LESSON 2: LIFE ON MISSION CONNECT - Pastor, Parkview Christian Church and Author of Life on

Mission

Doctor Tim Harlow: Welcome back to life on mission. Today we are starting to the five action
steps that all of us should be taking as we live our life on mission.

In most cases when we go on a mission is because weve been sent by someone. Sometimes I go
on a mission for me but usually I go on a mission for someone else. No guy ever goes in a Michaels
Craft store unless he is on a mission from his wife. I would say no woman goes into best buy unless
she is on a mission from her husband but no self-respect in guy would ever let that happen.

A soldier or an agent goes on a mission for the government that sends them. Might be mission
impossible but they are going because they were sent.

So, guess what? You are sent! Jesus said: as the Father has sent me, I am sending you (John
20:21) Jesus was sent on a mission.

Weve celebrated the Christmas time. Mission Christmas, right? We call it the incarnation. Thats
the theological word and it literally means God with skin, God with meat. Chili con carne is Chili
with meat. So, your mission is incarnation. Your mission is to go be God with meat. Thats why
youre still here, living in your carne and nor back in heaven with God. This is why we are alive and
its not an impossible mission because we take the supernatural, ultimate commander with us
when we go thats whats so awesome. Thats what were going to talk about today and for the
next four weeks. The action steps about being on mission.

Now, these are not chronological steps that you go through like you get a project person and you
take them through all of them. These are just some action steps that everybody ought to be
involved in if they follow Jesus.

The first one today is so simple and so easy. Its just about connecting with people that are outside
of religion. Maybe the biggest problem that we have and its a simple problem. The problem is
this: the longer you are a believer, the less non believer friends you have and it makes sense to a
certain degree. You should be in a local church; you should be in some small group fellowship,
maybe like the one you are in watching this right now. Bible studies and ministry groups, theyre
all great and I preach that stuff all the time and we need each other and we are part of the body of
Christ. But, what is the body of Christ supposed to be doing? Its supposed to be on mission! If the
body isnt moving, is not healthy. You get that, right? Our body is designed for mission. Its the big
problem for many of us in the 21st century.

I sit in front of the screen for most of the day. Thats not how my body was designed. So if I dont
do something physical with my body, it will eventually break down and I believe the reason the
harvest is plentiful but the workers are few thats cause the body of Christ is just getting out of
shape. We are getting fed plenty, we are getting plenty of rest, but the exercise, the mission, isnt
happening. So, we need to get out there and get moving. I know you are thinking, oh okay now I
get why youre at the health club. Nah! Im at the health club because this is one of the places I do
mission. Id probably be in better shape if I worked out my basement because honestly, I spend
more time talking and counseling with people than I do working out. But I come here because this
place gives me a chance to be God with meat.

The problem is Im a pastor and a lot of the people that Im going to run into know that Im a
pastor so, its not easy for me to be connected with people who dont already have good news,
not exactly a sinner magnet, okay. So I have to be proactive and maybe you do too. Im going to
throw out this and you can take it for what is worth but I believe the best thing a lot of believers
could do is drop some of their church activities and go get involved with some non-church people!
There, I said it!

Go join the PTA, find a hobby group; get involved in your kids cub scouts. A lot of pastors will try
to make you feel like stuff you do for the church is holy stuff and everything else is secular. But
then I got to ask: what do you do with Jesus? Because, he did both! Dont get me wrong. He had a
small group and he was leading but he also spent a lot of time with the people that were out
there, the secular people. They called them sinners and tax collectors back then.

Bible says: Now tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. But the
Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, This man welcomes sinners and eats with them
(Luke 15: 1-2).

Why would he do that? Because he was on mission! Jesus said his mission was to seek and save
the lost.

So, theres obviously balance and need in here. Again Jesus did both and most of the times he was
with his disciples but let me tell you something: you need to be around with people that are
different than you, and if religious people are complaining because you are spending time with
people outside, its a good sign you are looking like Jesus because thats what they did to him. So,
what did Jesus do with those we wanted to connect with? He didnt work out with them; they
didnt need to work out. They didnt sit around and eat processed food. They walked everywhere
they went. So what did Jesus do? He ate with them!

Listen to this story.

Mindy Caliguire (Founder of Soul Care): As a mom with three teenage sons we have a lot of
friends in the house a lot and it feels like at the end of the school year I keep thinking: oh, now Im
not making school lunches anymore, I can buy a bunch of snacks at Cosco and the house will be
full. So you go and you spend all kinds of crazy money at Cosco and then a week later, its all gone.
It is like locusts have gone through the whole entire kitchen and theres nothing left. The covers
are bare and I noticed that and I thought this is going to be a very expensive summer.

