Home / Articles by: Brian Schwarberg 
He took 20 minutes to do this, although he thought often throughout the rest of the day about what he discovered.Permission granted for reproduction in exact form. All other uses require written permission.
Taken from the blog “Church Planting Novice”
Missional is not an event we tack onto our already busy lives. It is our life. Mission should be the way we live, not something we add onto life: “As you go, make disciples….”; “Walk wisely towards outsiders”; “Let your speech always be seasoned with salt”; “be prepared to give a defense for your hope”. We can be missional in everyday ways without even overloading our schedules. Here are a few suggestions:
- Eat with Non-Christians. We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations (Mighty Fine Burgers, Buca di Peppo, The Blue Dahlia, etc). Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.
- Walk, Don’t Drive. If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox, convenience store, or apartment office, walk to get mail, groceries, and stuff. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, taking a 6-pack (and share), bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Last night I spend an hour outside gardening with my family. We had good conversations with 3-4 neighbors. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet.
- Be a Regular. Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places. Get to know the staff. Go to the same places at the same times. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of left over pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use for church gatherings and occasionally give to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a Regular.
- Hobby with Non-Christians. Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try City League sports. Local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons. Teach sewing lessons, piano lessons, violin, guitar, knitting, tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.
- Talk to Your Co-workers. How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form mom’s groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively non-Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.
- Volunteer with Non-Profits. Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!
- Participate in City Events. Instead of playing X-Box, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, clean-ups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.
- Serve your Neighbors. Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative. Just serve!
Don’t make the mistake of making “missional” another thing to add to your schedule. Instead, make your existing schedule missional.
I recently read this blog from Pastor Dave Bruskas from Mars Hill Church in Seattle and thought it was great to pass along:
One of my favorite responsibilities as a husband and dad is to pray for my wife and four daughters. It is also one of the most difficult things to do consistently. But it is something I want to do well for the sake of those I love most. So as a man who needs a good plan to go along with the best intentions, here is what works for me.
1. SCHEDULE PRAYER
I pray for my family on a scheduled basis four times a day. These prayers aren’t wordy or long. And most of the time, they are simply asking Jesus for the same things in the same way. The condition of my heart is the only thing that keeps them from being rote or ritualistic.
2. PRAY FROM BED
I’m one of those strange people who is either blessed or cursed (depending on your perspective) with an internal alarm clock. So I wake up 15 minutes before I need to get out of bed every day of my life. And I devote that time to praying for my family. Paul’s prayer in Ephesians 3:14–21 inspires this prayer time. I pray that my wife and girls, out of an experiential awareness of God’s love, will: 1) love him, 2) love his Word, 3) love the church, and 4) love people who don’t yet know him.
3. PRAY BEFORE SCHOOL
My kids have always attended public schools. They have taken the bus, rode in carpools, been driven by me or Mom and have even driven themselves. Before they leave me, I hug them and put my head to their head so that my mouth is near an ear. I then pray that Jesus would protect them. I also pray that they would be mindful of his presence in everything that happens that day whether good, bad, or somewhere in between.
4. PRAY AT DINNER
My family will have dinner together at least four times most weeks. And as we eat, I ask each family member to share her thoughts from her devotional life. A dad with younger kids can share from his study and invite Mom to do the same. It’s amazing what I learn from my family during this time. We focus our conversation on personally obeying Jesus in the power of his finished work and the Holy Spirit. We then pray together that we would be obedient to him, by him and for him. And we pray very specifically for topics that surfaced during the dinner conversation.
5. PRAY BEFORE BED
My favorite prayer time has always been just before bed. When my girls were little, I would pray over them as I tucked them in. Now that they have matured, I pray for them in the den as they head to their room for the evening. I once again hug her so that my mouth is next to an ear. And I pray that she would believe that she belongs to Jesus, that his righteousness is hers, that he is her protector who never sleeps, that she would be refreshed and wake with her first thought being about Jesus.
6. PRAY SPONTANEOUSLY
While scheduled prayer is important, life is mostly unscheduled. And a crisis will never send an iCal invite. This means that I have an opportunity for unscheduled prayer all day every day. So I keep communication lines open with my wife and daughters throughout the day. This opens a door to pray with them and for them over anything at any time. Issues range from tough exams to embarrassing blemishes to friends who are losing parents to death or divorce or friends who are just plain lost. My hope is to use these vulnerable moments to teach them that God is both in control and kind. And he is a Father who cares for my wife and daughters. He is always available. And he connects with them through a conversation that we call prayer.
