I’ve been reading through a very challenging book called “Planting Missional Churches” by Ed Stetzer.  I’m almost through it, and I recommend you read it – whether you feel like a church planter or not.  Stetzer challenges his readers to be “missional”.

This idea certainly isn’t new.  Before Jesus ascends into heaven after his resurrection, he tells his disciples to “Go and make disciples of all nations.” (Matt. 28:19).  He is basically saying that we should be missionaries.  Growing up, our local church always sponsored and sent out missionaries.  I remember a couple of them distinctly – one missionary family was in South America, and another missionary was in Africa.  I have a Great Uncle and Aunt that served as missionaries in Japan.  When I hear the word “missionary”, I think about somebody going somewhere very, very far away.

I am re-thinking what it means to be a missionary.  The mission field isn’t, and shouldn’t be, another continent.  The mission field is whatever ground we are standing on.  It is so important that we understand this concept if we are to be called disciples of Christ.

So, I am trying to understand what it means to be a missionary in my own neighborhood.  I’d like to encourage you to do the same.

I really don’t get into politics.  I never have.  But let me tell you why I love Barack Obama…

Because I am a follower of Christ.  Jesus talked a lot about how to live, but when it all boils down, one thing remains, and that is love (1 Corinthians 13:13).  The scriptures are full of how to treat people, and they all resound around one thing – Love.

You might notice that the title of this post is a play on something that has come to light in the news recently – a pastor from Arizona preached a sermon titled “Why I Hate Barack Obama”.  Now, like I said, I really don’t mess around too much with politics, and as a result I’d say that I am usually not as well educated on current issues as I should be, but I have heard a lot of people criticizing our President and his administration.  Not only that, but I have heard a lot of people in church circles criticizing, and more often than not, the tone I have heard is dangerously close to hate.  Now, you or I may not agree with everything our president stands for, but as followers of Christ, we should be known for one thing above all other things – love.

I suppose this post is just a reminder to all of us out there who call ourselves Christians – let us be known by love.  I’m not saying you have to agree with everything, or that you should agree with everything, but please – love.

On a side note, here is an interesting observation.  Obama’s campaign was built on the idea of change.  As a nation, we rallied behind it, and as president, he is attempting to effect change.  What is the result?  America is going nuts.  Parents don’t even want their children to listen to a Presidential address – which, by the way, was a very, very good message to the youth of our nation.  People bring weapons to public town hall meetings.  Our president is essentially doing what he said he would do – change – and he is getting raked over the coals for it.  I say this:  It is easy to stand and point at something that we feel is wrong.  It is much harder to stand up and do something about it.  In my opinion, our current administration is doing just that – they are trying to create the best America that they can, and for that, I respect them.

Finally, I like that our president can do pull-ups.

In Luke chapter 7, a prostitute washes Jesus’s feet with a vial of perfume and her hair. She does this in front of a room full of religious leaders and churchgoers. When Christ is challenged, he defends the prostitute.

We live in a world where we feel we cannot open up to people about our sin. We feel like we have to make our lives clean before we can come to God, church, or each other. The prostitute poured the symbol of her life of sin on Jesus’s feet, and we can do the same with our sin.