God has buckets full of grace to pour out on us - but we have to be standing where the downpour is occurring. And that place is where He has designed for us to fit.

[On the fivefold ministries in Ephesians 4] We are not all called to be pastors, but we are all called to care. We are not all called to be teachers, but we are all called to hold out the Truth. We are all responsible for learning how to listen to God's voice, something that comes more naturally for the prophet. We are all called to share the Good News with others, but this takes all those who are not called to be evangelists out of their comfort zones. And we are not all apostolic, but we must learn to walk into what God calls us to do.

Many churches split, not because of theology, but because they don't understand the interplay between pioneers and settlers. In some churches, the pioneers are driven away by settlers who do not want to explore anything new. In others there is pain caused by pioneers who are not patient enough to wait for settlers to catch up with them. There needs to be a mutual respect and acceptance, for without both pioneers and settlers the Kingdom will not grow.

One of the Kingdom tasks assigned to God's people is to rebuild human community wherever we can.

Christ didn't run after the Rich Young Ruler because he knew the young man's heart wasn't ready. Jesus knew and let him walk. Jesus never ran after anyone. Instead, he made himself available to those willing to wholeheartedly seek the Way to God, the Truth about God, and the Life found in God. ~ Michael Simpson, Permission Evangelism

A Person of Peace is one who is prepared to hear the message of the Kingdom and the King. He is ready to receive what God will give you to say at that moment. This should be our prayer as we venture forth each day. "Lord, bring into my path today a Person of Peace, and give me the grace to speak your words to this person."

No amount of coercion on our part can make someone become a Person of Peace. This is the job of the Holy Spirit; He alone can prepare a heart to hear the Gospel. ... Our main job is to walk through life with our eyes open and our ears listening to the Spirit as He reveals to us the Person of Peace He has prepared.

This really is exciting news. Even in the most important task we have been given, the assignment to go and make disciples, God does most of the work.

Our outward relationships are not just to be occasional outreach projects or evangelism programs. We are to live a lifestyle of mission, evangelism, & service.