MY FEAR WITH THIS POST
Now, here is why I have mixed feelings about sharing these things: Some dads put my prayer life to shame. My entire prayer time both scheduled and spontaneous amounts to less than an hour a day. But other dads will feel shame over shortcomings.
So let’s move away from shame and start over by God’s grace. Begin with a simple plan that works for you. Make your first goal to have a daily prayer connection with your wife and kids. And ask the Holy Spirit to prompt you to pray spontaneously. Getting started isn’t nearly as difficult as you might think. And your family will love you for caring.
Dave Bruskas is the network pastor for Mars Hill Church.
Have you ever found yourself sitting in a church service, and wondered how you’re supposed to listen and apply the message you’re listening to.
I struggle with this myself. When I visit other churches, I find myself frequently thinking about everything other than the message.
I found this blog poster by Pastor Steven Furtick very helpful. He is pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C., and I think this post can help us all “get more out of the sermon.”
There’s a secret to listening to sermons that dramatically affects what you will get from them. I call it the perception principle.
I’ve preached about this before and share it with our staff regularly, but I’ve never blogged about it. I want to give it to you because I believe it will revolutionize the way you listen to sermons and exponentially increase their impact on you.
The perception principle goes like this: I can only receive someone on the level that I perceive them.
This is true for God, and for every human relationship you have. The way you choose to see someone determines how you will treat them and how you will receive whatever they have to give you.
Negatively, this means that if you perceive your wife to be a nag, that’s the way she’s always going to sound to you. Even when she really isn’t being one. If you perceive your husband to be a loser, that’s how you’re going to receive him. No matter what he does.
Positively, it means that if you perceive someone to be wise, what they say will sound wise. And you’ll give it more weight. If you perceive someone to be ‘cool,’ everything they do will look cool.
Here’s how this matters when you’re listening to a sermon. How you perceive the person preaching will determine what you’re able to receive from them. And ultimately from God.
If all you see is a guy with good ideas and not a guy with a message from God, that’s all you’ll ever get. If you go into a sermon with an attitude of bless me if you can, you’re probably not going to be blessed. If you go in skeptical of every word, you’re probably going to find fault. And only find fault.
On the other hand, if you perceive your pastor to have a message for you from God, you’re probably going to be a lot more attentive and engaged. If you go into a sermon expecting to hear a word from God, you’re probably going to get one.
I’m convinced that what someone ‘gets’ from a sermon has nothing to do with the skill level of the person preaching. It’s how they perceive the person preaching. It’s how they decide to engage. When people tell me, ‘that’s the best I’ve ever heard you preach,’ I always want to respond: No, it’s the best you’ve ever listened.
I don’t care who your pastor is or who is preaching to you. Whether their podcast is downloaded by millions or their sermons are heard by five people, the principle is the same. Perceive them to have a message from God for you, and that’s what you’ll get.
Show up ready to hear from God, and don’t be surprised when you do.
When we baptize people at Cherry Hills, you see them make public declarations of faith, as they answer these three questions:
- Do you believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God?
- Do you believe Jesus is your Savior over sin and death?
- Are you willing to make Him the Lord of Your life from this day forward?
As you see these baptisms, I always pray that you’ll be inspired by their stories, and you’ll commit yourself to living out your baptism (living out your faith). If you haven’t yet accepted Christ as your Savior, I pray you’ll know that God is still in the life-changing business!
What is believers’ baptism? The Bible repeatedly describes this pattern: “they believed & were baptized” (Acts 18:8). Notice, they weren’t baptized until they believed – something an infant is incapable of doing (Acts 2:41; 8:12; 16:15, 33; 19:5). In believers’ baptism, we wait until a person trusts in Jesus.
What’s baptism by immersion? The New Testament Greek word for “baptize” (baptizo) literally means to “immerse,” “submerge” or “place under.” Baptizo was used to describe sunken ships, drowned persons or fabric dyed another color. So immersion = going under the water.
Why do we baptize by immersion? Besides honoring its literal meaning and imitating Jesus’ baptism (where He came up out of the water – Mark 1:10), immersion offers a meaningful picture. We reenact Jesus’ death, burial & resurrection for us when we go under & come up out of the water (Romans 6:3-4).
Is baptism a command or a suggestion? It’s Jesus’ command. Even He Himself took it seriously (Matthew 3:13-17; 28:19; Mark 16:16; Acts 2:41). By our obedience, we give witness to His life-saving work and leadership in our lives. Where are you? Have you obeyed Jesus’ command to be baptized as a believer?
If you have questions about this important decision, we invite you to come down front at the end of the service to talk to an Elder.
