The Zone Gathering

This is Part 4 of our Summer Leadership Lesson Series: Imaginative Evangelism. As we lead our groups and ministries, we must strive to forcefully advance the Kingdom of God through strategic evangelism, exponential discipleship, and sacrificial service. And that begins by understanding and being able to clearly communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today, we will start writing our autobiographies.

In Reimagining Evangelism, Rick Richardson said, “The art of telling our own story is also the act of discovering and declaring our identity, and of finding the meaning in our lives.”

In 2003, I attended a church retreat where we were encouraged to write our autobiographies. We were encouraged to divide up our life into 5-10 chapters and write a chapter title at the top of each page. Then, we spent the next two hours recording significant events, decisions, and people in each of those life chapters.

As we share the Gospel with others, we are really sharing how God’s story has intersected with our stories. Instead of focusing only on stories of conversion, we should also share stories of on-going transformation. Dan Allender said, “All stories of redemption come to have a common center. The story line may differ, but the result is the same: transformation.” The places where God’s story has intersected our story both before and after the conversion experience. Writing our autobiography will help us discover the fingerprints of God in our lives.

Here are some steps for writing your story:

Set aside 2-3 hours.

Don’t attempt to complete the whole project in one sitting. But get started.

Divide life into chapters.

Make note of defining characteristics in each chapter:

• Significant People
• Significant Places
• Significant Events
• Big Decisions
• Big Dreams
• Big Deals
• Big Days

Give each chapter a theme, based on one of the following:

• What God taught you
• What big prayer God answered or did not answer
• What big questions consumed you

As you see the evidence of the fingerprints of God beginning to emerge in your life, look for the following “life lessons” that could be turned into or incorporated into stories of transformation:

• Hearing God’s voice
• Importance of Scripture
• Importance of community
• Forgiveness
• Healing
• Importance of worship
• Importance of service
• Characteristics of God
• Fruit of the Spirit
• Trust

This past weekend, Pastor Mark exhorted us to start living dangerously - not in the sense that we go out and do reckless things or make foolish decisions, but that we would pray for God to make us dangerous so that we would be a threat to our enemy. Pastor Mark used Paul as example of someone who boldly and passionately pursued the cause of Christ, despite the danger he encountered (2 Corinthians 11:21-33).

When I think of other biblical heroes who were “dangerous,” one that jumps out at me is Daniel. Daniel was one of the Jewish exiles who was taken into captivity to Babylon, and due to his extraordinary faithfulness and gifts, he distinguished himself and was appointed as one of three administrators with authority over the kingdom. Now, there were other administrators and satraps who were jealous of Daniel and deliberately set a trap for him. These satraps “tried to find grounds for charges against Daniel in his conduct of government affairs, but they were unable to do so. They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent” (Dan. 6:4). In order to get Daniel “ousted” from his job - and King Darius’ favor - they appealed to the king to promulgate an un-repealable edict that “anyone who prays to any god or man during the next thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be thrown into the lions’ den” (Dan. 6:7). And so King Darius issued the edict.

Worshiping the Almighty God of Israel had just become a crime punishable by death by the mouths of lions. And how did Daniel respond? Look at Daniel 6:10: “Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to God, just as he had done before.” When he was discovered, the other administrators and satraps turned him into King Darius, who although he respected and favored Daniel, had little choice but to cast him into the lions’ den.

We know how the story ends - God shuts the mouths of the lions and Daniel survives the night and is freed the next morning. But even more importantly, King Darius encounters the Almighty God and issues a new decree to the Babylonian people: “I issue a decree that in every part of my kingdom people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he endures forever; his kingdom shall not be destroyed, his dominion will never end. He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth. He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions” (Dan. 6:26-27).

Daniel was dangerous - despite the consequences looming before him, he chose to worship God and pray to him openly. He could have panicked, he could have become paralyzed, but instead, he chose to pray. And because of his faithfulness, God turned a dangerous situation into a tremendous opportunity. Being in the lions’ den afforded Daniel the opportunity to:

* experience a gloriously intense encounter with God, who sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions and preserve Daniel (see also how the Lord Himself sustained Paul when he was all alone - 2 Tim. 4:16-18);
* emerge from a terribly hurtful situation unhurt; and
* see a worldly Darius become impressed with his God.

When we ask God to “make us dangerous,” we open ourselves up to new opportunities to encounter Him and to impact the world in which we live. Our enemy doesn’t like dangerous Christians. 1 Peter 5:8 describes him this way: “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” When we resist him by living for the glory of God, obeying the Lord’s commands, and being sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, we wound him and deprive him of any power over us. Imagine - if the church, as one, prayed for God to make us dangerous and went on the offense, how much damage we could do to our enemy and thwart his evil plans.

