watching God work

i am so excited!

yesterday i had lunch at one of my favorite local spots. this place decorates their walls with the art of local artists, which is for sale for those who are interested. i noticed yesterday that the walls have gotten a bit bare. they need some more new art. so i asked one of the staff, who i've gotten to know by eating there regularly, what the rules were for selling art. i've got a new friend whose husband is a local painter looking for a way to sell his stuff.

she said there were no rules. if the stuff is tasteful, bring it in.

so i headed to another spot i frequent, where the new friend works whose husband is the artist. i told her that i had found a place where her husband could display his work for sale. this couple is from europe. they know virtually no one. he is a struggling artist and she works 80 hours a week at two jobs to make ends meet. 

still with me?

this woman doesn't drive, so i offered to pick up the artwork, take it to the restaurant and make sure it gets hung in a favorable way. she seemed almost in disbelief - that finally she can get her hubby's work in front of the public, that maybe it will generate some income, that a guy she barely knows would go to the trouble to help. 

two people. two conversations. virtually no effort.

and here's the kicker - i've been praying for these two people!

i sat down a couple weeks ago and thought about people whose paths i cross regularly. i asked God to reveal to me who i should pray for, who i might invite into the full life in Christ that we all know at threshold. these two made the list.

how cool is this!? i love watching God work!

what about you? who's on your list? who are you praying for?

i've asked this question of our elders and our staff just this week, and written down the names they've given me. i want you to know that they are in the game too.

now it's your turn. who are you praying for?

who do you know - or who are you getting to know - who (as best as you can discern) is not experiencing the full life Jesus promised by knowing the love of God in and through the community of a local church.. yet?

or as luke posed the question a couple weeks ago: whose salvation are you getting in the way of?

who are you asking God to save from sin, and bring into his kingdom?

who are you asking God to give the fullness of life in Jesus?

who are you inviting into the fun and excitement and authenticity of the threshold family?

do you have some people in mind? if not, you're behind. Dare You To Move wasn't just a three-week series. it's our full focus as a church. and it's gotta be the top priority of every one of us who claims to be committed to threshold. that's the only way we are going to double the number of people who are enjoying a full Christ-centered life within our family.

if you have identified one or more people, how are you positioning yourself in a way that will allow you to make a comment that witnesses to your faith? how are you getting to know this person in a way that will reveal to them that you are worth trusting, worth listening to. remember that we all need to earn the right to make spiritual comments to people in hopes of seeing life-change within them. and we earn that right, that trust, by offering ourselves up, by listening, by caring, by doing little things for others.

in the next few weeks, we will be offering you some specific opportunities to do just that as a full church family. but day in and day out, as you go about your everyday lives, let me continue to encourage you to get out there. to take risks. to care. to invite.

and at the risk of getting really monotonous - i'm still waiting on some of you to send me the first names of those people. let me pray with you. c'mon!

you're gonna be amazed at what God will do.

just waiting

i believe in God but i wanna learn more. when i'm out places sometimes, i hear people talking about that stuff and i have no idea what they're talking about. it's kind of embarrassing.

these were the words of a friend of mine to me over dinner last night. he wasn't raised in a church and at least right now, doesn't have a real connection to God or a church. but - and here's the thing - he isn't an atheist. he isn't hostile to the church. he's just waiting for someone to clue him in a little more.

hey, i think i know what that feels like. a couple weeks ago i had a cigar with a couple guys and eventually the conversation turned to stocks and investments and trading and stuff. well dang - i was clueless. glad it was a really good cigar. i don't do well in a conversation when i've got nothing to say. i really wanted to be more up on what they were talking about but i have just never learned that stuff. and i didn't want to slow down the conversation by asking. or show my ignorance. so a chance to learn something, and maybe even to better my financial understanding, was lost.

i've known about God and Jesus and the bible for so long, i really have no idea what it's like, though, to not know those things. but my friend last night does. and because i follow Jesus, i have to understand that it is my responsibility to help him learn. not because i'm a pastor. because i'm a friend. because God has called me - and you - to be his witnesses. because this is a matter of life and death.

But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?  - romans 10.14

so... one of today's missions is to gather some resources for him. he says he doesn't read much, so that's a challenge, since i love to read and (you know me) i'm always at the ready with a booklist. the thing i really need to do though is to carve out some time for him. time for him to ask any questions he can think of, and then for me to raise the ones he doesn't even know to think of. i need to let him know that this stuff matters, and that i am willing to make a time commitment to him until he is able and excited to say: Jesus Christ is my lord and savior.

you know someone like this, too. they don't know the things you know, so they may stay quiet or turn the conversation in another direction. not because they're atheist. not because they're hostile toward church. maybe they just have no clue how to discuss these things. and maybe, just maybe, God has you standing right there right then so that you can have the amazing joy of teaching them.

and while i know you're busy, these are the things that matter, the things that need to take priority.

and remember, my offer still stands: send me the name of a person you know like this, and i will pray for you both every day until you have some exciting news to share about it.

who do you know who is just waiting...?

dare you to move.

the red key

if your church is full of members, you get an occasional missionary.

if your church is full of missionaries, the rest is geography.

