Hey Nic,
I read your post “What is Stopping You?” on Engage & Equip and I have some questions. I agree wholeheartedly with the post, as well as the other posts/sermons as of late about community and living sent, etc. However, I am unsure about how to get past what I feel is stopping me much of the time, which is that I am introverted. I know that God made me this way and so it isn’t a mistake. I know that introversion is certainly not an excuse to sit out of Jesus’ callings of community and reaching out to people with the gospel. The part I struggle with is how to do that as an introvert. How do I be myself, and not be fake, but still reach out to people?
So you want to invite someone to Easter at High Point? Great! Here are some simple guidelines to help make your friend or family member’s experience uplifting and free from any intimidation they may feel towards going to church.
STEP 1: Ask them about their Easter plans and invite them to church
You’d be surprised how many people don’t have family in the area or friends to spend the holiday with. Even if they already have plans, asking about them shows that you care. Pick up some invite cards in the High Point lobby or get more Easter information on High Point’s website.
At High Point, if you’ve been listening, you’ve been hearing that we need to be engaged in living a life that “goes to dark places,” that gets out and uses the opportunities that God is giving us to make a difference with the Gospel.
But, just as important as hearing the positive message is facing the negative one: Why don’t I?
A couple of weeks ago, Eric Hesse preached on living sent. He talked about Jesus’ instructions and his practice of going to dark places and shining the light of the gospel. One of the metaphors that Eric used was the light department at Menards. His point was that lights were meant to light dark places, not sit next to each other and contribute nothing to an already lit place. Lights aren’t for huddling any more than they are for covering.
However, many Christians have also heard another story about light. The story is about a gentleman who had stopped going to church, and his pastor paid him a visit in the evening.
I was an education major in my undergrad, and in my educational theory class I was taught three basic theories about human beings.
The first theory is drawn from the Puritans way back in the 1600s who thought that people are basically bad. This was supposedly called the “Old Deluder Satan” theory. Apparently it was taken from a 1642 law that referred to Satan this way. What I wasn’t told, however, was that the purpose of this law was to legislate public education (every town with 50 families had to hire a teacher, and every town with 100 families had to establish a grammar school).
This film is somewhat of an anomaly. Most religiously themed films are either intentionally antireligious or intentionally intensely religious. Also, whenever a film is based on another story, filmmakers always deviate from it for one reason or another. Sometimes it is only because of the difference in mediums – text versus screen.
Then there is the issue of attitude. Evangelicals, because they are human beings, can be judgmental. We want either to affirm the film or to disavow it. And this is a difficult task when others choose to make art with what we find sacred. It is especially difficult when others take our own revealed stories that have their own point and seek to weave into it other points they wish themselves to make.
Engage & Equip 