Reckless Ministry

Over the past few weeks we have been giving our gospel group format a bit of a test run. Our format is simple on paper but very messy in real life... kind of like theology. We have two weeks of Bible study, one week of community (more technically called "hanging out"), and one week of mission where we serve the community in some way. Some days it sounds great. Some days it sounds really complicated to organize and impossible to carry out. There is no secret to our source for the model, its The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halter and Matt Smay. These groups are essential to the success of our church. They are designed to meet people, serve with them, and learn about Jesus with them. There are several questions we have about how these will work. But we seem to be okay that they are dangling there.

Why the strange format? You see, one of the problems with church activities is that no one else does them but church people. But when I read about Jesus, he hung out with all the non-church people. Even his disciples weren't exactly the coolest or the most religious people in society. Jesus' ministry wasn't neatly organized. He didn't have deep esoteric theological debates with the Pharisees. In fact he did the opposite. He spoke plainly, simply and acted deeply. He was probably late to dinner parties because every time he walked around some total not cool person would grab and beg for a healing or something. I confess, many of the church activities I have been in don't resemble Jesus' ministry. They were full of church people, organized to the minute, and talked about the deep truths of the Bible. I love the Bible and theology, but if I hear another Christian tell me they want to go "deeper" I am going to scream.

Case in point, tonight was our first community night in the trial month. I have had two wake up calls so far in San Jose. One was the first night we got together for prayer in the local homeless park. Obviously you can't have a neat prayer meeting in a park full of homeless people. You will be interrupted and little of what is said may make sense except that they are lonely and no one cares. The second wake up call was tonight. We didn't have dinner at one of our homes with ourselves. We went to a bar. It was happy hour and it was full of people hanging out for drinks. We met Shannon, our lovely waitress who was very nice and served us well. I hope we see her again. We had a drink... and it wasn't cola flavored. I asked Jason, "Is this what you had in mind?" He answered confidently, "Yes." I thought, "Oh crap. This is for real." And then I said, "The fundies are going to be really ticked at us."

I was simultaneously excited and scared. Scared because church taught me not to go to these places too much. Excited because I like to and my friends are there too. I think I had a fantasy in my mind that community night would be more like a passover meal with a blessing spoke over it and all sorts of highly "spiritual" stuff. But that is what my family does, not my friends. My family is at church, but my friends are at the bars. All my frat buddies, my coworkers, all the "sinners and tax collectors" frequent the bar. The people with whom Jesus did his hanging out. These are all the people I have normal conversations with about their kids, their jobs, their pasts, and their futures. I don't remember any of the esoteric theological debates I had at church. I remember all the times I set nervously after work, hoping a church member wouldn't see me, having a pint, laughing and joking with my coworkers about real life.

You see, Jesus doesn't call us to a super neat and tidy ministry but to a reckless one. He didn't go to the cleanest places but the shady ones. He didn't hang out with the holiest people, but the unholy. He didn't come for the healthy, but the sick. He was reckless with where he went and with whom he associated. Jesus wasn't worried about these people and places corrupting or contaminating him. They were not going to cause him to stumble and sin. But this is what we tell Christians, "Don't go there or you will sin like they them." Really? Jesus calls us to be holy, but we don't have to go anywhere and do anything to become holy. We just have to trust him and follow him. When Jesus went they began to follow him and they became holy, not the other way around. Jesus' holiness is contagious, (to borrow a book title from my friend and teacher, Craig Blomberg.)

The idea that in his table fellowship with people, Jesus' holiness was contagious is challenging. Perhaps you may say, bars and dinner are two separate things. Or that some people are "weak" and cannot resist the temptation to get drunk. But you can't have a dinner party with people you don't know. If you want to meet sinners you have to go to the places they go and "hang out," i.e. a bar. Also, this message isn't for the weak. Its for those who desire to "go deeper" in knowing God and his Word or those who think God doesn't want you. He does, and he sent his Son for you to prove it. These are the deeper truths of the Bible. The deeper truths are to be as reckless as Jesus to find the lost coin, where the whole house is torn up to find it, and the lost sheep, where the 99 are left to fend for themselves, and the lost son, who is embraced despite being covered in pig crap and betrayal. Jesus wasn't afraid of being contaminated. He didn't give us a Spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-discipline. He gave us his Spirit so that we can be holy no matter where we go or who we befriend. You want to go deep, be reckless and follow Jesus.