Missional Living

My palms were sweating, my knees were shaking and my throat was drying up. I was terrified! I hid my hands under the table so that everyone would not notice my nervousness. This is NOT the place to do this, I said to God and to myself. Nobody wants me to talk about this now! Why was I so worked up? What was making my hands sweat and my knees shake? The answer can be summoned up in two words... missional living.

Missional living can be defined as living your life in such a way that you take every opportunity God brings your way, in order to form relationships and share your faith with individuals who do not know Jesus Christ.

I did not coin the term "missional living" nor would I have even begun to think like this if it had not been for my professor at Seminary. Let me start at the beginning. This semester I am enrolled in an Evangelism class at Seminary. My professor is teaching me to not just be concerned about sharing my faith one day a week but rather that I live missionally, meaning, that I take every opportunity, no matter where I am to engage people with the message and hope of the Gospel.

This is why on Saturday night I found myself sitting at a table in Longhorn Steakhouse, with my palms sweating, my knees shaking and my throat drying up. Before leaving the house that night I had told Julia that we were going to begin living missionally and we were going to do this by asking our waiter how we could pray for him or her. I figured our waiter would be a high school teenie boper and this would be a piece of cake, however, God had different plans. Our waiter was not a tiny high school girl but rather a grown man with earrings and bulging biceps, (at least that's what I thought he looked like), needless to say I was intimidated. The first time he came by the table we made small talk, but I remained silent about the Gospel. When he took our order, I again remained silent about the Gospel. I told myself and God that I would ask him as soon as he brought out the food. I began to motivate myself and prepare myself to ask him "THE QUESTION!" However, our waiter was not the one to bring us out our food and I was bummed.

I thought O, NO! I've missed my chance. Julia and I said grace a little discouraged, however, after saying amen...our waiter came back to fill up our waters, I thought now is the time. The waiter asked us if we needed anything else, and I told him, yes, is there anything that you would like us to pray for? He was floored. He stammered and stuttered. He had never been asked this question before. No one had ever cared enough to pray for this man. Eventually he began to share with Julia and I about his struggle to make rent every month and how he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to pay the bills for the month of January. After he told us his story, Julia and I took the time to pray for him and encourage him.

Julia and I left the restaurant that night, encouraged. We had planted a seed! Who knows what God is going to do in the life of our waiter. My professor says, "Every conversation is a ministry opportunity."  Remember, as you are out doing your thing, living your life, stop. Look. Listen. You may have just a few minutes to advance God's movement in this world, to start a conversation that could lead to eternal change.

Never see going to a restaurant or going to the mall, or even going to work as just a routine. See it as a chance to touch one life for Christ.  Stop and look.