Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

100 • P LANTING C HURCHES AMONG THE C ITY ’ S P OOR : V OLUME 1

Luke 4.18-19 – The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.

Luke 6.20 – Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.”

C. “Working with the grain of the universe.”

Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder speaks about following the commands of the New Testament even when it runs counter to popular wisdom or does not appear on the surface to be achieving the results that we expect or desire. Yoder speaks about seeing the bigger picture behind the day-to-day battles and failures. He says that when we take the teachings of the New Testament seriously, we are “working with the grain of the universe.”

~ Stanley Hauerwas. “Remembering John Howard Yoder.” December 29, 1927-December 30, 1997. First Things 82 (April 1998): p. 15-16.

When your teams take the Gospel to the poor that is exactly what they are doing. They are “working with the grain of the universe.” Your fields are receptive, they are “ripe for harvest.”

Key Team Leader Virtue: Open thankfulness that the team’s mission is in a spiritually receptive field.

II. Is Our Team’s Mission to the Poor Rooted in Our Understanding of Jesus?

We are not in mission on our own initiative, rather we are ambassadors who act and speaks as those representing someone else. Our mission is simply the continuation of Jesus’ mission. Or to put it another way, Jesus’ example and teaching are the standard for evaluating our claims to know and represent God’s message. John 14.23-24 – Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.”