I will post later, about how the Lord used me as a vehicle to possibly save my child's life. I need to take care of her right now, but will post 'our story', (which Britt has in his inbox) --- Blessed Be His Name! In His Love, Debbie

Well said Britt,

Like most of us we do tend to shy away from witnessing and feel guilty for doing so, nonetheless we need to engage our lives in the unfamiliar (following the Rabi) which shouldn’t be.

At the gas station a pastor was totally engaged in thought about Jesus and felt the need to pray. He looked at a man across from him and walked over to gentleman and said "can I pray with you"? Now please understand that this pastor did not know this gentleman but acted as if this man was a Follower of Jesus. We too should act as if people are Christians. Jesus fellowshipped with unbelievers and they invited Him, that tells me something, they liked Him and He made friends with them and they trusted Him. I too have friends and family that do not follow Jesus, but I pray for them and I also take their hand and pray with. I personally think that if we want people to come to know Jesus they need to feel as if they can, and how that is done is to act like Jesus and be their friend and treat them as if they are Christians. Please note: that we do not become seeker sensitive, but we stand on Godly principles.

Ted Cargnino

That is great insight Ted! I love what you said about nonbelievers inviting Jesus. I think that this is a true test of how effective we are being in mission: If not-yet-Christians are inviting us into their worlds, their loves, their projects, and their passions even though they know we are different in some way.
Thank you for sharing Ted!
blessings
britt

Jesus' Bride couldn't hear a better message Britt. Thank you Holy Spirit for inspiring this series.

Rock on, Ted! Well said right back at ya! Dude, amen to "how that is done is to act like Jesus and be their friend."

I believe most would truly get "IT" this redemptive life if they have for real lost their life to gain life and are a new creation IN Christ. Because then, biblically speaking they, their carnal flesh, is not the one doing the "doing and or the being." But it's the living active Triune God at work in them. For me, I must constantly be checking my heart in with He who lives in me on daily 24/7 basis for me to remain in a place where God can bless me. This checking my heart in means LISTENING and talking with Jesus all day long--yes, having a loving and ongoing conversation which also includes reading and responding to his word daily. In a fallen world I see no other way. I must have connectedness and He is faithful to always provide this to me. I view that as 24/7 worship to my best friend in the whole wide world! Seriously, I must know exactly where He's calling me and when. This is how I know I am on HIS Mission, not my own. Even more importantly than me being blessed, by His grace it remains my heart's motivation, to be a blessing to others. This is an edifying life when lived like that! Without a doubt, if I am in that place, then I can love anyone. If I can love anyone anytime, fruit occurs by the grower. I am thankful He orchestrates my days. Not some religion or physical four walled church. Thank you Jesus for this redemptive life! It is the best gift I could have ever received.

Blessings to you both,

Jenn :)

This Missio Christi series is such an eye opening blessing, I'm looking forward to the 17 years of it! : )

I just listened to Flesh part 2 again and several times this quote by G.K Chesterton popped up...

"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried."

I know in my life, in regards to relationships, whether with my family or reaching out to an unbeliever, it has never been the failings of Christ, but the failing of Me to love and live as He would have me to. My hearts desire is that people see in me the love of Christ, and to responsibly communicate that anything short of that is only my misrepresentation of HIm.

Come Holy Spirit, Come.

Gideon

Thank you Jenn and Gideon you guys are right on!

Praise the Lord! :)

Thank you for emphasizing today that God cares as much about your children's soccer game as He does about the sermon at church. as a stay-at-home mother, i feel like i have been learning this every day, because the only way to be happy as a stay-at-home mother is to submit to God in the mission of the everyday, and not be worried about what else you might be doing if you weren't a s.a.h.m. the concept that God cares about each part of life is so profound; it affects everything. he cares as much about what i eat and feed my children as he does about our family worship time. he cares as much about our choice of entertainment as he does about our time reading the Bible to them. EVERYTHING matters. it is so glorious to realize this, and to focus on the eternal glory in it all. one of my favorite passages has long been zechariah 14:20 and 21: "in that day there will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, 'holy to the Lord.' and the cooking pots in the Lord's house will be like the bowls before the altar. every cooking pot in jerusalem and in judah will be holy to the Lord of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them..." i would even say this is my life verse, it resonates so much. i think about all our choices as American Christians, and the dualism that you pointed out has been characteristic of the church. in simple things like the choice of where our children will go to school, for example. it is equally compartmentalistic to send your little ones out of the home to school in order that they might evangelize, as it is to keep them home in order that they might be protected from the world. both these views focus on the "spiritual" side and not on the physical. the Christian is FREE to make the decision based on which is the best education for the child! this is the kind of stuff that is exciting to realize in the wake of this holistic view that God has of life. thanks for sharing the hard stuff! -doris, owner of holy cooking pots

Well said Doris!! Thank you! Love to your and your family!

