My current denomination trains lay people to proclaim the Good News through worship leadership, preaching, witnessing, teaching, leadership, service, growing in personal faith, and personal lifestyle.
This assumes that lay people have Good News to proclaim...
As part of the training, we ask students to describe the Good News that they hope to proclaim is. Trainers do the exercises, too, so I've thought about this a few times. I've had various answers -each time is different.
There are lots of good answers - probably as many answers as there are Christians, so I'm not saying mine is the right answer - but it's the answer I was thinking about, as I read this week's passage, about Jesus and his disciples on the night Jesus would be betrayed.
Jesus said to his disciples:
"If you love me, you will do as I command. Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you. The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don't see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you.
"I won't leave you like orphans. I will come back to you. In a little while the people of this world won't be able to see me, but you will see me. And because I live, you will live. Then you will know that I am one with the Father. You will know that you are one with me, and I am one with you. If you love me, you will do what I have said, and my Father will love you. I will also love you and show you what I am like."
My most recent answer? "You are loved, and you're not alone."
You are loved - by the Father, and by Jesus. You are not alone - not orphaned. Jesus is coming back.
This week, please pray with me for
- Sophia and her parents, now at home after a multi-day stay at Children's Medical Center,
- David and his family, as David recovers from back surgery,
- Jan and her family, as Jan recovers from surgery,
- Sara, as her broken foot heals,
- Gillian, with good medical results,
- Kande, and her house church,
- safe work at Amigos Days, repairing houses in Jubilee Park,
- my lovely wife, who returned from Mexico on Wednesday,
- Michelle Hay, married April 5 (you go, girl),
- Leslie and Dominion, to be married May 3rd (you go, girl, too),
- Tinka and Denis (I didn't have Denis's name until Tinka filled me in after the wedding),
- Harriet and Jack (good medical report, traveling mercies, and an upcoming prison ministry weekend),
- David, separated, and
- the United Methodist General Conference (now underway, in Fort Worth).
Have a great week! Christ lives in you,
Spencer the wonder hamster
Subscribe to this blog
back to top
