"Loving your community to Christ means making a deeper commitment to it than most people ever do. It means putting down deep roots and really caring about the physical and spiritual welfare of everyone who lives there. It's true you're just passing through on your way to heaven, but as long as you live there, reaching the people in your city or town is part of your mission from God.

"Of course, this goes against the prevailing 'me first' message of our culture. The 24/7 media blitz around us keeps telling us we've got to 'shop around.' We get so busy hunting for the best deals and the most convenient locations that we never commit to being a part of the place where we live. We need to get involved in what's happening locally. Shop at the same stores. Eat at the same restaurants. Get to the knew the clerks by name. Request to sit in a certain server's section (and tip generously!). Be willing to stand in the longest checkout line in order to chat with a clerk you know. Sure, it may cost you time and a few more pennies to shop at your local grocery or eat at a local restaurant, but the opportunity to get to know people makes it more than worth it."

Wow. That's tough. It shouldn't be, but it is. And it really struck me. Because I can do that. I can. And so I've started to try. Instead of ducking behind a magazine in the line at the grocery store; I've tried to engage the cashier as he/she scans my groceries. Or to actually call the barista at the coffee shop by name. It's not easy for me; I'm naturally shy. But then I think: well, if I were a cashier or a barista, I'D want people to talk to me and remember me. Plus -- and here's the great thing -- whenever I do this...well, I'm thinking about God. I'm trusting him. I'm aware of him. And I'm not usually doing any of those things at all when I'm at the grocery store or in line for coffee. So that's changing, too...I guess that's the whole idea isn't it? That's outflow.

One thing I saw on servantevangelism.com the other day was to buy your cashier their favorite beverage or candy bar in the line.  I've been doing this and it's SO MUCH FUN!  I have made little outreach cards like those on servantevangelism and my whole family is having a blast reaching out to folks with God's love.  I just get a kick out of how they try to find the "strings" attached to the gift and how hard it is for them to take it! 

Our best friends attend the Cincinnati Vineyard church, so I've been an offsite disciple of this kind of outreach for some time.  But it's always fun to find new ways to do small things in love!


Pictures taken on vacation at Lake Junaluska, NC.