Day 38. Becoming a World-Class Christian

Day 38. Becoming a World-Class Christian

A word for the connected church: A connectional church like the United Methodist Church provides incredible opportunities for service and witness. It is a witness of incredible power in a world of need. Did you know, for example, that following the war in the Balkans, that UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) contracted with the United Nations to build 60,000 houses for those who had lost everything? Or, did you know, that following the terrible happenings in Rwanda and Burundi that the agency contracted to build a refugee camp for 800,000 people? That started with no infrastructure, no roads, no water, no sewers, no schools, no hospitals; just desperate and hurting people.

Or who is Louisiana or Mississippi when the Red Cross leaves? Who is Indonesia long after the emergency workers have left? The answer is UMCOR. And because the organizational costs are paid for by the annual contributions of Methodist churches, every (that’s every) red cent that is donated goes directly to agencies who are on site. Want to be a world-class Christian? Make your presence felt through UMCOR.

The connectional church has other resources as well. The Missouri Conference organizes dozens of VIM (Volunteers in Mission) trips, near, far, local, international. You can repair a tornado damaged church in the “Bootheel” or dig wells in Mozambique. Whether your church has an attendance of 10, or 100, or 1000, you can join with or organize a VIM trip and touch lives in the name of Jesus Christ.

Or you can be a World-Class Christian like Methodist layman Keith Jaspers and start one of the most incredible ministries in Christendom like Rainbow Network. (Click the link in the right hand panel to go to the Rainbow Network website.)

Finally, you can “glocalize.” Tom Friedman has declared the world is flat. Rev. Bob Roberts has written a new book, Glocalization: How Followers of Jesus Engage the New Flat Earth (Zondervon) in which he outlines that congregations of any size can engage in world-wide witness. A farmer who has well expertise can fly to the hinterland, find what is required, return, plan, resource, and then go do it! So likewise a nurse can spend a week or a month providing medical assistance as a witness to the love of Jesus Christ. Finding a need and filling it need not be just local, it can be global. We can “glocalize.”

World-class begins with spirit-class prayer then the inspiration to be a witness (in Jerusalem, in all of Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1.8)).

Glocalize! Be connected!

Rick