The Importance of 'Seeing'

“And when [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, He wept over it.” 
—Luke 19:41

This writing is not sponsored by Porch Light Coffeehouse, but it is the space that I fill as I think of the mission of the church. This is a mission for every person in the church and this mission is all about Jesus. I find myself remembering that this is a Jesus who died, who rose, and who also wept. This weeping in Luke 19:41 is not a sniffle, but an audible grief that may have made us uncomfortable and cause us to wonder what deep pain Jesus is enduring. To find the origin of that pain, all we have to do is read the words, he “saw the city.” Jesus SAW. Jesus saw the CITY. Jesus saw the city that didn’t know him and wouldn’t receive the peace he was bringing. 

I recently spent time with a church planter who spoke about an opportunity to pray with a man whose father recently died. The father was a neighbor to the church planter. And when the church planter prayed with this man who has no faith and now, no father, the result was weeping. I believe these tears were the result of the man being seen and loved by the church planter. The man wept, but so did the church planter. He wept for this man and his neighborhood. I believe these tears were the result of the church planter seeing and loving a city as Jesus saw and loved.

I share this because I believe it’s a beautiful testimony and picture of what mission looks like and must look like in our region. This missional posture and presence in a community is needed because I can’t help but wonder: What happens when our church spaces are not places for people who don’t know Jesus, have not received God’s peace, and simply have no faith? No matter how hyped our hospitality practices are within the church, those practices do not engage the mission of the church—nor do they engage those who are present outside the church. 

So today, sitting in the Porch Light Coffeehouse, I don’t have “5 steps for you to be missional as a church,” but I do encourage you to do five things which are needed for us to start being missional.

1. Grab a cup of coffee, tea, or cider (something warm because it's getting chillier out there for a lot of us).
2. Sit on your porch or front step.
3. Take time to SEE your neighbors and neighborhood.
4. WEEP for what’s broken.
5. PRAY. Pray for restoration. Pray that the Lord of the harvest will send out workers. Pray that people in your neighborhood will be seen, known and loved. 

Now two brief warnings, that are not meant to scare but prepare. First, be ready to be the “worker” who is sent. Second, be vulnerable enough to pray and weep with people in your neighborhood. 

Brad Meinders is Resonate’s Regional Mission Leader for the Central United States region. Want to talk about mission? Send Brad an email [email protected]