Here is what it means to unleash the witness of the church: we allow our friends to see the people who make up the church (a group of ‘called out’ ones) love each other. We love in ways that cannot and are not seen in the world. We do not love based on nationality, gender, or socio-economic standing (Col. 3:11 – here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all in all). We practice the “one anothers”, bearing with, loving, serving, forgiving, admonishing, and helping each other in a way that is sacrificial. Others should see that and notice something unique, different, and without explanation outside of Christ. Here's the question: is this what people see when they come here? Not perfectly, but consistently? Not without hiccup, but relentlessly?
This does not mean inviting someone to a church service and merely handing them off to the “hired professional”. The church is a living organism made up of people who choose to love each other. When we go into our lives outside (neighborhoods, other family, work), we have the opportunity to be a witness, and bring people back in, showing them something different. Using the witness of the church is bringing them to a family dinner, not dropping them off at the movie theater.
The above is excerpted from a sermon entitled "Road of Redemption: How the Gospel Changes Our Work as Bosses, in Evangelism, and Finding Rest." You can read or listen to this message here!
