Here in the Detroit Metro area, over 500 like-minded churches as well as many para-church organizations are cooperating in the “EACH” campaign during the Spring of 2011. The EACH campaign will attempt, within the 40 days after Easter, to give Everyone A Chance to Hear the gospel in the Metro Detroit area. Now, there are going to be billboards, bus sides, advertisements, shirts, mugs, hats and all the accouterments of a Big Media campaign. There have been and will be more events, service to the community, compassion initiatives, and practical helps. But the reality of giving everyone a chance to hear is that it will most effectively be done as people have one-on-one conversations with others they already know. All the media stuff is merely a tool to facilitate those conversations.
As we chat with those we know about the Greatest Story Ever Told – the true story of Jesus Christ, we need to tell the Second greatest story: our own story. To help us do that, we have all been encouraged to thoughtfully consider our “two word story.” The idea is to use the same word with different punctuation. The first use of the word is with a question mark which will describe the uncertainty and need one had before coming to Jesus. The second use of the word uses a mere period to describe the certainty of that need being met in Christ.
My two-word-story is: "Confident? Confident."
When I was growing up, I had a crises in confidence. Sure, we all did at that age, but I was particularly sensitive. As goofy as everyone else was around me, I was even goofier. I was clueless about life and how it worked – everyone else seemed to “get it” and was able to operate with much greater confidence. I was the poster-child for a “Loser.” But one evening I listened to a speaker at my church talk about confidence. Later I was able to chat with him and he asked me about my confidence in my relationship with God, the ultimate judge. I thought I might be “good enough,” but he pointed out from the Bible that really was not true. The only confidence I could have would be through Jesus. That made a great deal of sense to me. So I prayed to receive Jesus to overcome my sin and to guide me in my life.
From that time, my life – to be simple – just got better. My newly discovered confidence in Jesus allowed me to be confident in the other, less-important, areas of my life. I discovered not only a new hope based on the forgiveness of my sin; but also a new life of purpose, meaning, and guidance as I more closely followed Jesus; as well as a new community of care and friendship of other followers of Christ.
And that’s my two-word-story.