Doris, thanks for the AWESOME summary of Britt's FANTASTIC sermon today! Loved the killer application! Jenn ;)

Wow!! Wow!!! Sunday totally ripped my face right off!! This series has been truly revealing of what kind of christian I really am. Since the very first sermon in this series the constant thread that has been woven through is the absolute, radical and very, very necessary dethroning of "self" man oh man! If there is not a constant yielding to the Holy Spirit than being on mission with Jesus just is not going to happen in my life! Also this Sunday just really spoke to me about how I am super good at compartmentalizing...this is my kids....this is my fun.....oh all the rest is the Lords....oh man say it isn't so! When you compartmentalize you are for sure not allowing the Holy Spirit in and therefore He cant lead and guide you through this life! I feel like I could go on and on....but I wont!! Thanks Britt for keepin' it real as always and not just letting us be fat, happy, self-centered Christians who are scared of the world instead of loving it just like Jesus!! Cuz Jesus IS reality :)
-jess

Jess, reading your edifying response was a blessing. Thanks for sharing. I'm sure Britt and so many others will also find the reality you put in words such a blessing. To God Alone be the glory for the Britt's latest series and this reflection/interactive website. :)

Hey Pastor B, thank you so much for crawling out of bed Sun am! The fact that you showed up with the piggy flu blows me away! Not only did you show up, but you were SO used by the Lord! Im stoked to be part of a body that can see past the vomit of life [ sorry for the swine lingo ] and focus on were our thoughts and priorities should be....Jesus! As I was on a run this eve i looked up to the stars above this little valley [ Ojai ] with the praises of the saints blaring from my little ipod it all became so clear to me that as we work, live, and breath Jesus is a glowing part of our lives! When we are just living our day to day existence God is being blessed by our obedience and our commitment to Him! The Holy Spirit never ceases to bring opportunity after opportunity to us in the mundane of life. If we can just get out of everything being about US and focus on Him this life will ROCK!! What a privilege it is to serve the Lord! Thanks again for Sun!!!
Love you guys! DL

PS Thanks allot you really nailed me when you went down the Rincon road....my last frontier of solo existence in the water without sharing [waves] that is!

I was listening to another speak about God's love, grace and our mission here on earth and it fell in line with what you have been speaking on. We are Christ's boots on the ground and need to win the lost and share the Gospel. He referenced a quote from Mother Theresa, " I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God, who is sending a love letter to the world." I pray that Christ's love shines through me so others can see and feel it. You mentioned on Sunday that we don't have to feel pressure of having to share the Gospel to everyone that we bump into and when or if we don't, feel ashamed. If we live our lives everyday as a representative of Christ, he will let us know when it is appropriate...at work or not. I do believe, however, that when we are excited about something, like a new car or job, we want to share it with everyone. I am going to heaven and want to share it! - Daniel

Thanks Pastor Britt for yet another insight into living life in Christ Jesus. You are probably unaware of just how many people you reach via podcasts outside your geographical boundaries, and I for one am extremely grateful that you have embraced the technologies that enable me to listen and study from faraway Australia. In support of your theme of Missio Christi, you may be interested in a book by John Dickson entitled Promoting the Gospel - The Whole of Life for the Cause of Christ (Aquila Press ISBN 1-920935-770). It has been a useful guide for myself and contains much practical advice of promoting the Gospel without actually preaching, but it has its limitations.
There is a subtle under-current in my own country of Christians secularising Christianity in inter-faith dialogue by focusing on the common elements of religions: love your neighbour, lead a good life, let's all get along (somewhat reminiscent of California in the 60's). The message ignores several essential points: you cannot promote the Gospel without mentioning Jesus Christ, all religions are not equal and any that deny Jesus He will deny to his Father, that words such as "love" and "neighbour" actually have different meanings in different religions, particularly Islam, and finally, and to my mind one of the greatest dangers, emphasis on the commonality of religions blurs the distinction with secular humanism. When you remove the defining elements of Christianity, you validate any and all religions; when you group all religions, particularly eastern mystical and polytheistic with western monotheistic, you effectively remove the need for one God, or even any gods.
I have many atheist friends who subscribe to secular humanism and in their everyday lives, externally they are indistinguishable from the best models of Christian living. They are generous, kind, graceful, forgiving, donate both money and time to charities and the needy, and live exemplary lives from a human perspective. If we, as Christians, behave similarly, what distinguishes us from the secular humanists? We must remember that God cannot be allowed to be ignored, nor Jesus demoted from Divine Saviour to Good Teacher. It is not enough to promote the Gospel by example, by exemplary living: those around us must be made aware of what is behind our behaviour, and thus preaching by mouth may in fact be more necessary than we are sometimes willing to practice.
May the Holy Spirit guide your ministry in truth and love.

Thank you Wayne! That was such good input... you nailed it. Demonstration is one thing, but the Gospel also demands proclamation!
Blessings to you and thanx for tuning in from Oz!!
britt

Hey Britt –

Deb and I miss our Reality Carp family and we are so grateful to be immersed in the Missio Christi series! We watched MC/Flesh III (the 11/15 message) with another couple last night. At the outset of the teaching you asked for some help, which I interpreted to be a request for some grist for the mill. Here is my contribution.

