By  April Terry (personal blog http://faithwarming.blogspot.com)

When you watch the Olympic skaters, you see that there are easier programs and more difficult ones.  Those who choose to take the more risky programs are sometimes rewarded greatly if they are able to make it through their program without errors, but those who play it safe are also taking a certain gamble.  They are gambling on the fact that the risk-takers won’t be able to translate their risky moves into a win.  I think maybe that’s the way that evangelism feels to most people.  Even as I use that word “evangelism” I find myself wanting to use more palatable terms like “outreach” or “connecting with others,” but I know that that is largely because many have a misconception about evangelism and what it is.

Evangelism can be risky, but I think it’s more about being real and being honest about who we are as an individual.  I was thinking how difficult it is when an iceskater doesn’t know their limitations and their talents.  They might take risks that are too ambitious for them or they might play it too safe thinking that they can’t do more.   A competitor has to know what they are capable of and what their talents and gifts are. 

I’m no Billy Graham.  I can’t stand in front of thousands to offer words about the wonderful good news of Christ, but I know that I am a good storyteller, and storytellers often tell their stories in ways that reach people on the other side of their brains–in the art center.  So, I don’t waste time trying to be Billy Graham as it would be a disservice to both me and Billy.  Instead, I approach things the way that is best for me.  I am just being myself and I am comfortable wearing that skin.

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By April Terry (http://faithwarming.blogspot.com)

My husband, son, and I went to breakfast Sunday morning and I saw one of my husband’s bosses come in.  At least, I thought it was, and so I mentioned him to my husband and after we finished, we passed right by their table.  Not wanting to be rude, my husband stopped in front of his table and said a great big, “Well, hello there!” only to find that he was staring into the face of a total stranger.  Oops…My bad…My poor husband was so surprised and embarrassed that he didn’t bother to explain to the guy, he just turned and walked away as quickly as he could.  I don’t know how long I laughed at that, but I’m still laughing.   Poor guy!  I’ve had my own share of moments when I have waved back at someone only to find that they were waving at the person standing behind me, but I am not the kind of person to get overly embarrassed. 

Society has these unwritten rules about invading people’s personal space, but the rules vary according to one’s geography.  Other countries, for instance, have different rules about how close you are allowed to stand to a person when carrying on a conversation.  I used to know a guy who leaned forward right into my face every time I had a conversation with him.  I found myself leaning backward while talking with him and it made me terribly uncomfortable around him, but it wasn’t really his fault that he didn’t know my “rules” of conversation engagement.

I’m afraid that we are making rules these days that keep us in fear of speaking to people we don’t know.  We fear the unknown and it keeps us from increasing our circle of friends.  Sometimes, I practice engaging people just for the sake of doing it–just to see if I can. 

I’m just nutty enough to sit here and think about Jesus sitting at a table in a restaurant when a guy comes up and mistakenly says, “Well, hello there!”  What would he do?  I imagine him taking the man by the hand and warmly greeting him right back.   Even more interesting, what if Jesus were to walk up and give the greeting?  Would he be embarrassed and walk away or would he instead just wait for the man to greet him right back?  From what I’ve read, I don’t think Jesus much cared about things like embarrassment. 

I’m all about breaking down the rules of engagement and just moving past the fear and the distrust that we have built into our lives.  Does it set us up for some risk?  Sure, but you know the saying, “Nothing ventured.  Nothing gained.”  Not a single new friend that I’ve made was someone I knew all about beforehand.  New friendships don’t come with a dossier. 

So, now, sitting here I am thinking about the ways that I can break the rules of engagement.  Could I start up a conversation in the line at the grocery store?  Could I talk to someone at a restaurant that I’ve never met?  Could I sit out on my front lawn once in a while and watch the folks in my neighborhood wander by while they walk their dogs?  There are as many ways as there are places that I go, but I have to set my mind against thoughts that tell me that people don’t want to know who I am.  I have to assume that they do want to know me, and that I am worth being known.  That means that I have some work to do on myself first.  I have to like myself enough to laugh at myself and not be embarrassed if I make a misstep. 

The rules of engagement only stay in place if we allow them to.  We can choose to live another way, and I think we should because the world is filled with some beautiful people that I have yet to know.

by Austin Thomas

Confession time. Deep, deep inside me is a secret desire. This desire motivates most of the things I do, almost every single day. It dictates who I am (or who I act like) most of the time, and it directly influences how I treat my friends and family and the people I work and live with. This desire is also responsible for most moments of unrest and uncertainty in my life, and it has wrought a lot more harm than good within my soul. Just like Jesus said it would.

Obviously, I’m talking about my life-long yearning to live in a freaking awesome castle. I’ve got it all planned out. I’ll earn money, make friends, stockpile knowledge and get a few defensive tools. Everything I buy goes in the castle. Everything I make goes in the castle. Everything I learn goes in the castle. Everything (and everyone!) I love goes in the castle. As I build up my wealth of things and people and ideas and experiences, I’ll put up some walls. And probably a moat. And my castle will be sitting on a beautiful hill. And it will definitely have those little windows that you can stick a bow-and-arrow through, to shoot at intruders. And it will have a good carriage out front. And nobody can get in except those I want to. And I’ll be able to leave whenever I want to go help people or visit my friend’s castles or do other important things, but I’ll always have a safe, comfortable, warm, beautiful place to return to at the end of the night. It will be mine, and it will be awesome.

And while castles are really, really great (I mean…come on! They’re castles! ), I wonder if they can also be really dangerous. I know that when I focus on building my castle, I’m not focused on building communities. Or churches. Or gardens. Or theaters. Or soup kitchens. I mean, on my better days I try to help build those things too, but only as much as I can without endangering the welfare of my personal castle. I have this idea that in order to help people and do what Jesus wants me to do in this world, I need to have myself squared away. I need to have my life in order before I worry about others. This is a logical way to think. It makes sense, and it’s responsible. It has led to the success of many, many great people in the past. But it can also be crippling. Because we really like comfort, and I know that when I’m worrying about myself I’m not worrying about others.

I wonder what would happen if I tried building a community instead of a castle. I would probably have less stuff, and that would probably be a pain in the butt sometimes. I would probably be more dependent on other people, and that would probably be humiliating (or at least humbling) sometimes. There’d probably be a lot more awkward moments, and there would definitely be more eye-rolls and difficulties. I would definitely not be as efficient, and I definitely wouldn’t be as comfortable. But I wouldn’t be as alone, either. I would be forced to be more intentional with my time, and energy. And I would have to try loving everybody, instead of just those I want to allow into my castle.

I guess that the kind of community Jesus is creating is one without walls. Without moats or arrow-shooting holes in the wall or locks on the door. And that kind of community is really scary to me, because some thief could just walk in the door and take what is mine. Some crazy homeless man could just come and hurt me or my loved ones. Somebody who is bigger and smarter and better looking than I am could just ride in on his white horse and stage a coup for the hearts of all my friends and loved ones and associates, leaving me in the dust with nothing. But if I really believe what Jesus says, I can’t get hung up on that stuff. Because like he says, the kind of stuff that really matters isn’t the kind you can put in a castle and protect with walls. I think my life would be a lot better if I acted like I believed that, instead of saying I believed it and continuing to build my walls and moats and castle, just in case. Lord, tear down my castle!

Austin is a brilliant student at William Jessup Bible College in Roseville, CA, and I have known him since he was born.  You can read more from him at his own blog HERE.