Go and Make Friends

Ok, that title is not a great translation for the Great Commission. But, it might as well be. I have a simple strategy for fulfilling it. Leverage your interests to make friends. Leverage your friendships to make disciples.  That's what Jesus did, it seems to me. Besides, if your life isn't authentically impacted by the Gospel enough to impact your friends, then you don't have much hope of authentically impacting someone else. Maybe you should just stay in the house.

Do What You Gotta Do

One of my biggest values is that people should only do what they are gifted to do. There are a bunch of good books about this. StrengthsFinder 2.0, Now Discover Your Strengths, Go Put Your Strengths to Work, Living the Uncommon Life, and of course the Bible.

The goal of life, it seems to me, is to consistently encounter God personally and for other people to encounter God through the expressions of our giftedness.

For me that is pretty obvious. I am gifted in studying the Bible, figuring out what it means, then explaining that to other people in a way that impacts their life. I know. I know. The connection to how a person might encounter God in the "expression of my giftedness" is obvious for that one. But, God wants to use your unique gifts to cause people to meet Jesus too.

The song writer writes a song to communicate his heart.
The artist creates a work to express His love.
The cook makes a meal that creates community around a kitchen table.
The carpenter creates the most beautiful structures. They give him respect. The respect gives him influence.

There are few statements that reflect the deep core of my beliefs like, "The goal of life is to consistently encounter God personally and for other people to encounter God through the expressions of our giftedness."