” in Love
I’m an expert in being open and responsive to myself. When I want to do something, I do it. Way too often I ignore God’s reality about me and go with my distorted view of what I think I need or want. Truth is, I don’t even love myself well unless God’s involved.
Jesus’ Standard for Love
But Jesus raises the bar even higher for his disciples. In John 13:34 He says,
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
When I love people, I invest the time and energy to see them, the world, and God from their perspective. I work to know and understand their reality. But that’s not enough. If I truly love them, I’ll respond with wise action to sacrificially love them like Jesus does. I stop being self-centered and become a conduit of God’s love to others.
I wish I could tell you that Steve and I love God and love people like Jesus does 24/7, but I can't. The sad truth is, we have lost many battles to the world system, our own flesh, and the devil. In many moments of time we have been distracted, enticed, and confused because we haven’t stayed connected to Jesus.
We Need Help!
We need you to stand with us and together resist our common enemies as we become people that love God and love people as Jesus does 24/7.
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The Next blog: Our Mission From God
We hope you join us!
Bonus Tools to Go Deeper and to pass it on!
With many of our videos, we offer resources to help you implement the teaching. Below you will find our “Love Challenge Tool.” Perhaps you might be thinking, "I know I'm supposed to love God and people, but how can I do something about it?” This tool, linked below, will help you to answer the question: “Am I truly loving God and people?" We believe this can help you see the true quality of your love—if you're brave enough to accept the challenge!
The second bonus is a link to our slideshow that we used for this presentation. Take it and use it to share these ideas with someone else!
“Being” the church is better than just going to church! Begin now to be the church by training to love both God and people the way Jesus does.