Vibrant Communities: Distinctive Ways

5/05/2021 1:51:14 PM | Scott Pilgrim

Read: Mark 2:1-12

This story recounted by Mark is a special one. It’s a powerful metaphor for all of us as we think about mission locally and globally. What’s the heart of this story? Getting people to Jesus. Taking away the barriers – breaking through them if need be! – to help get our friends to Jesus.

Let’s look at the story. The man and his friends have heard about Jesus. They know He has power and they know what they have to do. The group carries their friend in a stretcher with the intention of getting him to Jesus, but they hit a barrier. The entrance is blocked. Mark paints the picture of a crowd squeezed inside, a house full of people who are motivated to see Jesus for different reasons.

The men know why they are there and they know they have to get in. So what do they do? They make a new entrance! They believe that if they can just get their friend to Jesus, then his life will be transformed. And so, creatively, and somewhat riskily, they make a way through the roof. They remove the barrier and their friend gets to Jesus.

It’s a powerful metaphor for our mission today. It certainly speaks to the work of Global Interaction’s teams around the world. The reality is that 40% of people around the globe still haven’t heard the Good News in a way that makes sense to them. In a way they can understand in their cultural context and language. That’s injustice.

Global Interaction’s vision is to see vibrant faith communities following Jesus in their own distinctive ways. But how are we going to see this vision become a reality? We are only going to see it when people are able to hear and understand the Good News in their culture and community. And this is what our intercultural teams passionately seek to facilitate every day by humbly, respectfully, lovingly - but boldly - removing the barriers hindering their local friends from hearing the Good News.

Sometimes the cultural, religious and political barriers seem more obvious in the contexts our teams serve than in our local settings. But what is true across the world is true in our Australian neighbourhoods as well.

In our increasingly secular and multicultural communities, there are growing barriers that people in our local neighbourhoods face before they can get to Jesus. What are they? And how can we creatively break down these barriers so our communities can be transformed by encountering Jesus right where they are?

Whether we are in North Manly or Northern Thailand, South East Asia or South Australia, a small country town in Outback Australia or a dusty road of Malawi... God is at work. His gracious invitation for us is to partner with Him, to see people come to know Jesus in ways that makes sense to them.

TAKEAWAYS TO APPLY

Authentic Relationships: The men have a genuine friendship and from this foundation comes a desire to respond to their friend’s physical needs. In the context of an authentic relationship, we want to journey with our friends in all aspects of life and see them experience the hope of Jesus that we’ve experienced.
Teamwork: The friends work together. They collaborate. Right through the Australian Baptist mission story, partnership has been key. From the first Aussie Baptist workers who were sent in 1882, global mission has been part of our DNA and it can’t happen without the partnership of churches and individuals who pray, give and advocate. We genuinely can only do it together!
Innovation: The men arrive to the house and there’s a challenge. There’s a barrier. But they face it with creative, solution-focused thinking. They could have just turned around and gone home, but they said, “No, we’re going to look for a way. We’re going to do something different.” And they did, so that their friend could get to Jesus. For the 40% of the world yet to hear the message of Jesus in a way that makes sense to them, we’re going to have to do mission differently.
Courage to Take Risks: The group of friends took a big risk! They could have failed. We’re invited to step out and be part of God’s mission, but we’ve got to give ourselves permission to fail and to get back up and try again.
Intentionality: The five men knew what they had to do. They knew that they had to get to Jesus to give their friend who was paralysed the best chance of transformation. They didn’t know what would happen, but they knew the part that they could play. God invites us to be part of His mission. To get people to Jesus, to break down barriers and to share God’s love while He brings about the transformation.

THEMATIC STORIES AND RESOURCES

Use these as sermon illustrations, discussion starters for small groups or standalone resources.

Your stories! What local mission stories can you share that speak to this theme or passage?
VIDEO story of vibrant faith communities in Thailand: https://vimeo.com/519316060
VIDEO story of leaders being empowered in Malawi: https://vimeo.com/522672311
PODCAST episode 10 - Sowing and Reaping (Ben, Silk Road Area): www.globalinteraction.org.au/Missioning

QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUPS

What barriers did you experience before encountering Jesus in a way that made sense to you?
What barriers to hearing the Good News are present in your neighbourhood? How do you know what these are? How can you break them down?
How do you respond to the risky actions of the men in this story? Does Jesus’ response surprise you?
What do you personally take away from this story?
What are the distinctive ways in which you and your faith community follow Jesus? Have you ever found the ways other people worship or follow Jesus confronting? Reflect on that experience and your response.
Read, watch or listen to one or two of the above thematic stories. What excites you? How can you see God at work? What mission practices can you see the workers doing that you could do in your own neighbourhood?

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