As we began, I turned to Philippians Chapter 2 and I found a quote I had copied down last month from O. Chambers. He said “The greatest need we have is not to do things, but to believe things”. To me this quote seems to be in agreement with a core principle in this teaching series. We must know what we believe before we can do, but both are important. (yea/nay or yeah but…?). To me this series is like trimming sails or checking the course, we are constantly in the quest for accuracy and balance. Like you said 10/25/09 “We don’t want to become so heavenly minded were no earthly good.” I believe what you are bringing to us is accurate and balanced.

Footnote 2 on page 1 of the study notes could not be more succinct….thanks for bringing that forward!

Seems to me that the fallen world we are living in is constantly corrosive to a believer’s walk. Your example of the toy airplane in the park and its near demise by the tree branch is the kind of example that needs to be taught. There is nothing too trivial to take to the Lord. We do need to “pray without ceasing” (1Thes 5:17). If we take our eyes off Jesus, soon we end up in the familiar place of “I want..., I need…, My money…, My time…, My plan…!” The Father is not too busy to hear us. He really does know the hairs on our head. Yes, He is mindful of the even the sparrows. He loves us! Still, when it comes to abiding in Him, I’m just mediocre. I’m probably not alone on this self assessment.

My old Scofield KJV introduces John 15:15-17 as “the new intimacy”. Is it fair to say that intimacy and incarnational ministry are inextricably bound together? (yea/nay or yeah but...?). Since we are Christ’s Bride, our earthly example of marriage would indicate that if we spoke a mere few sentences to our mate through the day and maybe even went days at a time without speaking, the relationship would be classified “weak-to-failing”.

We recently watched a L. Giglio teaching (History disc 1/God’s Passion for God’s Glory) that really drove home the point that our awesome sovereign God does not share his Glory. I’m now of the opinion that we really need to step back from ourselves and increasingly and continually be mindful that “… you are not your own, for you have been bought with a price” (1Co 6:19b - 20). 1Pe 5:6-7 and Rom 11:36 seem to complement the idea.

Britt, we are so grateful for your heart for the flock! In the year (+) in Hebrews, you imparted many nuggets I still visit in my quiet time; the most significant for me personally is Heb 2:1. “For this reason (who Jesus is) we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away from it”. In the same theme, I had another God-smacked experience as I was following C. Missler in Rev. Ch1-3 (letter to Sardis) considering the implication of verse 3:5, “He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life”. Coasting is not an option. I’m sure that the Missio Christi will be another season of fruit bearing. I want that attitude that gets me to surrendering self-interest on more than just an infrequent interval. These are critical times affecting who we will be in Christ… eternally. Please keep bringing it on!

God’s Got It! Fear not the future…He is already there!

In His Grace,

Glenn Odell
Quincy, CA (same cell # from the SB days )

BTW- Thanks for posting up Daisy Love’s recent picture. She looks great!

Hi Britt,
A subject you may address, if you haven't done so already, is how to allay our fears and doubts about having been born again. It is a doubt that constantly nags me, and I fear allows Satan to eat away at my faith. I know that I am a new man in many respects, the mere fact that I now WANT to follow Christ, I want to study Scripture and do so, I want to pray and worship and do so, and I have made progress on many sins though still falling way short of where I would like to be. But so often I simply don't feel the love in my heart for others that I imagine I should, I feel that I am making no progress on some specific sins that constantly beset me, and I am unsure of whether I am fulfilling my personal mission or whether I even know what it is. I don't feel called to anything specific, yet am not comfortable that I am where I should be. Doubt is itself a sin I suspect, thus one falls into this endless circle where even prayer is not bringing the peace of Jesus, and nothing like the joy (in its true sense) that others speak of.
I am sure I am not alone, that many feel as I do to varying degrees.
Your prayers, and guidance through your teachings would be most welcome for many of us.
Thank you for your outreach beyond the beaches of California.

As a mother of 4 kids, I often found myself thinking that "missions" is for people who don't have small children. How wrong that is! As I listen to your messages it becomes increasingly clear that my familiy is my mission. Who else will pray for my husband and kids as fervently as I will? Who will lovingly ( mostly) and patiently( by God's Grace) care for their needs day in and day out? There are days when it feels overwhelming to be the one who does all the mundane tasks...laundry, dishes, cleaning etc. I have tried to use this seemingly routine time to pray for my husband and children specifically and intentionally. When I am putting away this ones clothes I pray for her future spouse. When I am picking up clothes off this one's floor, I pray for his walk with the Lord and for protection at school as he becomes a young man. The cool thing is when I see or hear my kids share theeir faith with afriend who isn't saved. That's when I feel like I am most on mission.

Melissa, I have felt exactly the same way! I have 2 children and too many times I find myself letting the practicality of my world overtake me! I have to be very intentional with being on "mission". At first I was really struggling to figure out what it would look like for me to be on mission but just as you said, my kids, husband, and household are my mission. God has really opened up my eyes to see all the cool opportunities that are right underneath my nose and I have been super blessed! Having my ideas and thoughts about being on "mission" to the "world" has really set me free in areas and opened up so many doors I had closed! I have been super stoked to join with God in all that He is already doing around me, right where I'm at! God bless you!