Explode or Implode?
Last week we looked at John 17:15-18 and saw that Jesus has SENT you and me on a mission. He “sent us into the world” as the Father “sent Him into the world.” YOU… have been sent. The question we asked is “are you willing to show up for the mission?” That’s when God helps you see where He’s “sent” you in the world around you so you can 1) Dive into relationships with people 2) Share the truth and love of God with others and 3) Share the message of salvation and peace with God through faith in Jesus.
This video is of Lecrae talking to a group of middle and high schoolers – people YOUR age! And he’s talking about being SENT. He makes some good points. There are two that I want us to discuss together online these next few weeks (i.e. type up a response after you read this… seriously.)
1.He says that Christians have a tendency to “click up” and forget about the dying world around us. (Definition: To “click up” means to only hang out with only Christian people at Christian places and forget about lost people).
2. He says that when we do this we as Christians “implode”(bad) instead of “explode”(good) (Definitions: To implode means to turn “collapse inwardly”… To explode means to “expand outwardly with force”
Answer at least one of the following questions or one posted by another student:
1. Do you agree or disagree with Lecrae’s 2 points? Why or why not?
2. What are some things we can do as families, churches, youth groups to keep from always “clicking up” and remember the lost (people without Jesus)? Try to give an example.
3. Dream for a minute… If our youth group or your group of Christian friends was to explode with the good news of Jesus… what could that look like? How does that excite you?
4. Post your own question.
Let’s get some good conversations going!!!
August 19th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
It’s just like our sunday morning lessons!
August 22nd, 2010 at 9:01 am
I think the implode and explode terms are dead on. I also think there is another area that becomes an issue in the church. Some times we fill up and stagnate. St. Giles youth has been great at accepting those who are new to the group from my observations. However, sometimes we just let whoever comes be are only outreach. We don’t close down and implode, we just are not active in inviting new people and friends (exploding). I would encourage each person in the group to invite one new person to the youth group every month to start exploding into our community.
August 28th, 2010 at 6:18 pm
Lecrae is the man. Here are my thoughts.
1. To keep from cliquing up with only Christians, we need to do like Nate Atwood preached about a month ago, and look for the “1 lost” person around us, instead of focusing on the “99 saved”. Where do we know lost people? For me, the main places are at work and in our neighbhorhood. I need to be intentional about building relationships with those people and looking for chances to serve these people and spend more time with them.
2. I think the “implode”/”explode” question is all about what Steve Keller was talking about in becoming a “missional” church. Missional is not about people coming to us in church (although that can be a good thing), it’s about us going to people. So “exploding” with the Gospel (for my wife and I), would mean us really getting to know people in our neighborhood, having them over for dinner, playing soccer with them, helping people move, maybe starting a Bible study there. Maybe they’ll come to church one day, but the most natural way to bring the Gospel to them is to serve them right where we are.