So yesterday we suggested that simply reaching people who don’t go to church by nature is scandalous.  The very thought of reaching non churched people can offend Christians. It’s not we intend to offend, but the Bible suggests we just will.  Religious people get upset when non-religious people become the goal of a mission.

Today I’d love to switch gears and ask: of all the things you’ve done to reach outsiders, which have been some of the best ideas, and how might they have offended people?

Here’s a quick survey with a few things we’ve tried:

• We meet in  movie theaters (in part its just practical – it fits us for now).  Some Christians left because they can’t worship in a movie theater.  Some non-Christians come because it’s in a movie theater and not in a church.  For the record, we just keep pointing them all to Jesus.  (It’s not about a movie theater.)
• On Easter 2008, we tattooed a person live on stage.  It was to make the point from Acts 17 that all of us – even non-Christians – have a notion of God imprinted on our hearts.  A handful of Christians left our church over it.  Some non-Christians said it made them want to come back.  The tattoo artist himself hadn’t been to church for years.  He was very suspicious of church.  He said it was a great experience and impacted him deeply spiritually.  He was surprised a group of Christians accepted invited him in.
• We opened Christmas Eve 09 with Led Zeppelin’s Rock and Roll to try to break up the sacharine expectations around Christmas.  No one left. Everybody liked it and thought it was funny.  Clearly not edgy enough. :0)

We’ve done quite a few other things that have ruffled feathers (some male band members dressed up as Beyonce <not sure we’d do that one again, or would we?>, we gave away Starbucks cards to people who brought their friends <we’ll do that again>), all in the desire to see non-churched people move into a growing relationship with Jesus.

What have you done?  Or maybe more interestingly, what do you wish you would have done?  What was the reaction or what feared reaction kept you from doing it?

“The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout…”He isn’t fit to live!”(Acts 22.22).

What did he say?  You’d think he dropped some profanity.  Nope.

You’d think he denounced Jesus.  Not that either.

What did he say?  The word was “Gentiles”.  He simply announced that he was going to work with people outside the boundaries of the existing church.  He was taking the Gospel to outsiders.  To the Gentiles, people who had never had access to Jesus before.

That made the insiders furious. They saw it as scandalous that Paul would actually work with people who didn’t fit their category of righteousness.  The text electrified me when I read it earlier this month because I’m not that sure it’s different today.

What do you think? I believe if you are going to reach outsider, you’re going to offend insiders.  Not that you would set out to offend them.  But if you’re really doing meaningful ministry, you will.

Sometimes the very idea of inviting outsiders in is scandalous (what are people with that kind of past doing in church?) Sometimes the methods are scandalous (why would you play that music in church, preach in that manner, or not cater just to my wants as a Christian?).  But bottom line, it is and likely will be scandalous.

Could it be that if you are not offending insiders from time to time, you’re likely not actually reaching outsiders?  Could it be that if you are not offending insiders, you’ve lost your mission?

What do you think?  What’s your experience and what’s your perspective?

Most of us secretly want to be better known, valued and appreciated than we are.   For some of us, that’s just in a wider relational circle.  For others, it’s more public.  We long to be better known in our ministry, in our company, to see our product selling, our album get recorded, our blog get traction or to find ourselves thousands of Twitter followers or Facebook friends.  If we were to pry behind the secret motivation…we think that would make us successful.

I know I’ve struggled with this over the years.  When I was starting out in ministry, I wanted to be that guy who spoke at conferences and was well respected as a leader in ministry. You don’t talk about that kind of thing much, but if you were to gain access to my sinful mind, the thought spun around  in my head from time to time.

Then in a season of my life a few years ago, God wrestled that down.  Well, that’s putting it nicely.  He snapped my ambition.  He took me to a place where I realized that as much as I didn’t want to admit it even to myself, much of my motivation was selfish and not God-honouring.  I finally surrendered it to him.  In fact, I he brought me to a point where I could see myself serving as an effective pastor without ever anyone knowing who I was.  I didn’t really want that definition of success.  But I embraced it anyway. As best I could, I surrendered my ambition to God.

Ambition kills servants of God and turns them into servants of themselves. I’ve come to enjoy the slow death of selfish ambition in my life.  It’s not complete, but it’s in progress. Here’s what I’m learning and (now) loving about the difference.

1. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, your personal sense of worth goes up and down with the opportunities ahead of you.  When you’re motivated by God, your value is solidly found in Christ every day.
2. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, failure is terrifying.  When you’re motivated by God, failure becomes an opportunity for grace and growth.
3. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, you think you’re the deal.  When you’re motivated by God, you know that He’s the deal.
4. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, you use people to get you where you want to go.  When you’re motivated by God, you value people as you go.
5. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, you take the credit.  When you’re motivated by God, you realize how much God and the people around you deserve the credit.
6. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, you strive for breadth of exposure.  When you’re motivated by God, you focus on depth in your walk and let God determine the breadth of exposure he gives you.
7. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, you are always thinking about the next thing.  When you’re motivated by God,  you’re always thinking about what God wants to accomplish in your life today.
8. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, you’re always comparing yourself to the other guy.  When you’re motivated by God, you begin to celebrate what God is doing through the other guy.
9. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, it’s hard to say no to any opportunity.  When you’re motivated by God, it’s easier to say yes to balance and priorities.
10. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, you can feel entitled to any success that comes your way.  When you’re motivated by God, you simply feel grateful.
11. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, the need to win is greater than the need to love.  When you’re motivated by God, the need to love is greater than the need to win.
12. When you’re motivated by selfish ambition, you are always insecure.  When you’re motivated by God, your security comes from His steadfast love.

I’m so grateful for these learnings.  The journey isn’t over yet, but I’m glad it’s begun.

The ironic part of this story is that a year or so after God broke me on this issue, I got a call from a major church to speak at a conference in front of thousands of people. When I got the call, I was a bit blown away, but it didn’t mean what it would have meant a year or two earlier. I could hold it loosely.  It was an opportunity for the Kingdom, not just for me.  Ironically, I’ve had more opportunities to do what I used to dream of doing than I ever did before God broke me.  But I don’t accept all of them – and those I do, I hold more loosely than ever before.  And when they’re over, I’m not ‘fulfilled’. Increasingly I’m just grateful that God would use me in that way.

What are you learning about this struggle?  What would you add to this “list”?   In what ways is God speaking to you on this?