Week Forty-Two, 2023
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another. (Hebrews 10:24–25).
Recently I was riding on a bus through rural Utah. Suddenly I heard people in the back of the bus shouting “pull over.” A lady had lapsed into unconsciousness. The driver pulled over as quickly as he could, and two paramedics on board rushed back.
The driver pulled over in Hatch, Utah, population 133. An ambulance pulled up and then it happened. The ambulance was driven by a man in a suit and tie. He was also the principal of the local school. Another man appeared summoned from his welding shop. Another lady ran out from the church across the street. More came, all local citizens who responded to emergencies in their community.
I enjoyed speaking with the principal who told me that they were a community where everyone helped one another. He was also the snowplow driver. He said that is what community is all about.
The stricken lady regained consciousness and was dispatched to a local hospital a few miles away. As our bus resumed its journey, I thought about what a real community. We live in large cities where people don’t even know their neighbors and depend on taxpayer supported agencies to help them in times of emergencies.
Shouldn’t our Christian churches be that kind of community, helping others when they need help and spreading the Word of the Lord as they do? The church of Jesus is a family and, in a family, relationships matter.
A biblical community is where we are to come alongside each other to grow and mature in our faith. Whenever people come together in a biblical community, it is an opportunity to show each other, and a watching world, the love of God.
God didn’t intend for us to live in isolation. He specifically designed us to crave (and thrive in) relationship with others. We’re our best selves when we’re experiencing life’s highs and lows with other Christian people.
With 8 billion people in the world, it sure doesn’t feel lonely. People are everywhere! Even so, it’s easy to get so wrapped up in our own lives that we don’t take time to really get to know others. We might mingle at church or catch up in the break room at work, but that doesn’t mean we have authentic community.
Community should never feel dull or forced. In fact, it should be the exact opposite. Our culture sometimes portrays faith communities as a strict and boring bunch. But while that can be the case, it certainly shouldn’t be the norm. A community of believers should be overflowing with joy and hope as they minister to others.
Is your church a real community like that and if not, how can you lead it to be?
SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
In the Marketplace, especially in Sales and Banking, business leaders are taught early on to have an “Elevator Speech”. That is, to be able to introduce yourself and your business within a one minute elevator ride… to be able to answer the question “What do you do?”
And to be able to say enough in that minute to draw enough interest from the one you are talking with that they would want to continue the conversation.
In Sales and Leadership training, participants are taught to be able to expand that elevator speech in such a way that you not only have the one-minute speech in your repertoire but also have a 3-minute and 7-minute version that can be used in social gatherings and introductions.
Along with client/customer focused questions, these longer versions can also be used in sales calls or presentations… but again only when intermixed with truly customer focused questions.
The truly exceptional professional has these skills/tactics/strategies down to a science. So much so that it becomes second nature. It becomes who they are.
As Believers… as Followers of Jesus… we need to develop similar skills. We need to develop a similar “Elevator Speech” about Jesus and our relationship with Him. Not that we need to “sell” Him, but so that we can best share Him.
In a short period of time, we ought to be able to get to the point where we can share who He is and what He means to us. We need to write it down and practice it. Our ”Elevator Speech” should become so engrained in us that it becomes second nature. That it easily pours from our heart and rolls off of our tongue.
- A one-minute version.
- A 3-minute version.
- A 7-minute version
Who He is. What He’s done. And what He has done for me (or what that means for me).
How do you answer the question, “Who do you say I am?”
What’s your “Elevator Speech”? Marty Stubblefield
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First it was “Where did I come from?” The mind of God. Then came “Why am I here? To do His will. Now comes the ultimate question, “Where am I going?”
When we die our physical bodies will decompose, but our spirits will live on to eternity. They will ultimately be reunited with our bodies, some glorified, and dwell forever in one of two places. One place is for those who have lives of sin, as we all have, but have not repented. It’s called Hell….eternal pain and torment.
The other place is called Heaven….eternal bliss and dwelling with our loving God. The ticket to be there is free, no scalpers. The fee is to sincerely place your trust in Jesus Christ and nothing else.
Choose wisely. It’s a forever choice. Rich Jensen
QUOTES YOU CAN USE
I wonder how many people I’ve looked at all my life and never seen. John Steinbeck
Our lives are bombarded by sin on a daily basis. Dan Shock
I can shake off everything as I write; my sorrows disappear, my courage is reborn. Anne Frank
Only a life lived for others is a life worth living. Albert Einstein
It is easier to find men who will volunteer to die, than to find those who are willing to endure pain with patience. Julius Caesar
It is impossible for you to produce, mimic, or conjure up the love of the Holy Spirit. Dan Shock
The content of your character is your choice. Day by day, what you choose, what you think and what you do is who you become. Heraclitus
Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity. Henry Van Dyke
Live today in light of who you are in Christ and who you will be in eternity. Edgar Aponte
I always prefer to believe the best of everybody; it saves so much trouble. Rudyard Kipling
We are often alerted of our hunger of the tummy more than of the soul. Our priority should be to feed the soul then the belly!!!! Stephen Bernard
If a problem can be solved, there is no use worrying about it. If it can’t be solved, worrying will do no good. Heinrich Harrer
Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase. Martin Luther King, Jr.
If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story. Orson Welles
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