theCityShouldBeDifferent: Gather and Send

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Gather and Send

One of the rhythms of theCityChurch is to Gather and Send.

It's not complicated, and I'm thinking Jesus did this as well. He gathered with his crew, did life, and trained them. He hung with his three closest friends, Peter, James and John. He did life with the 12 disciples. Sometimes is was a larger group who were following Him (a crowd). And sometimes it was an enormous gathering (5,000 men plus their families). Jesus gathered people together and did life with them, training them along the way. He was super relational, because He loved people.

Then, Jesus sent out His followers on mission. For example, in Luke 8, He sent out the 12 disciples with some specific instructions. Then, in Luke 9, He sends out 72 with instructions on the mission for that day. And when Jesus was leaving the Earth, He left instructions for the disciples and for those who come in their wake (that's you and me), sending out His church to make disciples and teach them to obey Jesus' commands (Matthew 28:19-20).

Gather and Send.

At theCityChurch, we gather together and pursue authentic community. That takes time and God's Grace. And the results, loving one another and God using community in His name to grow us and give us strength, support and courage, are so worth it! We'll mess up and miss the mark along the way, no doubt. But God's Radical Grace is our operating power and we believe it's sufficient to grow us from wherever we are to be more like Jesus! Our church gathers together. One new expression of this happened this past week as we moved our Sunday Morning Worship Gathering to the Clubhouse @ Village Green Apartments. (We outgrew my living room, which we were meeting in, yeah!) It was really cool, and I'm looking forward to worshiping there in this season. You can come and Gather with us! Find out more here.

I really dig Gathering!

And we send. Send each other out, having met with God and experienced His Grace through Jesus, we send each other out as Relational Missionaries to love and serve, without strings attached, with the awesome news that God's love and restoration is available to all. Last night we did some Sending, "After Midnight" style, hanging out and giving away water and burgers in a place where people who aren't your typical church-goers would be after midnight on a Friday night.

I really dig Sending!

I'm so proud of theCityChurch for your courage and willingness to embrace Jesus in this life.

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theCityShouldBeDifferent

Since #JesusIsAlive, then from #Goosport2Graywood #theCityShouldBeDifferent

theCityShouldBeDifferent.com

a move to Unite theChurchatLakeCharles.us

and Transform the city

through Building Capacity for Engagement

So That John 17:20-23 can happen here, now.

OK, that sounds good, but what does that mean? So here is an Example: We have this enormous industrial expansion headed to SWLA, bringing 25,000+ new construction jobs. There are lots of, say, young men in our area who are not meaningfully participating in the workforce, but who could certainly fulfill the unskilled helper jobs that will be a small portion of this large construction workforce needed. What they need to be ready for these jobs is some hope. We, church, are charter members in the hope trade. So, via relational engagement, we let the young men borrow some hope from us, inspiring some to begin working on improving their character and soft skills, getting ready for this meaningful work opportunity.

There are a bunch of kickers in this real-life scenario.

1.) The industrial construction helpers can make $15 an hour, and typically have lots of overtime. This scenario really stomps on the gas pedal in this way: a new entrant into the workforce in this situation can save enough to buy a reliable car in 1-2 months! That is hope building; dignity establishing!

2.) If we are going to see a thousand young men (that's my vision) pass through this opportunity, we will need a whole-bunch of support systems, meaning mentors, encouragers, soft-skills instructors, rides to work and more.

3.) When we engage with our real-life neighbors, in real-life serving, everyone's character, everyone's faith in Jesus gets a real shot at growing! It's what you call, Discipleship.

4.) When a young man gets a job that can pay $40k a year, they have real options! They can get more education and training. They can inspire those around them to follow them. They can be inspired by those who invested in their life for free and set them up for this situation, and they can help the next group of young men who aren't working get on board.

5.) When people from all corners of the city who are a part of the Jesus story get engaged together on a real-life mission worth doing, one that doesn't benefit any of the men or their churches directly, but the benefits are so powerful and real, then we get to build trust, relationships and capacity and see that Jesus unites and trumps race or class. We get new respect for each other and our capacity to do go and be real brothers is greater than we could have foreseen

...

Are you getting a little glimpse at the picture?

The people who follow Jesus are carrier's of the Hope of the World. We, in the Lake Charles area, have a beautiful opportunity to engage with our community, building relationships and helping lots of people see who Jesus is more clearly.

There is lots more to say, so stay tuned and, if you are intrigued, lean your voice into the mix. Contact Paul Pettefer at 337-794-9891, paul@employmentisbetter.com, @paulpettefer, or stop by the InterGalactic Offices of theCityShouldBeDifferent.com located inside Laundry World, 2712 Lake St, Lake Charles.