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Taking Stock of OCF - Part 7
Reaching
Out
Lieutenant General Bruce L. Fister, USAF (Ret.)
Executive Director, Officers' Christian Fellowship
>
available in PDF format
 This the seventh of a series of articles in
which I have addressed various aspects of our ministry. In this final article I
will focus on reaching out and bringing all military people and their families
(officers and enlisted) into the Kingdom and into OCF.
First, we must all understand the environment. To put us "all"
in the same ballpark, for a moment let me address those of us who aren't
postmodernists. There are postmodern thinkers of every age, but it is critical
to understand that younger troops are members of the "postmodern generation"
and most view the world with that mindset. To be effective in "planting" and
"watering" as we endeavor to introduce people to the Kingdom and to OCF, we
must understand a little about this postmodern mindset. To be sure, one of the
strengths of OCF is it spans the generations between the ages of 18 and 90. We
must minister from this strength, but remember that the future of our military
and OCF will always lie with the younger generation. Those who have been in OCF
for many years must see that investing spiritually in young people is their
most important responsibility.
To minister more effectively in our current military, let's
look at some changing paradigms. Pastor Kelly Williams of the Vanguard Church
in Colorado Springs describes this change of paradigms between the modern and
the postmodern generations. He says that the primary difference between the
modern generation and the postmodern generation involves the methods for
processing life. The modern generation processes life by using facts and
information. But the postmodern generation uses experiences and relationships
to process life. Let this sink in, the postmodern generation uses
experiences and relationships to make decisions. Whereas, the modern
generation uses information and analysis.1
This is a dramatic change in the way people "do" life. It may be
very unsettling to many of us. But the fact remains, this is the way our
younger people operate. While we may feel comfortable because our military uses
information and analysis to make decisions, we need to understand that
experiences and relationships will influence young military people more when it
comes to family, community, and spiritual decisions.
If experiences and relationships are major factors in the lives
of young military people, then how should young and old OCFers alike act in
obedience to our Lord toward "planting" and "watering" and bringing people into
OCF?
As Kelly Williams explains, people are looking for "real care,
real communication, and real connection." "Real care" will result in "real
respect" in the context of a "real relationship." "Real communication" will
result in "real connection," and "real connection" will result in "real
conflict" which leads to "real trust."2 Once there is "real trust," there can
be real dialogue about the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
During his life on earth, Jesus exhibited "real care, real
communication, and real connection." In the case of Matthew the tax collector,
Pharisees criticized our Lord for having dinner at Matthew's house with many
tax collectors and sinners. But, Jesus used a postmodern approach. He said, "It
is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. . . For I have not come to
call the righteous, but sinners." Jesus cared for and communicated with these
sinners who were excluded from the culture of the Pharisees. Yet, Jesus
connected; Matthew obeyed when Jesus' commanded him to follow.3 Jesus performed
his first miracle at a wedding feast where he changed water into wine. He cared
for the people and wanted them to continue to enjoy the celebration.4 When
Jesus fed the four thousand he said, "I have compassion for these people . .
."5 How better to connect than through this act of real care and the real
communication of love. The common denominator in these acts of care and
communication was that Jesus reached out to the people in their culture, where
they were, so He could connect with those who had open hearts.
Reaching out in a real sense is another paradigm shift between
the modern church and postmodern ministry. Jesus could have used an approach to
ministry where he preached to unbelievers, had unbelievers confess their
belief, had unbelievers repeat a prayer, and then He could have issued an
invitation for them to join a community of disciples (or to join the church).
This would have been a systematic approach where belief enabled belonging. But
Jesus invited unbelievers to belong before confession (as in Matthew's case).
He then developed relationships so unbelievers could express interest,
experience the Good News, and then participate in a community life of
discipleship followed by conversion and baptism. This was a natural approach
where belonging enabled believing.6
Jesus' examples illustrate that in order for us to do our part
in building the Kingdom and building the ministry, we must be part of the
culture and reach out to people where they are so they experience Jesus through
a relationship with us. We can't just invite people to confess Christ and join
our fellowship. If we really care about postmodern military people where
experience and relationships are more important than processing information,
then we must reach out and build relationships with people so they can
experience Jesus and then come into the Kingdom and into OCF.
It's exciting to see just how OCF is uniquely positioned for
this outreach. We are Christ's ambassadors in the profession of arms and this
enables us to develop relationships with our fellow Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen,
Marines and Coastguardsmen and their families. This is the strength of our
lay-led ministry and our integration of faith and profession. We are able to
connect with unbelievers through the profession of arms. This can lead to other
common interests with unbelievers that are centered around a hobby, social
activities or family.And through these relationships, people will see the
Gospel in us and want to learn more and be included in a fellowship so that
they can develop a real relationship with Jesus Christ.
There is much more we could say on the subject of reaching out
to extend God's Kingdom and bringing people into OCF, but let me end our series
with a few suggestions. Begin by intentionally seeking non-Christian friends.
This does not mean leaving your OCF fellowship base of support or compromising
biblical principles, but it does mean making an effort to develop a caring and
meaningful relationship with someone in your department, battalion, squadron,
or neighborhood. .It may mean a back yard barbeque just to build a
relationship. It may mean holding meetings on neutral ground like Starbucks,
the mess tent or the ship's galley before inviting a sojourner into your
fellowship at its normal location. And once a sojourner or new Christian comes
to your normal fellowship meeting, it may mean altering the way you study,
explain Scripture, or pray so you meet that new person at a level that where he
or she feels comfortable and welcome. It does not mean watering down the
Gospel.
I hope that this article on reaching out in a postmodern
environment is a fitting ending for our discussions on "Why we are in
ministry." We could talk much more about using our lives as a means of
"planting" and "watering," and bringing in more workers who will labor for the
harvest. But I urge both young and old OCFers alike to consider this series and
reach out to "exercise biblical leadership and raise up a godly military."
Contributing editors:
Lt. Col. Steve Wade, USAF, Retired, OCF Field Staff
Representative, United States Air Force Academy
Lt. Col. Chris Braddy,
USMC, Retired, OCF Field Staff Representative, USMC Base, Quantico
1Willaims, Kelly; Senior Pastor, Vanguard Church, Colorado
Springs, CO, Fellowship of Christian Military Ministries conference, March 10,
2005.
2 Ibid, Williams.
3 Matt. 9:9-13, NIV
4 Jn. 2:1-11, NIV
5
Matt. 15:32. NIV
6 Halter, Hugh and Smay, Matt; Christian Resource
Management; Zero Orientation Seminar, Grace Chapel, Mar 12, 2005. |