Do you regularly wound the enemy? Lord, make us dangerous!

I’m super pumped to announce the NCC Protege Program! Like most good things we do around here, we stole it from someone else. In this case, Mosaic Church in LA. Those guys are raising up and unleashing young leaders left and right. Here’s some information on our program:

The Protégé Program is a year-long intensive spiritual growth, leadership development, and ministry immersion experience at National Community Church. As an NCC Protégé, you will be given the opportunity to learn from some of the most innovative thinkers and creators in ministry, participate in the day to day activities of church staff culture, stretch yourself as a leader, and lay a firm foundation for a life-long pursuit of the passion and vision that God has placed on your life.

NCC Proteges will choose one ministry area— discipleship, media, missions/outreach, children/youth, worship or church planter in residence—in which they will specifically focus their ministry efforts during the year and for which they will receive special training.

NCC Proteges will gain experience in the following areas:

• Attend Learning Labs- make new discoveries in leadership development, spiritual growth, and ministry methods from members of the NCC teaching team.
• Develop a Spiritual Growth Plan
• Develop a Leadership Development Plan
• Serve on the Alpha Team
• Lead small groups and ministries
• Participate in an NCC missions experience
• Serve at weekend worship gatherings, outreach projects and leadership development events
• Build community with fellow members of your Protégé class through weekly study, prayer, and reflection groups
• Be mentored by your ministry-focus department leader
• Attend leadership development conferences with the NCC team

The Protégé Program is a training and proving ground for emerging church leaders. During your Protégé year, you will accumulate valuable experience, mentors, and knowledge that will prepare you for stepping into the next phase of your God-given calling.

If you would like more information on becoming an NCC Protégé, check out our FAQ or send an email to .

We’ve got a FAQ that will address the all important questions of what it will cost (nothing, but you will need to work a second job or raise support to cover living expenses for the year), when does it start and stop (September 2008- August 2009), etc., and we can send that to you, if you are interested, as well.

In the meantime, I’m looking for one good discipleship protege. Any takers?

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Summer Small Groups - The summer small group semester has begun! Pick up your copy at the connection center and join us for a summer of small group fun and fellowship. Check online for a listing of all of the summer groups. For more information, please contact .

Summer Service Schedule - Our summer service schedule is now in effect. The Ebenezers Coffeehouse location will have one service at 5:00pm. The service schedule will remain the same at our Union Station, Ballston and Georgetown locations. We will return to two Saturday night services in the fall.

Baptism Informational Meeting - We will hold our next baptism celebration will be Baptism by the Bay at Sandy Point Park in Maryland on Saturday, July 20. If you would like to publicly declare your commitment to Christ by being baptized, please plan to attend the baptism informational meeting on July 15 at 7pm at Ebenezers in the upstairs office level. For more information or to sign up, email or sign up on a Connection Card.

Convoy of Hope - The Washington DC Convoy of Hope website is live! Visit the website for information about how to get involved with this great event.

Georgetown Summer Dinners - NCC Georgetown is meeting for dinner intermittently through July. Our next “Georgetown Summer Supper” is this Monday night, June 30 in Georgetown at the Scanlons at 7:00 pm. RSVP to . Great food and great conversation.

Hospitality Volunteers Wanted - Interested in being a part of an NCC ministry team? We have a spot on the hospitality team with your name on it! For more information, please fill out your connection card and let us know you are interested!

Calling All Musicians! - You’ve got talent. You are created to worship. NCC has a perfect place for you to serve on the Worship Team! NCC worship teams are looking to incorporate new guitarists, keyboardists, drummers, and vocalists, etc. It’s time to get plugged in and get your instruments plugged in! Contact for more information and to schedule an audition.

Kids and Nursery Ministries - Would you be willing to lend a hand with NCC kids or infants this summer? The children’s and nursery ministries are in need of playmates. If you would be willing to lend a hand during the summer months, contact .

Kids and Nursery Ministries - Would you be willing to lend a hand with NCC kids or infants this summer? The children’s and nursery ministries are in need of playmates. If you would be willing to lend a hand during the summer months, contact .

Credit Card Giving Online - If you give to NCC via credit card, you can now give online for more convenient and secure giving. Visit us to give securely online.

