Home Assignment has been a huge stretch this time around for us. However, in the midst of all, to be able to choose intentionality in the desire daily to listen for the Father's voice, to be tethered to the unchanging Word of God, and to choose to obey His beckoning really knows no context bounds.
Tex Mex was on the menu this particular day. Not really. Model-Assist-Watch-Letter/love/Coach (MAWL), that seemed to be what the Father had on the lunch menu as I sat across from a missions committee member from one of our partnering fellowships.
Our waitress strolled up to take our order, when God called attention to her tatted neck.
I asked her name, she replied. Then I introduced my friend and I as "followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, which I have no way to know what this means to you and your life experience. However, I do know that you have placed a signpost on your neck, of which must have great personal meaning to your own life. Can you share with us the story behind your tattoo? We would be honored to hear."
She gushed forth the significance of her signpost. To which I felt led to mention, "You have honored your mother by placing her birthdate on your skin. What you may not realize is that you have touched on the desire of God to honor one's parents." She teared up. I furthered, "May we ask you one question further, knowing that you have other tables to tend? If you could see God do one thing that would be amazing in your life, what would that one thing be and why?" She shared that her life is hugely difficult, and that she needed encouragement for all the hard things.
We listened to her this day. We prayed with her for God to meet her in these painful places, and left a big tip. In Disciple Making Movements, the next step is to offer to gather with others to hear from God's heart on these life issues. She declined. We trust the Holy Spirit to move her and her "household" in a plus 1 direction. To offer a Discovery Bible Study in context relevant terms is always an exercise in Holy Spirit dependence. Every effective tool must have the on-ramp to offer to discover the reality of who God is in real time in real ways, no matter the context; Muslim, Buddhist, Secular, Hindu, Animist.
When looking for Persons of Peace, there is the "on mission" intentional going and there is the lifestyle intentionality in "as you are going".
"I have never been able to know how to have spiritual conversations with others. I have done works which I want to show the kindness of the Lord, but not the combination of acts of works and statements which enter into spiritual conversations and an offer to discover more of who God is. There was freedom in what was shared. There was caring for the waitress' life, there was a spiritual discussion which made clear about Jesus. I have not seen this...I think I need to reconsider my assumptions and be trained in what I witnessed today," reflected the missions committee representative.
Though it can said that delicious Tex-Mex cuisine was enjoyed that day, it can also be said that to choose to pay attention to how the Spirit is leading, to be available for the Holy Spirit's bidding, and to live a Shema lifestyle was served up unto the Lord. A Shema lifestyle of "as you are going", as well as a Shema lifestyle of "when you are going on-mission" is a beautiful DNA-ed norm in a movement mindset. To Model-Assist-Watch-Letter/Love/Coach (MAWL) is as norm in the Disciple Making Movement mindset as Chips and Salsa are to Tex-Mex.