We just finished week two in “Just Walk Across the Room.” We talked about living in 3d: Develop Friendships. Discover Stories. Discern Next Steps.While talking about “develop friendships,” I said something that might be controversial. I talked about how we might not want to develop friendships because we are maxed out relationally. We don’t have time for additional friends. Anyone relate? I barely feel like I have time for the friends I do have.
Here’s the controversial part: I have no exact biblical text to back up what I said (exept for macro-models that Jesus gave us)– so I can admit to being wrong about it. I said something like “If you don’t have time for developing frienships with the unconvinced, then you need to free up some friendship capacity in your life and dump some of your christian friends.”
I didn’t say you could “never again” spend time with your Christian friends, but if you don’t have time to develop friendships with the unconvinced because you are spending all your time with the already convinced, then that is WRONG!
What do you think?
Have to say I agree with you on this one…guilty of it as well. When I think about having to invite someone over that I don’t normally hang out with I get a little nervous and chicken out. It is easy to stay in our “zone of comfort” or whatever you called it, but we need to step out every now and then!
Developing these new relationships will require that we be willing to “step out” of the church world and into “the world” (John 1:14). It challenges us to LISTEN to what “they” have to say and to VALUE their opinions, even though we may not agree with them.
We typically insulate ourselves from “the world” through the creation of our sub-culture (Christian TV, Radio, Music, Books, Movies, Magazines, Clubs, Amusement Parks, etc) that we don’t even talk the same language.
Christ envisions His church living in the world (our mission), but not being of the world. For an example, we simply need to read the Gospels and immitate His life. WWJD regarding those who don’t share our values, beliefs, and lifestyle?
He may be calling us to not only “walk across the room,” but also “across the tracks.” It is uncomfortable, but so was the cross (Mark 8:34).
We (the church) must rediscover our biblical roots of fellowship, worship, study, prayer, service, and disciple making (Acts 2:42-47). The early church (and even the comtempory church in many places) had a very clear since of their mission and a passion to fulfill it, no matter what!
Mark 2:16-17
When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?”
And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”