THIS WEEK’S MESSAGE - This week, Pastor Mark continued the One Prayer series with a message titled “Make Us Dangerous”. During this series, NCC is partnering with approximately 1300 churches worlwide as different pastors share video messages to answer the question, What would you pray if God could answer one prayer for the Church at large?

NEXT WEEK’S MESSAGE - Next week, we will continue the One Prayer series with the message, “Make Us Doers”.

Campus pastors will be speaking live at all locations:

5pm at Ebenezers on Saturday

10:30am at Ballston, 10am at Georgetown, and 9am, 10:15 and 11:30 at Union Station on Sunday

This is Part 3 of our Summer Leadership Lesson Series: Imaginative Evangelism. As we lead our groups and ministries, we must strive to forcefully advance the Kingdom of God through strategic evangelism, exponential discipleship, and sacrificial service. And that begins by understanding and being able to clearly communicate the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Today, we will explore the stories of transformation.

In the book, Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybels said, ““Possibly the greatest realization someone can make is this: ‘My story fits into God’s greater story—and that’s the greatest story ever told.’”

When we “share the Gospel” or “share our faith” with others, there are two things we must do. 1) Know God’s story, 2) Know our story, and 3) Learn the stories of others and help them discover how their story intersects with God’s story. Last week, we talked about three dimensions of the story that God has been writing throughout history- delivering people from bondage and liberating them to live fully, freeing them from exile and restoring them to community, and making sacrifice to cover our sinful nature and make us pure.

Today, I want us to move our focus to the second issue- our story. When we share our stories with people, we typically follow this kind of outline: I was a sinner. Here’s the list of things I did wrong. Then, Jesus entered my life and now I’m a saint. Don’t you want to do this too? Or this: My life was terrible. Everything was wrong. Then Jesus appeared and now life is wonderful. Don’t you want to live this way too?

Are we missing something here? A few things strike me. First, this approach may not resonate at all with the person you are talking to. They may not perceive their life to be terrible or that they are sinners. Secondly, if you were blessed to be born on a church pew and started following Christ when you were 5, then your “testimony” just doesn’t seem to have much wow factor. Finally, what’s happened in your life since? Did Jesus just show up, wave his wand, make everything better for once and for all? Or has he continued to work in your life?

I’m all for conversion stories. If someone is sharing a powerful testimony of how God has pulled them out of a life of pain, I’m listening. If someone is talking about their struggle out of sex, drugs, and lies and how Jesus freed them in a moment of divine intervention, I’m there. But for many of us, we need to look at our whole story. Not just our conversion story. We need to look more comprehensively at stories of transformation. The conversion moment is always a story of transformation. But if we are growing in our faith, then Jesus is working miracles of transformation in our lives all the time, and those stories can be just as critical and compelling in our evangelism efforts as the moment we walked down the aisle or prayed the prayer.

We get to hear people tell stories of transformation in Scripture. In John 9:1-25, we get front row seats to watch Jesus heal a man that had been blind from birth. Talk about transformation. And when the Pharisees and religious leaders want to engage him in theological discourse, he simply responds, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!”

take a few moments and read the entire story of the blind man in John 9. Or Paul’s transformation story in Acts 22 and Acts 26. As you look at how others shared their stories of transformation in Scripture, ask yourself the following questions:

• What major events does the speaker focus on in each story?
• What major themes does the speaker focus on in each story?
• Is he telling his story or teaching doctrine?
• Is he outlining a systematic theology for salvation?
• Are there any common themes or threads running through all these stories?

Now, spend some time thinking about your own story with God. Think about more than just conversion; think about transformation. You may find the following questions helpful:

• How did you encounter Jesus? (or how did he encounter you?)
• What did Jesus do?
• How did you respond?
• What happened to you as a result?
• When in your life was God most real to you?

Stories of transformation will help us connect more with people and convey more fully the gospel message entrusted to us. Next week, we will talk about autobiography and give you more tools for digging through your life and identifying the ink from God’s pen.

Just wanted to let you know about this event happening Friday evening at Calvary Baptist in Chinatown.

Click Here for Info!

Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw have recently written a compelling book called Jesus for President- which explores the role of God’s people in a society, how to engage politics, etc. by examining biblical history as well as contemporary issues.
Shane and Chris will be reading excerpts from the book, accompanied by music, and conversation. I saw a dry run of this presentation last weekend at the P.A.P.A. fest and it was really good.
Whether you are excited or skeptical about Shane’s initiatives, I encourage you to go and check out what these guys have to say.

If you do attend, it would be great if you came back here and used the comments section to give some feedback and reactions.