 - erwin mcmanus

what a great quote! and what a great reminder that each of us is called, in and by Jesus, to reach out to those who are not experiencing the fullness of life that Jesus brings. we are missionaries - every one of us. it's simply up to you to ask God where your mission 'field' is.

sunday we wrapped up the three-week series called Dare You To Move, but i want to remind you that the challenge remains before us:

to double in size by Easter Sunday 2009

the red key you received sunday is a token and a reminder. but it represents a very real person. a person for whom Jesus died. a person for whom God has unlimited love. a person who has so much waiting for him or her and just doesn't know it yet... and YOU get to tell them! how cool is that!?!

sunday, i went quickly through four verses from the book of romans in the new testament, which simply explains the plan God has for people to know him and to receive salvation from sin and eternal death. here it is again:

1. romans 1.20 - for ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. so they have no excuse for not knowing God.

2. romans 3.23 - for everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

3. romans 6.23 - for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

4. romans 10.9-10 - if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. for it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by confessing with your mouth that you are saved.

if you haven't read last week's blog post, please do. and please do not hesitate to send me the names of people you are praying for. my commitment remains to pray every day from now til easter for every name you send me. and for you.

now go unlock someone's eternity!

risky business

it was early november, 6 days before the big homecoming game. michelle was a freshman, i was a junior. i had been threatening to ask her out since i first learned she was coming to carolina the previous may. and since august, i had been dropping by her room to make sure she and her roommate - both of them had graduated from my high school - were settling in to college life OK. kinda like a big brother.

(yeah, right. so when you gonna ask her?)

anyway, it was a monday, right after lunch. i ran into her outside the library (my favorite place to socialize). we talked a little, and eventually i said, 

"so, you going to the game saturday?"

"probably."

"yeah? who you going with?"

"just some girls from the dorm, i guess."

"oh, ok. cool. i gotta find a date. it's homecoming."

"uh huh..."

end of conversation. i walked away. once again afraid to pull the trigger.

michelle went back to her room and vented to her roommate. 

loudly.

"do you know what that jeff gardner just did!?!?"

the deal is, she actually wanted to go out with me. but i didn't know. i wasn't sure. i was afraid of being rejected. i don't do 'no' very well.

so i didn't ask.

i actually called her later that afternoon, and she agreed to go to the game with me. but many, many years later, i think she still wonders what i was waiting for. 

it also took me three dates before our first kiss, and even then, she kissed me first. why? i didn't want to mess up the relationship i was working on. in the meantime, she just got tired of waiting.

risk. 

sometimes we just avoid it like the plague. like when it comes to letting people know we love and follow Jesus. or when it comes to talking about the hope we have within us or why we serve. or when it comes to just inviting someone to church.

"what if they say no?"

"what if they reject me?"

"what if it messes up the friendship?"

let me tell you something. i don't know who you know or who your friends are or who you wish knew Christ. but i know this: you know someone who would say yes. you know someone - who is it? - who would listen to your story. someone who actually wonders about your faith and what they see in you that is different. you know someone who would have a conversation. someone who would say yes if you invited them to come to church with you.

i know. they might say no. they might reject your invitation or conversation. and yes, it could actually mess up the friendship.

but then again, it might not. maybe it will make them eternally grateful to you for saving their eternal soul. maybe they will be thrilled that your risk provided them a place to strengthen their children, their marriage, their self-esteem. maybe you will be the one to introduce them to their savior. maybe someone you know is actually tired of waiting, wondering if you will ever ask.

willing to take that risk?

i'm glad i finally took the risk on that november afternoon. a few years later, it allowed me to stand in a church as my beautiful bride walked down the aisle to stand by my side. and that risk has led to the overwhelming joy of two children - the next generation of Jesus-followers.

you know what? your risk could add to the bride of Christ. the Bible describes all believers as one, as the beautiful bride of Jesus the groom. your risk could lead to future generations of Christ-followers, simply because you asked. because you took a risk.

so... are you up for it? if you are, i wanna be in on it, okay? so here's my commitment to anyone and everyone reading this. if you have someone in mind and are ready to pull the trigger, send me an email and i will pray for you and for the person or family you have in mind. send me specific names - first names only are fine - and i will pray every day for both of you.

and to be honest, committing to pray like that every day is a risk on my part.

but it's one i'm willing to take.

i have a pretty good feeling it'll be worth it.

jeff.gardner@thresholdchurch.com