By John Ridgway
As the scriptural thoughts regarding the Kingdom of God, the church, and the parables of Jesus begin to clarify and I begin to be comfortable with these concepts, let me suggest five steps toward the beginnings of a movement in your particular context.
1. Deep personal conversations with God
- Daily center on Christ. Look at the Bible through the eyes of the lost. Read the Gospels imagining you are there.
- Let Christ be at the center of our anxious lives. Develop a spirit of constant prayer. “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let your petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life,” Phil. 4:6-7 (The Message). Carry a small prayer notebook with you continually. Have a larger prayer notebook for protracted times. Start today.
- Study a book (like Hebrews) that will help you grasp the Gospel that is relevant to our culture and times. Do this with three or four other lunatics and their spouses. Read for the flow of the discussion, not for theology. Read for understanding and relevancy. Be dependent on the Holy Spirit’s promptings.
2. Connect with intensity with your spouse and your kids
- Brainstorm with your spouse about the Kingdom of God, church, Sunday school, etc. No theological preaching.
- Interact with your kids whether single or married. Where are they in the process? How can you help? Take time.
- Think through with your family how family discipleship works for you. Exercise leadership in this area. Don’t delegate to others. What is each person’s role? Everyone contributes. Figure it out. Make time for family interactions. This is high priority.
3. Proactive with all relatives
- Make an extensive list of all relatives. Start a prayer booklet. List parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, great aunts, second cousins, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, great nephews, etc.
- Pray over them. What is the Holy Spirit saying to you about each one?
- Talk with your whole family on how to connect. Also, who connects? You–your dad, your uncle? Your daughter–her cousin, her aunt?
- What is the next step for each relative? Send a birthday gift? Phone? E-mail? Visit? Is there a spiritual thread in the fabric? When should I pull the thread?
4. Simplify your life
- Focus on relationships. Take time. Be friendly. What is the next step?
- Enjoy sports with friends. Relax with neighbors and colleagues. Visit relatives.
- Eliminate unnecessary activities including some Christian meetings or obligations. Connect with the lost.
- Think in your context.
- Have great times with two or three believing families where there is good chemistry and a desire to reach the community.
5. Believe the Promises
The Gospel was announced to Abraham (Gal. 3:8 and Gen. 12:1-3). He believed it! (Gal. 3:9 and Gen. 15:6). But he was only one man! “And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.” Heb. 11:12
- See the Invisible, Heb. 11:27
- Believe the Incredible, Heb. 11:11
- Attempt the Impossible, Heb. 11:29 Be patient. Don’t force the situation. Yet be graciously aggressive. Be proactive. Be on red alert. Be prayerful, ready to respond to the Holy Spirit’s promptings. “The least of you (a little one) will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation. I am the Lord; in its time I will do this swiftly.” Isa. 60:22
Connect to all your natural networks. God is already at work.
- Start with your family; all your relatives
- Connect to high school and college friends
- Relate to your neighbors
- Be involved with your friends
- Develop friendships with colleagues at work
- Expand your social, sporting, and relaxing networks
- “Cornelius was expecting them and called together his relatives and close friends.” Acts 10:24
- “Peter will bring you a message through which you and all your household will be saved.” Acts 11:14
Utilize all the gifting in your immediate family for the sake of the Gospel. Let everyone be involved. “You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they devoted themselves to the service of the saints.” 1 Cor. 16:15
Pray for and believe and recruit reliable leaders from the next generation who will do the same. “Paul was accompanied by Sopater from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius and Timothy from Derbe and Tychius and Trophimus from Asia (Ephesus),” Acts 20:4
“Pass on what you heard from me to reliable leaders who are competent to teach others.” 2 Tim. 2:2 (The Message)