Ed Stetzer & the Missional Network

On Tuesday night I went to a Missional Network conference hosted by Oak Ridge Baptist Church in Salisbury. My mother-in-law, Linda, went with me. It was pretty cool. I figured they’d probably have coffee there, but it was better than I expected–the room where the conference was held was actually connected to a coffee shop! Score.

The special guest for the evening was Ed Stetzer, missiologist extraordinaire. I was pretty excited when I heard he was going to be at Oak Ridge, because he’s a great resource for today’s church. In fact, I’m currently reading one of his latest books, Comeback Churches.

Using mostly 2 Corinthians 5:16-21, Stetzer talked about the Kingdom of God and what it means for us today to live as ambassadors of God’s Kingdom in our world.

Some highlights:

Any bad news in the church today is only bad news about the church–not the Gospel.
Many churches have lost the focus on mission.
We’ve become accustomed to unpleasant Christians being the norm.
We should live our lives in such a way that we’re always good representatives of the King.
We can’t love Jesus and not love people for whom Jesus died.
The false distinction we’ve created between pastors, missionaries, and laypeople is unhealthy, unhelpful, and unbiblical.
It is natural for us to respond to people in the same way as the world, but we are called to respond in a supernatural way.
If you’re a Christian, you’re called to live differently because a new way has come.
“When Jesus showed up, so did the Kingdom of God.”
The Christian faith is about a bloody cross and an empty tomb.
We show Christian love when we understand where people are coming from and take the time to learn and listen to the journey they are on.
The love of Christ compels us to live differently, to respond to people with supernatural love.
We are on a mission of reconciliation.
Jesus’ mission is ultimately our mission.
Jesus’ mission was to serve and to save.
In Luke 4:18-19, Jesus was essentially saying: “The Kingdom of God is here, and I am it.”
We reconcile a broken world to God by serving the hurting in the name of Jesus.
The church is often defined by what we’re against, but “we ought to be known for the things for which Jesus was known.”
In a sense, the Kingdom of God is a subversive Kingdom–it overturns the empire of this world.
“Christians” who don’t love Jesus are one of the biggest stumbling blocks to the Gospel.
We must be: biblically faithful, culturally relevant, countercultural communities.
“Biblically faithful” = we need to live as the Bible teaches.
“Culturally relevant” = looking similar to the world, but living differently.
“Countercultural communities” = signs and instruments of the Kingdom.
“Our job is not to moralize the unconverted–it’s to convert the immoral.”
“You can’t build and then control your own kingdom and expect the Kingdom of Jesus to show up.”
We need to be obedient to Christ, not to critics.
Questions we need to ask ourselves and answer: How can we be like Jesus? How can we engage our community? How can we give ourselves away? How can we give the Gospel away?
“If you’re not serving the poor and sharing the faith, you’re not advancing the Kingdom.”
“We need to do what Jesus did so we’ll be known for the same things Jesus was known for.”