I was recently praying along side a few other people in our missional community when a picture developed in my mind of what the Good News might look like in our neighborhood. Trusting that the Holy Spirit is already present and embracing our vocation as mediators between God and humanity (of which Jesus passed on to us when he was resurrected as King of the Kingdom), I could see our band of Jesus followers walking through our neighborhood and each place we entered the Good News was extended and seen. People were drawn to the Story they could see being lived out in our lives.
Grocery store; Good News.
Park; Good News.
Half way homes; Good News.
Refugee community; Good News.
Liquor store; Good News.
Back ally’s; Good News.
The Good News was spreading like a holy virus in our community through the hands and feet of those Jesus’ called to take up their cross and follow.
In this context, what does it mean to follow? If the Good News is truly good news, shouldn’t our greatest desire be to share this Good News (through word and deed) to those we live among; our neighbors?
For this picture to be made real, it required that we be present in these contexts. Not to only pray for these people and places, but to walk alongside them.
So often we get in our cars and drive away to go “do ministry” somewhere else (I’m looking at myself), when our neighborhood is in desperate need of healing and reconciliation.
It’s not about going somewhere else; it’s about being present right here. It’s not about going farther; it’s about going deeper.
My friend Mark Scandrette and his family live in the Mission district of San Francisco. He recently said, “When we moved to the Mission, the neighborhood became our classroom.”
To advocate for God’s Shalom (peace, salvation, healing, reconciliation); to be the Good News, we have to also know the bad news of our neighborhood. We have to know what stands in the way of Shalom (chaos, desperation, brokenness, pain).
I think of Paul having conversations with religious leaders and local business people while walking the streets of Athens in Acts 17. He engaged in hands on study of his context before speaking into their story.
As a faith community commitment to submerge deep into our neighborhood (Golden Hill) with the hope of Jesus and his plans for renewal, we (NieuCommunities) have turned our neighborhood into our classroom. Through study in our local libraries, interviews with long standing citizens, engaging local business owners and joining neighborhood councils, we are starting to get a glimpse of how to engage the story of Golden Hill with the redemptive Story of God.
As followers of Jesus who have joined in God’s Mission, we aren’t always going to be called to go far, but we are always called to submerge deep. We are all missionaries in our own context.
So what does this look like and where might it lead? Have you made yourself a student to your neighborhood?
I will unpack some of the tangible realities through the telling of a couple recent stories in “Part 2” on Friday.