Moving from Gathered to Sent

I was with some guys the other night on my deck. I was introducing the new book we were going to do together. "Revival Starts Here" by David Clayton. So we talked a little bit about it and assigned the next reading.

We then began to talk about the effects of Covid-19 on the church. I talked to them a little bit about what I wrote in my last post. One of the guys said, "Maybe we need to look at ourselves (the church) as a sent church that gathers rather than a gathering church that is sent." What are the implications of that paradigm?

First, we would be living our lives as disciples within the context of our everyday life. We are just doing life as a follower, bringing God's Kingdom to the context of everyday life. Not preaching and teaching to everyone. But as Michael Frost says to live a questionable life in such a way it leads to kingdom conversations. When people ask you "why" you live a certain way it becomes an opportunity to share that you try to live by the values of Jesus. The Kingdom becomes visible by what you do, not what you say.

Second, the gathering becomes a celebration of what God is doing in our lives 24/7. We are not just coming together to check in, sing some songs, give an offering, take communion and hear someone give us a pep talk to get us through the next week. The Kingdom becomes real in our everyday life and we can't wait to celebrate with others living the sent life.

Third, the gathering becomes what it is meant to be, a place we find encouragement. A place we spur one another on in love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25). It encourages us focus on being sent into the world to make disciples.

Finally, we begin to see God moving through our life personally and the life of the church. It is God, literally building His church through us, a church in which is pushing back the gates of hell.

Instead of saying, "If someone is seeking God, they can come to the gathering."

We begin to live with God and His kingdom at the forefront of our lives.

Jesus does tell us to "Seek first His Kingdom."