William Temple

              Recently in my hometown of Mansfield, Texas there was a debate over the developing plans to build a hookah bar.  Although it would be an attraction that would interest a large social group in Mansfield and surrounding cities and have lots of business, it is detrimental to health (more so than smoking regular cigarettes, according to immense amounts of research) and encourages a negative lifestyle.  Churches in the area understood this, and fought to make Christian principles known.  They believed that the institution of a hookah bar was threatening to the well-being of our community.  It exemplified bad stewardship of the resources God has given us, and more importantly, it supported bad stewardship of our bodies.  The Church recognized what William Temple pointed out about the value of human life as established by the Lord and how we should take care of it.

                As a result, churches became more active in stating their principles and how this act would breach them.  Church members became educated about the topic and more equipped to take a stand.  Yet it was all done so lovingly.  It was beautiful to watch the Church carry something out in the correct manner.  It felt like we were truly reshaping the existing order; renewing minds, if you will.  Eventually the plea to build a hookah bar was declined.  In its place, a laundromat was built, providing a much needed service in an area of the community that was struggling without it.

John Calvin

              The world pushes upon us a very individualistic mindset.  Everything is about you, yourself, and your gain.  Worldly people tend to possess a sense of entitlement – the idea that they are entitled to so many things.  They lack the view that everything is the Lord’s in the first place. 

                Because we are pushed to be individualistic, to think about ourselves and the betterment of our lives, we are a largely consumerist culture.  Everything is turned into a product trying to be sold.  People are tricked into thinking they can buy whatever they need to make them happy, pretty, popular, rich, or content.

                And it is widely accepted that all those things are what you need to be successful in life.  It’s the American Dream – live in a nice neighborhood, have a good-looking spouse and children, obtain a high and well-paying status at work, drive a nice car, have other nice possessions, etc.  Everything in our world is geared towards helping you achieve this, assuming that it is exactly what everyone wants and lives for.

                But John Calvin suggests that we deny those selfish desires and gains because we are not our own; therefore we should not be governing our own lives.  We are God’s.  “Let his wisdom and will dominate all our actions,” in the same way Jesus Christ did according to Philippians 2:1-11.  As he looked to the interests of others and submitted himself wholly to God’s will, he gave up his divine rights and his high position of royalty to be made lowly.  He did not look to benefit himself and make his own comfort a priority, because that was not what God had planned for him and he was okay with that.  He trusted the Lord, and therefore obeyed him completely.  He was able to deny himself and lift up those around him.  There is a stark contrast between the attitude and mindset of Christ and that of the world. 

Francis of Assisi and Watchman Nee

              I think one of my main hesitations with evangelism is not wanting to awkwardly introduce the topic of Jesus in conversation.  It seems silly to me sometimes if it’s not natural, like I’m trying too hard or something, which is probably annoying to the person with which I am talking.  And I don’t want to seem annoying or bothersome; I want them to know that I love them.  I understand, though, that there is a balance there between being passive or aggressive.

                Within the past few weeks I have shared the gospel with a few girls on campus who I already had relationships with and they knew that I loved them.  I found it easier to be more on the aggressive side with them.  They knew I was doing it in love. Plus, that kind of talk is sort of expected in the environment of a Christian university.

                I want to be better about sharing the gospel with members of my community, though – outside the context of my Christian university.  I felt challenged by Francis’ immediate obedience.  I always have an urgent, burning desire to go share the love of Christ that I know!  But my words are “I want to go,” not “Let’s go!” like Francis.  I think this is mostly because I don’t even know where to start.  Francis of Assisi trusted the Lord so well – he knew he just needed to go.

                I was very encouraged by Watchman Nee’s writings.  So many of the things he wrote about I feel like the Lord has revealed to me in certain ways, just not in so many words.  I have a beginning foundation to these concepts Watchman Nee talked about, and he explained them in a way that helped me understand them better and make more sense of the things the Lord has already shown me.  Something huge was this idea of simply “meeting God,” and initially coming before the Lord with an honest heart.  God has been weighing this heavily on my heart in recent weeks and the significance of this action.  Watchman Nee helped me see ways in which I can share that with other people.