But, what hasnt folded in our kitchen over the last five years, probably, since our boys were at
different stages of high school? Its a phenomenon that I may be experience it a little bit of my
female gurgeon but Ive never seen anything like it and its been one of the most powerful ways
that God has worked through our family, to serve kids at all stages of spiritual development. Some
of them grew up in a church and they are strong believers and they are an encouragement to their
peers but many of them have no Christian anchor whatsoever. They smoke pot at school all day
long, I dont know how that works but they do, but they come into our house. They come to
parties, they come to, not those kind, they come to bible studies. Theres a bible study that
meet, and uh, so we often, a lot of them, they show up like an hour and half or two hours early
and my husband and I are looking at each other we are like I guess we just throw another, you
know, couple of water in the soup and well pull a couple more chairs at the table. We just decided
there are two nights a week. Thursday nights are the bible studies and Sunday nights, cause, I
dont know why thats when the kids would come and we just make tons of food, extra food and
we just show up and sit at the table hang out with these kids and tell their stories, or listen to
their stories and validate their life and their family of origin. Sometimes we directly talk about
God; sometimes we are just creating community, and for my boys, theyve seen their friends come
to faith, theyve seen mountains move in their little school. They have come to understand
something about how the body of Christ is supposed to function just by sitting at our kitchen
table.
NATE AND JANE

Nate: When we graduated from college, we decided to start a campus ministry in Birminghan,
England, with a team of five other people and so we were a little scared when we went over there.
How are going to connect with them? Really, we just got off the plane and walked in the pubs, you
know. You know you ask people where students were, what students did. They hanged out in the
pubs.

Jane: Sometimes it happened really naturally sometime it didnt. We just kind of went with the
flow and try to build it into like our everyday life.

Nate: One of the guys that we have met as a team, his name was Pete. And Pete was this self-
proclaimed, you know, I dont believe in anything kind of guy and I said: hey why dont you come
back to our house, where we live. So we didnt know how wed go, you know. You just go for it. He
goes like: I know this is a Christian place, Im not a Christian. I bet theres a place for me here.

And it was one of those moments that only like famous preachers get to have with people but it
was like I was having it, you know with this guy who didnt know Jesus. I never had to argue him
into faith either. It was my relationship with him and me getting a chance to be Jesus to him that
eventually led him there.

Jane: Sometime is easy for people to feel like: Its a on me kind of feeling. That wasnt what
we were going for. We wanted them to know that I mean you are part of this. No matter what you
believe we love you.

Nate: And just even asking that meant that, you know weve done the connecting peace pretty
well I think or God was connecting peace through us really well.

Jane: We just want them to know who Jesus is and to fall in love with him. That was our goal. If
they can fall in love with who Jesus is, then their lives are going to be transformed. So our job is
really just to tell them about him. And really when you get to know him, he is pretty likeable.

Nate: Its just amazing that we can actually be Jesus to somebody and its kind of cool to see what
God does through that.
Doctor Tim Harlow: It doesnt matter how it happens just find a way to connect. It was at this
health club that I connected with Mike, alright. You wouldnt think that I would connect with this
guy, right? I mean this is not exactly how this works, right?

Mike was far from God and Jesus took me on mission with Mike because he loves Mike very much.
He loves everyone very much. But let me tell you how that happened.

I showed up. Thats it. Mike is this, you know, rough biker dude. Big as a truck, all tatted up and
this was my opening line. Supportively, you have a good opening line if you are going to be on
mission with somebody far from God. Are you ready? You may want to write this down.

I was walking in between sit machines and I said: hey man, how are you doing? That was it! It
was really just my way of saying, dear sir if Im in your way please dont kill me, ok. But that was it.
That was my brilliant opening line. I didnt say: hey man if you die tonight, do you know where
you are going to spend eternity? I just said: hey man, how are you doing? I just connected. I think
the Chicago accent is important. If its appropriate for you: how you doing is fine too. In other
words, as you go out into the world to your Jerusalem to be God with meat, just be normal.

GENE APPEL (Pastor, Eastside Christian Church): When the first thing I say is Just be normal
you know. Put a fire pit in your driveway and then roast marshmallows together and just let
conversations meander. Let them go. Invite them over for Sunday night football or put a pod of
soup on and just watch soup together. Do a dessert buffet and invite your neighbors and let them
come in. This isnt the time to tell your weird God stories. This isnt the time to say you know I was
praying about going on a mission trip and I woke up and the digital clock said 7:47 and that was
the kind of plane that I was going to take on this mission trip but I knew God was saying, you
know. Hey, those may be very important stories but this isnt the time to tell them. Dont invite
friends over who are going to be truth vigilantes or . Just build relationship. Get to know
people at a conversational level. Did you ever notice in the scriptures, Jesus asked many more
questions than he gave answers? Questions open the door to conversation. Ask some great
questions and engage in your neighbors lives.

