In a nutshell

Question

Sometimes in church discussions when lots of words are used to talk about our ‘vision’, ‘values’ and ‘mission’, someone asks the salient question:

“In a nutshell, what as a church are you on about?”

Answer

Boiled down to the basics, here is an answer:

“Being there for others.”

This isn’t an original statement. Writing some letters and papers from prison, the German Christian, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, coined this phrase that Jesus is “being there for others” and therefore, this is what his followers must be on about.

Others

The word ‘others’ was often on the lips of Jesus. Once when Jesus could have felt smug and satisfied about the many he had encountered, he used the word ‘other’ to express his compassion for those he had not yet been able to meet and offer care.

General William Booth, the founder and leader of the Salvation Army, was asked to address many meetings and events. On one occasion, when he was invited to attend an international conference, he expressed his apology in the one word, ‘Others’.

Being there

Often effective living is described and defined by all the things that we do. The phrase, ‘being there for others’ helps us to remember that our being is usually more significant than our doing.

Geoff Pound

geoffpound@gmail.com

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash