I have consumed just short of 4 seasons of the TV show Alias!
Its a great show with plenty of suspense and adrenaline pumping action.
If I must be totally honest... I've even had a few "CIA" dreams...
Anyhow... a few blogs ago I did a post on 'Innovative Church Leaders Move Into The Neighborhood' which spoke about the Buzz Conference 07. At the Buzz conference Mark Batterson did 2 messages on 'The Moscow Rules'. I thought I'd take a few of his thoughts, mix them with some of mine and do a few blogs on these various rules.
Before we go there... heres a piece on the Moscow Rules:
The list may never have existed as written; agent Tony Mendez wrote "Although no one had written them down, they were the precepts we all understood ... By the time they got to Moscow, everyone knew these rules. They were dead simple and full of common sense..."
So here are 10 of those rules:
1. Know Your Mission
2. Gather Intelligence
3. Maintain A Natural Pace
4. Vary Your Pattern
5. Blend Into The Crowd
6. Be Aware Of Your Environment At All Times
7. Avoid Defensiveness At All Times
8. Assume That You're Under Survelience
9. Never Go Against Your Gut
10. Never Look Back
So today lets look at rule #1: Know Your Mission
Our mission as Christians is simple... To win people over so that we can share our lives and faith with them.
Jesus left us with the great commission (Matt 28:18-20) but in the church today it has become more of the great omission!
Jesus said that he came for the sick... but how much of our lives are spent in pursuit of the sick, the lost, the hopeless?
I must admit my greatest challenge is prioritizing space in my life for hanging out and doing life with those who need Jesus. Life is sooo busy, and I have just found over and over again that without great initiative and proactive planning on my part... this just doesn't happen.
Those who work statistics will tell you that after 2 years in the church, the average Christian doesn't spend anytime with non-Christians! How sad!!
This life will be over in a few blinks of the eye... you'll look in the mirror and wonder where the past 70 years have gone...
This life would have been wasted... even if we busied ourselves in church programs and devotion without concern for those who don't personally know Jesus!
What do you need to change in your week?
What tips do you have for keeping on mission?
I look forward to your comments : )
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1 comment:
Keeping on mission - good thought! Especially when the church is our workplace it's a challenge to keep our ministry 'out there'. It's important to nurture those already under our wing ... but we need to do more otherwise we'll never reach those who are unchurched. It's so easy to get stuck in our sheltered ivory tower! How to do this ... hmmm ... hard call! Maybe stimulate some outreach ministries? Practical community efforts to be visible and make a difference. We don't even need to preach - just show them what we have. They'll want it and be ripe for God :-)
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