Writers Wanted!

Hey Marriage Mattersers!

So far I've been writing this blog pretty much by myself, with Lindsay graciously filling in one week. I would like to open things up a bit more, and unleash some of the talented people we have in our ABF.

If you have any interest in taking notes occasionally and posting them to the blog (of course, we'll probably have some kind of a schedule to avoid duplicated effort), please let me (Matt) know.

An Awkward Exercise

As part of the discussion of the first half of Mark 1, we discussed Jesus's baptism. When Jesus was baptized, a voice came from heaven, telling him, "You are my son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."

The first thing we talked about was the encouragement that must have been to Jesus. Imagine your (human) father telling you "You're my son/daughter. I love you. I'm proud of you. You're good at what you do."

As followers of Christ, we have been saved by God's grace. And God now sees us as saints, washed clean by Jesus's blood. He sees us through Christ. God feels the same way about us now as He felt about Jesus.

To help make that seem a little more real, we tried an exercise:

• First, turn to your spouse. Tell him/her "You are God's beloved son/daughter. God loves you."
• Now, say out loud to yourself "I am God's beloved son/daughter. God loves me."

The second part felt a little awkward--and not just because some people don't usually talk to themselves. It seems presumptuous to claim God's love. But God has freely offered it, adopting each of us, and has freed us from guilt.

When you really wrap your mind around that, and your heart fully believes that, let me know. I'll want to know how you did that, and I'll want to celebrate with you.

No ABF Meeting on Easter

Just a reminder: New Covenant ABFs will not meet on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009.

I hope you have a joy-filled day celebrating the resurrection of Christ Jesus, and look forward to seeing you on the 19th.

Just Walk Across the Room: Share (Your Time, Your Self, Your Love)

Have you ever met someone that is different than you? How do you handle meeting someone whose values are different than yours? What do you do if you cross paths with someone who drinks more than you, or votes for "the other guy", or whose life clearly demonstrates that they have no interest in what God has to offer?

In the final session of Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybels said that his response would be to demonstrate "radical inclusiveness" and "err on the side of giving grace." That's a far more difficult response than withdrawing or judging.

In Luke 5:27-32 and Luke 19:1-10, Jesus encountered sinners. In both cases, they happened to be tax collectors. Instead of condemning, or giving them a list of sins to stop, Jesus reached out to them and visited them in their homes. Both tax collectors even invited their friends to meet Jesus.

Jesus commanded us to make disciples. To do that, we need to meet those that aren't yet disciples, and we need to demonstrate Christ's love--the radical love and grace that put us where we are, not by our own works or righteousness or value. That means it is up to us, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to reach out to the rest of the world.

One way to reach out to potential disciples is a "Matthew Party", inspired by the party Levi (a.k.a. Matthew) threw in Luke 5:27-32. It's simple, really. It's a party. You invite people. Some are believers, and some aren't. Bill Hybels suggests a majority of non-Christians (1:3 to 1:5 ratio). Josh Hunt suggests a majority of carefully-chosen Christians. However the ratio works out, the idea is not to dogpile the non-Christians or force-feed them the Gospel. The idea is to have a party that is fun for everyone, and that can develop relationships through which disciples can (at the right time) be made.

There are, of course, many other ways to reach out to potential disciples. If you'd like to share ideas, post them in the comments!