B.L.E.S.S Their Socks Off!
Ken Rice
I’ve had the privilege of working alongside several of our amazing pastoral staff on a special project for the last couple months. We were tasked with developing a plan to bring an Oikocentric strategy to every ministry throughout ECC. The room was filled with strategic minds, creative ideas, strong opinions, and tons of laughter. After ten or so meetings and hours of thought we landed on a strategy that just might get us there. The funny thing is, most of it was already available to us. Yes, that is correct, at the end of the day we landed on the idea that if we actually could implement the B.L.E.S.S. strategy at all levels of ministry we could infuse Oikocentric ministry at every level throughout the church. I wanted to take a moment to remind us all how easy living the B.L.E.S.S. life style is.
B – Believe in Prayer; this is simply believing in prayer for those in your Oikos. It is believing that God is hearing and will answer the cries of your heart for those who you are lifting up in prayer. It might be a coincidence but I’ve noticed that the more I prayer for those on my list by name the more divine opportunities seem to arise for me to interact with them. Funny how that works.
L – Listen; I think of listen in two ways. First, I believe if we are paying attention we will hear promptings from the Holy Spirit about people in our Oikos. It might be a prompting to pick up the phone and text them. It might be a prompting to go see them or to assist them in some way. Listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, I believe He wants to give you divine timing. Second, when you have the opportunity to sit and talk with someone in your Oikos make sure you have a posture of listening. Don’t be quick to give and answer or share your opinion. Take time to listen, this alone can be a huge blessing.
E – Eat; this is my favorite one! Simply put, make an effort to share a meal with those in your Oikos whenever possible. It’s amazing how well you get to know someone by simply sharing a meal with them.
S- Serve; when those calls come in looking for someone to help them move, don’t avoid it, embrace it. It is your chance to serve your Oikos. Seize it! Often you will have opportunities to help with child care, groceries, rides etc. You may even get calls to help someone with a particular skill set you have acquired over the years. These are great opportunities for us to show the practical love of Jesus in tangible ways to those in our Oikos.
S – Share your Story; prayerfully after you have prayed for, listened to, shared a meal with, and served those in your Oikos, you will be given the opportunity to share your story with them. Your story is your testimony. How you have come to trust in Jesus. Be ready, but don’t rush it. Timing is everything with this one, trust the Holy Spirit’s timing, when he says it’s time, step through that door and share your story with passion and confidence.
Could you imagine the influence ECC could have on our region for Christ if we all adopted this life style? We can! Evergreen, let’s B.L.E.S.S their socks off!