Are You An Amphibious Christian?
By Paul Vieira
ARE YOU AN
AMPHIBIOUS CHRISTIAN? - Paul Vieira
From: ISSUE 10 House2House 13
http://www.house2house.com/
“The frog is a truly fascinating creature. Adult frogs, as opposed to
their water-dwelling young, have body structures that enable them to move
about on land as well as in the water. A frog is an amphibian. Similarly,
the early disciples lived naturally in two environments.
Very early in His ministry, Jesus picked twelve men to walk with Him on His
mission. Mark 3:14 reveals the purpose of Jesus choosing these men: "He
appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them
out to preach and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons."
Here we have the two environments: community (being with Christ) and mission
(being sent out). Jesus designed the church to be able to breathe, live, and
thrive in two worlds. One world exists behind closed doors, the private and
intimate side of the church, where believers enjoy mutual exhortation and
fellowship. The other world is all around us as soon as we walk out the door.
It's the world to which we've been sent. We can flourish here too. We are
amphibious.
Jesus openly ate with tax collectors and sinners. What was amazing about how
Jesus related to people was not only the fact that He was comfortable in that
environment, but that prostitutes and drunkards were comfortable around Him.
Unlike the Western Church today, Jesus had a good reputation with most of
the people. The early church in Acts had the same type of reputation, "having
favor with all the people" (Acts 2:47). A healthy and vibrant church
is one that can flourish in both habitats, in our own intimate gatherings
and in our mission to make disciples of all nations. This is one of the signs
that the church in the West may be in trouble. Many believers are not comfortable
around (and are even frightened by) unbelieving people.
There exists a deception that makes it feel unnatural for Christians to be
with unbelievers.
Amphibians actually need to live near water for their survival. There are
two reasons for this. The first reason has to do with something called "homeostasis."
All living things have this in common. They must maintain stable internal
conditions to stay alive. These include heartbeat, water content, and temperature.
Most amphibians control their internal temperature through a healthy balance
of time in water and time on land.
As a Christian, I cannot spend long periods of time in community and fellowship
without going back out into the world to advance the kingdom of God. There
is probably nothing more uplifting than having the opportunity to share Jesus
with someone who doesn't know Him. However, spending too much time in the
water is going to bring my temperature down to dangerous, life-threatening
levels. I must get up on land once again and let the sun warm me up. Finally,
there is another reason why amphibians must be near water. Only in water can
they reproduce. Staying away from water means we have no babies. Jesus said,
"Go out into the entire world." This is the only environment where
we can reproduce and have more people added to the kingdom of God.
CALL ME KERMIT, THE TECHNO-COLORED FROG
A few years back I had some friends over at the house to hear my life story
and listen to some of the music I had written. They were all in their early
twenties, and I learned quickly what they loved to do. Every Monday night
was "Techno Night" at one of the local nightclubs. They insisted
that I come with them one night to experience it. I politely replied, "Well,
maybe one day." Inwardly, I dismissed the idea. Later, during a personal
time in prayer, my mind wandered to thinking about my newfound friends. The
Holy Spirit said to me, "I am presenting you to them in techno-color."
After a moment of confusion over what the Lord was saying, I realized that
God wanted me to go out with them "clubbing." So, I picked up the
phone and called to accept their gracious off er. They were absolutely thrilled.
In no time at all, there I was. The music was loud, the air was thick with
smoke, but my companions were really happy to have me with them. I even dared
to venture out onto the dance floor to partake in this cultural phenomenon.
With those multicolored disco strobe lights shining down on me, I must have
looked like Kermit the Frog in a white John Travolta suit. I remember thinking
while I was dancing, "I hope this is okay with you, Jesus. I'm doing
this for you, and to reach out to these people. You told me to go. So, here
I am."
Meeting them on their turf went a long way. I'm sure they knew that it wasn't
my regular scene and they never asked me to do it again. However, from that
point on everything changed. One time was all it took to win their hearts.
They let me into their world. They also let Jesus in. Each one of them, over
the next several months, gave me a place to speak to them about my faith and
relationship with Christ. They were truly open to hear what I had to say.
It's as though I suddenly had a voice. We need to return to our true nature
as followers of Christ. Let's get our feet wet once again and thrive out in
the place where people live.”
by Paul Vieira - Taken from his new book, Jesus Has Left the Building.
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Jesus Has
Left the Building – book by Paul Vieira – now available on free
podcasts online!
I thought I would send you a short note to let you know that I'm making my
book available for free to listen to in a downloadable audio file. Each week
I'm reading a chapter from my book Jesus Has Left The Building in a new audio
podcast. To subscribe in iTunes visit this
link.
Once you've installed iTunes and subscribed to the podcasts, each time you
launch iTunes, the latest episode will automatically be downloaded. You can
then store and play these audio files using your iPod device, other portable
MP3 player, or computer.
Great Commission Worship & Arts Center