October 05, 2004
"The members of the Church of the Savior (in Washington, D.C.) pursue both the inward journey of faith and the outward journey of social justice. Gordon Cosby and his wife, Mary, lead this community to find the substance of their lives in pursuing Christ and ministering to the broken in their neighborhood. When someone in the church senses a call from God for service, the church prays about it, and if God is in it, the vision is refined and a handful of members commit to bringing it to fruition.
Over a cup of soup at the Potter's House, a coffeehouse run by the church, eighty-plus-year-old Gordon shared with me how much more can be accomplished by ten people who discover their call than one hundred who are unsure. His desire is to lead people to living from the focused center of God's kingdom and then following the call God gives them. When I asked him why more churches don't follow his example and better their cities, he responded with a rather sobering comment: "Because the servant leadership Jesus offers us is a leadership toward unimpressiveness."
- from Buck Naked Faith by Eric Sandras
What would it be like if Christians embraced their niche and call and together transformed a city with "unimpressive" servant leadership?
Oh Lord let me be a nobody used for You!!
If we were to serve the world as God has called us to His kingdom would truly be demostrated on the earth and many would come to Him.
It seems absolutely necessary for all of us to quit focusing on ourselves and focus solely on how the Lord desires to serve His creation.
Posted by: Scott P. at October 7, 2004 12:45 PMI think part of the problem people have embracing their niche is that they erroneously think that their niche is the very place they're not supposed to be. In other words, they see where they presently are as a place that is apart from God's work. So they are always too busy looking elsewhere to realize that they're already where they need to be in many ways.
They think to themselves, "When I get to such-and-such a place, then I'll really be doing God's work." Instead, they should accept that God is where they are even now -- His kingdom is not just something in the future; His kingdom is here now, even where they are.
The servant leadership Jesus offers us is a leadership toward unimpressiveness because we are not to affect some grandiose otherness, but we are to work hand-to-earth where we are.
Make sense?
Posted by: Hugo at October 8, 2004 10:30 PM