After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. . . . ”When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’” — Luke 10: 1,5 (NIV)
Community building is all about finding “persons of peace.” Jesus spoke with urgency – telling his disciples NOT to stop and chit chat on the road, as would be the hospitable custom. Instead, they had a goal – a purpose. Go to a house, and offer peace. See if the guy responds!
In at least our current model of church and church planting, we feel “comfortable” inviting people – to “church.” But Jesus did not say anything about inviting people to the local synagogue – or to church, did he? We may need to seriously challenge how we practice what Jesus taught.
Let’s ask a pertinent question: What does it look like to greet people with peace?
Tomorrow my husband, Tim, and I launch out into a new way of finding and greeting persons of peace. We’re taking what we’ve learned over the past three years and filtering it into this mission concept: Greet people with peace.
We will be sailing from Baltimore, MD to Hampton, VA, stopping in ports along the way to greet people.
Jesus is sending us out.
So what does it look like to offer peace on our mission? How do we know if we are to “stay with that person” – or move on? Is it a “feel”? Or is it the tacos we ate for lunch? How specific about Jesus do we get in the greeting? What is the purpose of a greeting? Is there a “place” or a “way” to lead that conversation? Hmmmm.
Here’s what I think. Jesus wanted us to be focused – to be urgent – and to know something about what we would actually say. For me, that works best if I have prayed, thought and reflected on past conversations and scripture, and have a specific plan.
I need “words in my head” that help me navigate with the Spirit.
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