We have chosen to spend four weeks discussing our core convictions because they are the catalysts for what we do. They are why we invest in innovative faith communities instead of buildings. They are why we focus on serving rather than services. Here is a quick recap (the full articles can be found HERE).
1. God is still radically transforming human lives through Jesus.
2. North American culture has all but entirely rejected organized religion – especially Christianity.
3. On average, North American churches invest 90% of their human and financial resources on themselves, that is, to support the church.
AND OUR FOURTH CONVICTION:
If Christians and churches will invest in making their community better, not only will they imitate Jesus but their unbelieving neighbors will pay attention.
The difference between organized religion and Jesus-inspired faith is sacrificial love. Love inspired by Jesus demands personal sacrifice. When someone make a sacrifice for us, no matter how small, it catches our attention and generates gratitude. When someone holds a door open for you or allows you to pull into traffic or goes above and beyond for you – you notice. When Jesus fed the 5000, they noticed. When he paid attention to children, they noticed. When the early church healed people and raised others from the dead, everyone noticed. The sacrifice of ancient Christians caught the attention of their Roman and Greek neighbors.
In 251 A.D., Bishop Dionysius described how pagans cast their family members into the streets when they were discovered to have contracted the second Alexandrian plague. He also described how Christians took them in and nursed them either back to health or until they died – often contracting the plague as they did. A noticeable number of patients responded to the basic nursing care and recovered, gaining further attention to the Christians who had sacrificed for their neighbors.
Far more important than spectacular worship services and awesome sermons, sacrificial love expressed by genuinely helping people will draw the attention of our unbelieving neighbors and draw them to Jesus.