Sunday, May 13, 2007

Get Outside Yourself

We learn in Scripture that we are created for a greater purpose than satisfying fleeting pleasures (read Ecclesiastes). Moreover, we learn that our life is more than just about our life and our lifetime (Jeremiah 1:5; Psalm 48:13, 71:18, 78:4). We have been created to effect those around us in our generation and generations to come. If you have been a Christian for a while, you get that.

Well the same is true for churches. Jubilee doesn't exist just for Jubilee. It exists for people outside of Jubilee. And not just people in St. Louis, but the nation and even the world. That is why it is critically important and a privilege to be a part of the Newfrontiers family of churches (go to www.newfrontiers.xtn.org for more info). It's an opportunity for us to tap into something bigger than ourselves. To be a part of a worldwide, grace-filled mission-minded group that is reaching all different kinds of people. Starting churches in places where there is not a current expression of the body of Christ, feeding the poor in Africa and raising up a new generation of leaders that will live on well beyond our lifetime.

This is why next week, we'll load up our cars and drive to Central Missouri State University to live in dorms for a couple of days, eat cafeteria food and pay money for it. So that we can band together with other wild-eyed, grace-filled, mission-minded people who want to make a difference beyond themselves and beyond what any one local church could do (regardless of size). It costs us something to go outside ourselves, but the payoff is huge and the direction Scripture pushes us toward.