Velvet Elvis

I just finished the book Velvet Elvis. I liked it. I'd heard a lot of it before in the teachings I've downloaded from Mars Hill, but there was enough new stuff to make it worth reading. I think maybe I just read it too quickly for much of it to sink in, but one of the biggest concepts that came through to me was the idea of how the church is supposed to impact the world around it:

..the most powerful things happen when the church surrenders its desire to convert people and convince them to join. It is when the church gives itself away in radical acts of service and compassion, expecting nothing in return, that the way of Jesus is most vividly put on display...

Oftentimes the Christian community has sent the message that we love people and build relationships in order to convert them to the Christian faith. So there is an agenda. And when there is an agenda, it isn't really love, is it? It's something else. We have to rediscover love, period. Love that loves because it is what Jesus called us to do. We have to surrender our agendas. Because some people aren't going to become Christians like us no matter how hard we push. They just aren't. And at some point we have to commit them to God, trusting that God loves them more than we ever could.

I've done the second way and I'm learning how to do the first - loving people just because and watching what happens. Amazing results.

Tags: Velvet Elvis, Rob Bell, Faith, Church