A 366-Day Experiment
Every four years there is a Presidential Election, a Summer Olympics, and a Leap-Year; 2012 is the year with the extra day, the global celebration, and our national election. In all honesty, none of us know whether we will see any of these events, or what their eternal impact will be. What we do know is that if we live through them, we are called to do so by faith in the unseen One who created, sustains, and is governing by His power, wisdom, and Divine purpose. We live in, for, and through Jesus Christ.
With every day (including the extra one) a gift from God, I’m proposing that we who call ourselves followers of Christ do something strangely radical in a world whose population is predominantly non-Christian: We make glorifying God in all we do our number one priority…
8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 14:8
Faithfulness, fruitfulness and fully following Christ are inescapable requirements of discipleship. Jesus said this to all His would-be disciples:
23 “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24)
The Church is supposed to be a disciple-making organism. And while disciples are not mass-produced or manufactured, there are key initiatives we can undertake in community to fulfill this task that brings God glory and reflects the mission He has given us to make more and maturing disciples. There are key beliefs and behaviors we can embrace and engage. There is a Radical Experiment we can undertake for one year that has the potential to influence everyday of the rest of our lives as well as our eternity.
On January 1, I will begin unpacking the Big Idea of a year-long church-wide Radical Experiment in Biblical Discipleship. I will be preaching primarily from the books of Luke and Acts for the next twelve to twenty weeks. Many of our small groups and Sunday school classes will be challenged to use our message-based curriculum, supplementary resources such as Radical and Radical Together by David Platt, and/or to study Luke and Acts as a comprehensive unit.
This experiment is extremely practical and has five basic commitments for which we will direct our equipping efforts in the opening quarter of the year.
- Pray for the entire world – Operation World, Seek God for the City, Focus Forty
- Read through the entire Word – Reading plans & devotional resources
- Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose – Faith Promise & Key Ministry/Mission Opportunities
- Spend your time in another context – Mission Trips & Hands-On
- Commit your life to a multiplying community – Life Groups & Mentorships
So for 2012 my call is to elect Jesus as Lord of your life, run the race he has called you to with endurance, and use the extra and every other day for God!
Blessings,
Pastor Jon
