Experiment: for the next year: pray for the entire world; read through the entire Word; sacrifice your money for a specific purpose; spend your time in another context; commit your life to a multiplying community.
Platt, David (2010-04-17). Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream (p. 185). Random House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
We’ve talked about being radical. We’ve looked at being a follower instead of a fan. It’s time to stop thinking and talking. It’s time to start doing. Where do we start?
1. We could give away all we have and move to a foreign mission field. This would certainly be radical. But maybe we don’t have to start that dramatically. But we do have to start.
2. Pray for the entire world. To be radical we have to change our perspective. We need to have a world view. There is no better way to get a new perspective than to begin to pray for the entire world. This may seem impossible or overwhelming, but there are ways to do this. Check out this website as a great place to start: http://www.operationworld.org/. I will help out here. Every day I will be forwarding a prayer reminder for some part of the world. All you have to do is read it and pray BEFORE you hit “delete.”
3. Read through the entire Word. This isn’t a new suggestion. For years our church has suggested that everyone have a reading plan to get through the entire word of God in a year. There are numerous adherents in January; not so many in June. You don’t have to start such a plan on January 1 and you don’t have to start at Genesis 1:1. Find a plan that works for you and start reading. Here’s just one: http://www.oneyearbibleonline.com/ One effective way is to sign up for a daily email reminder. You will be sent an email with the bible readings for that day. Once you’ve done the readings, you can delete the email.
4. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose. I believe that for American’s it’s far too easy to write a check. It soothes our conscience without us really have to commit to something. If we make only ten thousand dollars a year, we are wealthier than 84 percent of the world, and if we make fifty thousand dollars a year, we are wealthier than 99 percent of the world. Find a mission that you can be passionate about and give to it sacrificially, with your money, time, and prayers. Preferably this should involve going, even if it means going just a couple of miles. You can do this in connection with number 5.
5. Spend your time in another context. If we are going to be radical we’re going to have to move out of our comfort zone. We need to spend sometime in a different environment. We need to see the world through someone else’s eyes. This could happen if we went to Sudan, but it could also happen if we went to some areas of our parish. Find a good work that is being done that seems valid and worthwhile to you and get involved. Commit to it for an entire year. Just visiting such a situation one time isn’t enough.
6. Commit your life to a multiplying community. The Lord taught us to pray “Our Father.” We are designed to live and work in community. For Christians, we call that community the church. Find a church that is committed to making disciples. Don’t base your decision on the building, or programs, or the preaching style of the pastor. Find a church that is making disciples. Don’t base your decision on mission statements. Look to results. Find a place where God is adding to the kingdom daily. Then get committed. Committed doesn’t mean just showing up every Sunday. Find a place and plug in. This final portion is where everything else falls into place. You can’t accept this year challenge without totally committing to number 6.
Being radical means DOING something. It’s time to start.
Nick
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