Mission Means Action
When Jesus said “you shall be my witnesses” it was clear his commission would lead his followers to take action. Not just a moment of action, or a season of action, but an entire life spent asking, “Alright Jesus, what next? How can I serve you?” Today I will highlight three notable action items that relate to our mission of being witnesses for Jesus.
- EBC Mission Proposals Vote: Having presented this collection of seven specific mission projects over the last two weeks and receiving lots of positive feedback from the congregation, we are now asking our members to vote on it. If you did not vote at church last weekend, you may stop by the church office this week to do so, or at any of the worship services this coming weekend (March 6-7). Voting will be closed once services are over this Sunday.
2. Persecuted Church Event: Voice of the Martyrs will be airing a special livestream event this Friday evening starting at 6:30pm featuring the testimonies of three men imprisoned for Christ. Find out more info here, including a helpful summary of the event as well as the link to watch the program on Friday at 6:30pm. This event should be great preparation for our worship services this weekend as we focus on battling in prayer.
3. Equality Act Awareness: The Equality Act is an extremely important piece of legislation currently being considered by congress. While the title of the bill indicates an admirable aim, the actual language of the bill is expected to greatly undermine the ability of churches and Christian institutions to operate according to biblical convictions. In other words, it will make it much harder to fulfill the mission Jesus gave us.
I have read a number of articles regarding the Equality Act. The one I found most thoughtful was by Ed Stetzer in Christianity Today, entitled Swinging the Pendulum Too Far. I urge you to read it.
One obvious action is to consider to communicating concerns to your representatives and senators. A significant volume of feedback may forestall the passage of this bill, and/or result in the inclusion of some allowances for religious liberty in the final version.
However, my primary focus will be prayerful consideration of how best to fulfill the mission of Jesus in a society increasingly opposed to his teachings. I take inspiration from the believers in Jerusalem who gathered to pray after being jailed for preaching the gospel. My paraphrase of their prayer is this: “God, you are sovereign, they are threatening, make us bold and do your miracles.” Amen.
I am grateful to be on mission together.
Pastor Toby
Categories: Evergreen Connection