Sign and deed many times go hand in hand. For example think of Jesus feeding the five thousand. He preached to people on the hillside (word). Then he decided they needed to be fed (deed). Then while doing the deed, he was able to feed all the people there (sign). Winston made a great point here. Jesus was there, but it was the disciple handing out the food. They were the hands of Jesus. It is still the same today. In the great commission we also hear Jesus say "I will be with you always". Christ is present, we simply go and do. In doing so, his power moves and shows the power of God (sign). Anything that gives significance to Jesus Christ = sign. So... building a wheel chair ramp: the deed of building the ramp (deed), kids giving a week in the summer to work in 100 plus head (sign), the unity that is build among those working (sign). Many times the process of doing something is also a sign of God's power at work.
In my mind I separate these in my life many times. Yet I wonder if these come much more natural than I think, and I'm not sure if they can be separated. Word without deed and sign, isn't evangelism. It is communicating something sure, but people are smarter than that. If our deeds don't back up what we are saying, we haven't really communicated the full gospel. The book of James says we are just "resounding gongs". With the same token, our deeds can't be assumed to be self explanatory. Just because I build a wheelchair ramp for someone doesn't mean they know anything about the God that has provided the ramp. They get a partial picture. I don't think this means I have to sit down and read through the Passion story in the book of John with anyone I help. But I do think it means I shouldn't be afraid to vocalize why I am doing what I am doing.
This is really a shift in missional living as a Christian. It's embracing the mission of God in our life as our life. We do all three things in spreading the Good News: by word, sign, and deed. In all things, my aim is to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. So whether I speak or act, in all things, my mindset is to always point to the God of grace, love, and peace. All Christians are missionaries because we live with a mission. Missionaries are not just the people somewhere abroad in the back woods jungle. Those are just Christians God has called to a special place to do his work. Our own backyard is our mission field otherwise. The space in which we breathe air and the people we share that space with are our mission field everyday, in any way, by word, sign, and deed.
Winston finished with some ideas on shifting our churches to missional thinking churches and I wanted to put those down here as well.
From programs to process
- Think of how we are always moving forward. Not just a program to solve a solution, but a process that is moving us forward.
From demographics to discernment
- Knowing the statistics of people around is important, but listening to who God is calling us needs to come first and be the driving force.
From attractional to incarnational
- don't just be a church that tries to be entertaining, but seek for our ministry to make Jesus come alive. In doing this, people will be attracted to Jesus, but attraction isn't the focus. Revealing Jesus is the focus.
From professional to passionate
- This is pretty self explanatory. Our desire to control our churches kills passion because we aren't amazed in God, but in ourselves. Passionate churches can be organized for sure, but our motivation is driven by our desire to express God's love not to be professional.
From decisions to disciples
- Don't spin our wheels in committees (committees... could be the death of us!) trying to make decisions and thinking we are making progress. Decisions need to be made, but don't spin our wheels making decisions. Sometimes those can be like webs that cause us to sit around all thinking about what to do. Make a decision and then work it out along the way so we don't leave behind our goal of making disciples.
From additional to exponential
- Simply: think big. Don't put a cap on what God can do. Exponential thinking believes in something bigger than what we can dream is possible.
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