On the day that you were born the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair
And golden starlight in your eyes of blue
Remember this one by the Carpenters? It should be a theme song for Christians as a reminder of how we should view and what we should want to do with people … celebrate their uniqueness and get close to them.
Have you noticed how easy it is to grow numb over shootings and mayhem and death? What’s going on right now defies rational thought. You open your newspaper and find articles about two mass shootings inside of 24 hours where two people have killed 29 and injured over 50 (we have a tendency to ignore the injured — at least they didn’t die — without realizing that for many, their lives, plans and dreams have been forever altered) and what do we do with this information? We file it in a growing file under “Incomprehensible” and go on to read about business or sports.
Yesterday we established the fact that Jesus has put us all in the discipleship and disciple-making business, and that part of understanding what that means is to realize we are all students of Christ. A disciple is a student, and class is always in session.
And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20
Disciple: a follower or student of a teacher
If you are a believer, Jesus calls you a disciple — one of His followers or students. That means at least two things.
Yesterday I tried to capture what it looks like to be a Grace Turned Outward Christian. It’s hard to nail down because what makes someone a Grace Turned Outward Christian might not be apparent on the surface. You have to go a little deeper. The following paragraph from the vision and purpose of the Catch is the best explanation I’ve found so far on paper.
The citizens of the Catch are God’s walking, talking people for his plan and action, the Gospel of Welcome (Grace Turned Outward), which is to hone in on this life; to go where God is, which is always with the vulnerable; to repair what is broken and remove the debris of wasted opportunity and lives; to offer to others the same grace and redemption given for our own broken and misguided selves, to participate in God’s rescue efforts and to always introduce the work of Jesus Christ for reconciliation.
Some people on whom God has had mercy.
Once, you Gentiles [all non-Jews] were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone. (Romans 11:30-32 NLT)
This is just a part of the incomprehensible strategy of God. Yes, and strategy is the right word. I know it seems kind of strange to associate a marketing term with God’s plan of salvation, but that is just how the Bible reveals God’s plan in three chapters in the Book of Romans (9-11). God has created a strategy for saving the world, and it’s not what anyone normally thinks. It’s a strategy that runs counter to our way of thinking and doing things. It puts failure in front of success and disobedience in front of mercy.
The vision of the Catch Ministry is: To introduce the Gospel of Welcome — Grace Turned Outward — to everyone, everywhere.
“Everyone, everywhere” is not just an overstatement for a whole lot of people, nor is it a way of creating a goal that we will never reach so we will always have something to shoot for. We’re not playing around here. It means only one thing: it means “everyone, everywhere.”
Too much agreement kills a chat. – Eldridge Cleaver
The worst thing about American political parties is that there are only two of them. To be sure, there are additional parties, but these are too small to make much of a dent in the political landscape except for taking some people away from one or both of the two major parties. This is why the polarization we are experiencing right now is so devastating and debilitating to moving ahead. You mean there are only two answers to EVERYTHING? Two ways to solve a problem? Two perspectives of looking at a thing? And one is always right, and the other is always wrong? Any thinking person can see how short-sighted and literally impossible this is.
My wife, Marti, doesn’t believe I ever fix anything around the house, so much so that when she caught me tightening the loose screws on the back door latch last night, she had to run and get the camera so she could record of this momentous occasion.
Now she draws this conclusion from the number of things around the house that never get fixed. Well, that’s because I’m too busy fixing all the things she’ll never know about, like — well … er … I can’t think of anything right now, but the list is definitely long. I mean, I don’t tell her every time I replace a lightbulb.
One of the greatest injustices we do to our young people is to ask them to be conservative. Christianity is not conservative, but revolutionary. – Francis Schaeffer
You have been strategically placed right where you are for one reason: to bring the kingdom of God to your corner of the world. It matters not where that is; it matters that you are there and you are intentional about being a carrier of Christ and a spreader of the gospel of welcome — grace turned outward — to everyone, everywhere. And if you’re not sure what that is, stick with us; we’re learning together.
John Fischer The Catch 