Acceleration, Part 2

Nearly a month later....I'm finally continuing this....

The week that I wrote the last post, I was right in the midst of attending the Rocky Mountain Region of the Vineyard's Regional Leadership Conference, Activate. I wasn't planning to go but sort of got talked into it. And, wow! Am I glad I did.

Erwin McManus (the senior pastor for Mosaic....not a member of the Vineyard movement) came and spoke for two of the evening sessions. He taught a lot of great things but his first teaching was the most profound for me. He taught about "spaces" from Acts 17 when the Apostle Paul was in Athens.

The quick synopsis of the teaching is this: Paul was overwhelmed with the idols and false gods that he found in Athens so he first went to the Jewish temple (first space) and then to the marketplace (second space) to talk about the one true God. Then, those he met in the marketplace invited him to "their turf" (third space) so he could share about Jesus with their friends.

His whole point of this talk was to say that we, as followers of Jesus, have three similar spaces in our worlds in which we can and should share Jesus with others - in our churches (the easiest for us, but the hardest for nonbelievers), in our every day lives (work, the post office, bank, gas station, school, etc), and...finally...being invited into the worlds of those we meet in our marketplace. The whole point is that we make an impact on the world, to bring Jesus - in all of the various spaces we engage in.

Before and during McManus' talk, I was exactly as I described in the last post (apathetic, disinterested, visionless, passionless, exhausted and impatient) - I was cynical and couldn't focus on the talk. Finally, something he said got a hold of me at the end - and I just broke down in tears. I was so gripped by a story he was telling about his leading a "spiritualist" to Jesus in a very unconventional way that I just broke down in tears. It was like God re-ignited my heart and burden for my dear coworkers and friends.

For about two weeks before that moment, I found myself feeling impatient that I was doing all this work to get to know my coworkers and love them and pray for them but still no one was coming to know Him. And, the Lord reminded me in that moment that HE's the one who changes hearts, not me. But, then, I started to feel guilty that I wasn't doing enough (I realize that doesn't make sense....) and prayed that I would do better in the "second space" of my life - my workplace.

And, that's when the Lord went even further to love me and show kindness to me. He reminded me of all the people that I've gotten to know more, the people that I've been loving and sharing Jesus with when given the opportunity. So, rather than believing Him and resting in that place, I actually then started feeling guilty that I hadn't gotten to the place of being invited by my friends into "their worlds." And, again, the Lord reminded me of how these coworkers (who are so much more friends than merely coworkers) really love me and have invited me into their worlds and lives.

He reminded me of situations that proved that I had been faithful in the second and third spaces.

And, that's how He "remind(ed) me that I'm deeply loved by Him, that my identity, value and worth are in Him alone and that He is pleased with me."

In the next post, I'll share what that means moving forward and what in the world "acceleration" has to do with any of this.