Enough Talk. Show Me

The church, ekklesia, means being called out. We are a people called into the world to speak public truth. Here are three key ideas or concepts from The Evangelizing Church, which speak to this reality.

The authors claim, the church is being called out into the world to speak public truth (90). However, the images that the authors use to describe what this calling looks like are striking in one regard…they don’t involve speech.

• Congregations are being called out of their comfort zones. 
• They are being called out to be the people of God for the sake of the world. 
• They are being called to live in, with, and among the world for which Christ died. (90)

This is the Year of the Lord's Favor

In Luke 4:14-21 (NRSV), Jesus' reputation precedes him. When he visits his home synagogue in Nazareth, he is handed the scroll of Isaiah to read. He carefully opens it up, deliberately finds a passage and reads it out loud.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, 

because he has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind, 

to let the oppressed go free, 

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.

When he is done reading Jesus carefully rolls the scroll back up, hands it to the attendant, and sits down.

Confirmation: Are we taking seriously the promise of baptism?

I'm reading The Evangelizing Church for a course I'm taking in Seminary. One of the things that struck me was a claim by the authors that there should be a stronger relationship between baptism and vocation. 

Baptismal theology is a richer resource for evangelizing than was once imagined. In particular, the role of vocation is reemerging as one of the most central dimensions of how Lutherans grasp a holistic approach to mission and evangelizing in the world (46).

I think that a lot of churches in multiple denominations have a hard time laying claim to baptism as an incredibly powerful evangelizing tool.  I've been making a strong case for the connection between baptism and vocation in my ministry for years. Most intently in my confirmation ministry. 

Readers of my blog will know that I found my faith and was baptized as an adult. In order to become a member of the church I was asked two questions;

• Do you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? and
• On which committee would you like to serve?