Ridgell's Originals

I know I am supposed to respond to the comments as they come in but I forget to check my blog. How do you do it? I know the responders to the last post are as busy or busier than I am. But thanks for the thoughts. I am going to steal them and preach them. I'll try to remember to give credit.

Two or three things really struck me in the responses. It is true that we really do talk things to death, and maybe that's because that way we don't have to do them. Which comes back to credibility. It may be that the point is not to expend so much energy on what to do, but rather expend the energy on the doing.

And it is true that we have lost the "every member a minister" mindset that sparked the growth in the first century. We really do not talk much anymore about our vocation. Our jobs and our careers are not our vocation, tho some do have jobs that actually dovetail with vocation. Our career is to be salt and light, and to engage our culture with the good news of Jesus. We live as witnesses and we give answer to our hope.

If we live authentic and forgiven lives in this world (workplace, neighborhood, family, ballfield, school), then we will not have to worry about bringing them in. Living out the gospel in community, in family, and in personal lives will give us more opportunities to share the gospel than we can imagine. You know what I mean because many of you do this now.

Finally, if we are really sending ourselves out into the world, we don't have to worry about how to bring them in. Any building will suffice because we are a building not made with hands. We will naturally be warm and welcoming, we won't have to try to convince visitors of this. People will be drawn to real families regardles of how big, or how nice, the house is. I think that works for the family of God also.

Well, maybe I need to quit talking about it, and go do it.