{"id":7113,"date":"2019-06-21T06:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T10:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ben-sternke-live.prev17.rmkr.net\/?p=7113"},"modified":"2025-03-07T18:54:57","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T22:54:57","slug":"first-step-life-on-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gravitycommons.com\/es\/first-step-life-on-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"A Surprisingly Simple First Step Into a Life on Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lots of people are talking nowadays about going from \u201cdoing ministry\u201d to \u201clife on mission.\u201d\u00a0And it\u2019s an important and necessary shift we\u00a0need<\/em>\u00a0to make if we\u2019re going to really learn again what it means to follow Jesus.<\/p>\n

But the transition to missional living is easier talked about than practiced<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Freaked out by evangelism<\/h2>\n

This showed up in my life when I realized that living on mission is more than being nice or being a good neighbor. Living on mission involves learning to proclaim the good news of Jesus in a way that\u2019s contextually appropriate, authentic, and winsome.<\/p>\n

But this just freaked me out.<\/strong> I\u2019m not a natural evangelist. Actually, the thought of evangelism terrifies me. My palms get sweaty, my heart races, I\u2019m looking for the exit and thinking of excuses to give for why I need to leave now.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll jump at the chance to tell you about a great movie I just saw, or my favorite coffee shop, or that amazing restaurant we ate at in Charleston (it was McCradys<\/a>).<\/p>\n

But\u00a0when it comes to evangelism, it doesn\u2019t come naturally for me.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s easy to see why. Most of what I\u2019ve seen and experienced in terms of what evangelism\u00a0looks like has been either:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Walk up to a stranger<\/strong> and ask if you can talk to them about Jesus (coercive evangelism!)<\/li>\n
  2. Just be a really, really nice person<\/strong> (evangelism by osmosis?)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    These are just two ditches on the\u00a0opposite sides of the road, and neither one really works<\/a>.\u00a0I just haven\u2019t had an imagination for how to engage in a way that looks like Jesus.<\/p>\n

    God is already at work<\/h2>\n

    One of the main problems about both options above is that they both start with something we can do. This is actually one of the main obstacles we run into when trying to start living on mission: we start by thinking, \u201cWhat can\u00a0I<\/em> do?\u201d<\/p>\n

    But what if God is already<\/em> at work in our neighborhood?\u00a0Living a life on mission would need to start with\u00a0seeing<\/em> where God is at work, and joining him there. I realized that starting some kind of evangelistic program would be skipping this first step of discerning what God was already up to.<\/p>\n

    How can I engage in a practice that would help me pay attention to what God is doing? I wondered.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The\u00a0surprisingly simple first step<\/h2>\n

    One day, I was sharing this struggle with a friend, and she said, \u201cDeb, you\u2019re not good at evangelism, but you are<\/em> good at listening to God in prayer. Why not use that gift\u00a0to take a first step into evangelism?\u201d<\/p>\n

    That sounded like a great idea, but how? I asked. That\u2019s when she suggested the surprisingly simple first step\u00a0that I\u2019ve been practicing regularly since then:<\/p>\n

    Prayer walking.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    But initially I had no idea what this was.\u00a0I had images of walking through our neighborhood like a wandering nomad with a cardboard sign and a megaphone, shouting about conspiracy theories and how the end is near.<\/p>\n

    But thankfully I got some help and training others who were prayer walking their neighborhoods regularly. It was simple and fun! It wasn\u2019t weird or off-putting for anyone.<\/p>\n

    Basically I\u2019d just take a walk in my neighborhood and intentionally pay attention to what God was doing and saying, and I\u2019d try to cooperate with him when I noticed something.<\/p>\n

    \u201cWalk around and listen\u00a0to God? That<\/em> I can do!\u201d I said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Sounds simple, but it took some practice. Eventually we got the hang of it and\u00a0began training our missional communities in a simple framework for prayer walking.<\/p>\n

    A framework for prayer walking<\/h2>\n

    So prayer walking simply a way of paying attention\u00a0to what God is doing. Jesus said he only did\u00a0what he saw\u00a0his Father doing (John 5:19).\u00a0As we prayer walk our neighborhoods,\u00a0we imitate Jesus by asking to see what our Father is doing.<\/p>\n

    How do you actually do it?<\/h2>\n

    Just walk and pray! But more specifically:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Be \u201cnormal.\u201d It will just look like you\u2019re taking a walk.<\/li>\n
    • Pray quietly under your breath or just be quiet and listen.<\/li>\n
    • Be open to interaction: saying hello, meeting someone new, stopping for a conversation.<\/li>\n
    • Pray for God to bless the people and homes and businesses you see.<\/li>\n
    • Listen and look for any impressions God gives you: pictures, scriptures, etc. (be aware of emotions or bodily sensations \u2013 this is often God revealing something to you!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      How do I pray?<\/h2>\n

      Basically, ask God to show you what he is doing, and see what you notice.<\/p>\n

        \n
      • What would it look like if the God\u2019s\u00a0kingdom came more fully in this place? What would be different?<\/li>\n
      • Ask God to bring his kingdom more fully in this place.<\/li>\n
      • Ask God for insight on how you can\u00a0be present here with these people, discovering what he is up to.<\/li>\n
      • Ask the Spirit to reveal the Father more fully to the people here (including you!).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Through this practice we are joining God in his missional work in the world!<\/p>\n

        Give it a try by yourself, or better yet, invite some friends to join you. Do this with your\u00a0small group or missional community.<\/p>\n

        An outline for a prayer walk<\/h2>\n
          \n
        1. Plan a time<\/strong> to prayer walk and let your community\/friends know.<\/li>\n
        2. Gather everyone together<\/strong> first, and create\u00a0groups of 2-4 people.<\/li>\n
        3. Cast some vision for prayer walk<\/strong> (use the notes above or our printable guide below).<\/li>\n
        4. Pray together for God to show you what he sees and feels while you walk.<\/strong><\/li>\n
        5. Agree on a time<\/strong> for everyone to be back to debrief (you\u2019ll want 30-60 minutes).<\/li>\n
        6. Start prayer walking<\/strong> \u2013 listening to God and noticing things as you walk (have people move off in different directions so you don\u2019t look like a herd).<\/li>\n
        7. Gather back up and debrief<\/strong>: process any insights, impressions, breakthroughs, and struggles together.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Life on mission starts with paying attention<\/h2>\n

          If you\u2019re like me and feel a bit \u201cevangelistically-challenged\u201d, prayer walking\u00a0can be a first step in learning learning to live on mission.<\/p>\n

          I\u2019ve begun to see with new eyes and feel God\u2019s heart for my neighborhood. I\u2019ve met neighbors that I probably would not have met because I was out walking while they were picking up their mail or washing their car.\u00a0I\u2019ve heard stories as I\u2019ve asked questions and been curious about the people.<\/p>\n

          Prayer walking is one of the ways I\u2019ve\u00a0gotten unstuck when it comes to living on mission.\u00a0<\/strong>I actually look forward to it, too!<\/p>\n

          What have you found to be helpful?<\/h2>\n

          Have you ever tried prayer walking? How did it go? Leave a comment below<\/strong> to tell us about your experiences prayer walking, and anything you\u2019ve found helpful.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Life on mission is easier talked about than practiced. 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