When Christians get it Right

We've talked about how Christians get it wrong the last 5 weeks.

But what does it look like when Christians get it right??

It looks like Pentecost!

First -- On Pentecost the followers of Jesus focused on telling the story of Jesus -- how Jesus lived & died and rose again to give us freedom and life and love.  

When Christians get it right we are focused on Jesus’ story, how we live it in our lives and sharing it with others.  That’s getting it right.

Second -- On Pentecost the Holy Spirit Wind blew open the windows and the doors sending us into the world.    The Holy Spirit oriented the disciples outward to the world, not inward to the group of insiders.

When Christians get it right we are far less worried about navel gazing and inner circle stuff than we are about how we can engage the world.  The new church should not be a resting place for used up rockets but a launch pad for sending followers of Jesus out into the world.  The church is not a car museum where everything is perfectly shiny and preserved but a NASCAR pit stop where the grease, fuel and the wheels are flying into us so we can get out there again to do the work of the church.

Third -- On Pentecost involved speaking in tongues, other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave ability.  Which is a little weird for mainline Protestants in subdued Iowa.  Think of the speaking of tongues as God's radical hospitality -- making sure the people heard the Good News in the way they would best absorb it.  

We are not called to share the Good News in the way we want to hear it -- We already have heard it!!   We are called to share the Good News in the way others might best hear it.  That means asking ourselves what kind of music do people in the world listen to??  What kind of hour do people in the world enjoy??  Who are on the edges of our society and how can we connect with them?  In the way they want to hear it. 

These three things:

+Focused on Jesus' story

+Outwardly Oriented

+Sharing in the way others can hear

Are hallmarks of how Christians can get it right -- how we show love non-judgmentally for God's people.