Catching up with God

I am reading a really good book right now called ‘God next door.’ It is written by an Aussie guy called Simon Carey Holt, who has done his share of travel but is now reasonably settled in Melbourne. Simon focuses on something very close to my heart and the title gives it away; the issue of God being a part of our neighbourhood.

Probably my biggest frustration in ministry is this very matter. For way too many years now I and many others have suffered under the popular mindset that Sunday worship is it! If you get that right for a significant majority of people – this act alone probably would qualify you for sainthood – then you are on a winner. Get it wrong and you are condemned to a long hard slog.

My case has always been that the gathering for worship is highly important. Reality is that not being committed to this regular gathering makes it difficult to keep up! It is here that the sense of belonging is closest and it is here that we are reminded as part of the body of Christ what it is we are on about. Important, yes; be all and end all. No!

The new shopping centre at Rouse Hill has become a great place to bump into people. God is present in this bustling new place as certainly as the community centre on Sunday morning. I love bumping into people because I never view a meeting with anyone as just a meeting, accidental or not. These times are amazing opportunities to see what God might be up to at any particular moment. This does not mean that you pull out your trusty pocket size New Testament and regale them with the Gospel, it means that you listen between the words and see every meeting as a possible divine encounter.

I have many friends who do not carry the tag of Christian and I would love for them to become followers of Jesus; but they are not my friends for that reason. I don’t make friends to convert them but to enjoy their company and hopefully we can add value to each others and many other lives. However, from my perspective, God is never absent.

I get concerned at the practice of compartmentalizing our faith. It’s wrong! Check out how often Jesus sat on his backside on the Jewish Sabbath waiting for people to come to synagogue. Gosh, whenever we get a description of him being at the synagogue, he is in strife! On one occasion the crowd was going to throw him off the edge of a cliff. Even my worst message doesn’t get that response!

The whole ministry of Jesus is a description of him wandering around a variety of neighbourhoods, meeting with people and changing the environment in which they lived. Not everyone was healed and not everyone was changed; but by Jesus and his mates hanging out in these places seeds for change were grown. We are still about sowing seeds.

I reckon Jesus quite likes us hanging around his children on Melbourne Cup Day. He probably wishes he could be there himself – but of course he is. Go M.A.D. stuff, Church Camp, Ladies Day, ANZAC Day, Trivia Night, Playgroup, Scripture, Pub Chat, Movies and Matinees, Aberdoon House and even Christmas Eve is where we get the opportunity to discover what God is up to in the area. You could have a BBQ with a few neighbours, start a walking group or go and share a beer on a weekend as everyone is out gardening. God’s already there, we might as well join in the conversation.