Doctor Tim Harlow: Here is what Im saying: Jesus told a parable about a shepherd who had a
hundred sheep and one of them was lost and it was so important that the shepherd left the 99
sheep and went to find the lost one and that was Jesuss answer to why do you hang out with
those other people. That was it! You got to understand that, it was that important to him that the
shepherd leave the 99 and the problem is that if we are hanging out with the 99 all the time, the
lost sheep doesnt get found.

Mercedez Benz had a commercial years ago. They showed a picture of a car colliding into a
concrete wall for a safety test, demonstrating the cars energy absorbing body. It was so effective
in reducing injuries and saving lives. Someone asked the engineer in this commercial but I loved it.
Why he or she didnt enforce the exclusive patent on this car specific design? Its been copied by
every car manufacturer in the world. They said why did you not enforce the patent? And the
engineer said: in life, some things are too important not to share.

Listen, this is about eternity. This is important! There are a lot of sheep out there. We have to
connect with them. Now, it may not happen quickly. Listen to Jud.

Jud Wilhite (Pastor, Central Christian Church and author of the God of Yes): Ill never forget
when I first moved to Las Vegas years ago when Im standing out and I meet my neighbor, Al for
the first time. Al says to me: hey, what do you do for a living? and its that kind of awkward
moment for me as a pastor where I have to sort of look at them at his eyes, you know, Im a pastor
at a church. He immediately says me: dont ever talk to me about God. Dont ever invite to church.
Dont ever bring up anything about Christianity and well be friends.

I said: alright, Al. Good to know. Im glad I know where you stand, right. So, for about five years I
prayed for Al. Regularly. I just prayed for him. I prayed that God would open the opportunity. I
respected his wishes. I wasnt about to cram my faith down but I prayed actively. God would give
me that opportunity. And after many years of doing this, I started to wonder, God, are you ever
really going to open the door with Al for me to share my faith, for me to share what you put in my
heart and in my life? And I remember one day I was standing out watering the shrubs between our
two homes and I walked over and I said hi to him and he said: Jud, Ive been thinking. You know
Ive been thinking that if you die, theres got to be more than just what we see around us. If you
die that cant just be it. He said: What do you think? Did you ever think about that?

He is watering the shrubs and Im like: do I ever think about that? Bro, Im a pastor, you know. I
think about that all the time but it was a moment for me to just be able to say yeah, I think about
that. I played cool and we began to share about what God had done in my life and how he had
worked in my life. And over the next several months I was able to take out some materials to read,
I was able to help him to get started on the journey. We got connected. He became a follower of
Jesus. He got connected with another pastor in town he worked out in the same gym that he did
and they became really good friends. And that pastor began to disciple him. To help him learn
what it really was to be a follower of Jesus and to me thats just the perfect picture of what God
wants to do through all of us.

Doctor Tim Harlow: There was a large Christian gathering in the stadium one time with 60,000
people in it and the leader said: if you came to church or relationship with Christ because of a
large group gathering like this or you know, revival or something, please stand up and about two
thousand out of sixty thousand stood up. Then, they change the question: if you came to Jesus
because of a friend or a family member built a relationship with you, and they modeled what a
Christian should be, please stand up. The other fifty-eight thousand people stood up.

Its about a relationship, alright? Its about a relationship that you take out to the people. So we
are going to use the analogy of your house for these five action steps, ok.

The first one is: we get into to the backyard. We get into the backyard and you have a barbecue.
Thats about connect. Its safe, its easy, its something very, very simple. Its about finding a place
where you can go eat or work out or do whatever you can do to connect with people who dont
have Jesus. Its the simplest way that you can go about it and we are starting in the backyard and
next week when we serve, we bring them into the house and we take you into this whole house
illustration that we are doing with the five action steps, but its really going to be simple right now.
All it means is: you go find some people that you can hang out with that dont know already have
Jesus. Because, imagine that you are God up in heaven and youre a lost sheep out there or in
Jesuss other stories, your lost son, your prodigal son is out there and he is lost and you are the
brother that is sitting at home not doing anything about it. The heart of God is breaking for those
who are gone, who are outside. So, as we leave it out right now, we are going to do at the end of
our sessions as we are leaving it out, I want you to talk with your small group, with your family,
whoever youre doing this with. Where is it that you could go to get out of your comfort zone, you
know. I want to ask you right if you are in this group. Who is it that your group could, maybe,
invite into this comfort zone? Who is in your Jerusalem right now that you need to connect with?
And, what are you going to do about it? Let me pray for us.

God I thank you for Mike and how hes opened my eyes to the fact that I was really surrounded by
a whole lot of Christians in my life and I needed to be out there with the people that needed you. I
mean I need my Christian friends. I need to have those people around me. I need to be teaching
because thats what I do but I need people around that help me to understand what the real world
is like and I pray that you will help each person in this group that is listening right now. To
understand the importance of one lost sheep and that, they will make a commitment to go
outside of their comfort zone and going out to some place where they can connect with people
and help them to have Jesus because that is our mission. In Jesuss name I pray, amen.