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SALTi Groups
Brian Mashburn
August 24, 2014
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Transforming Environments
Make no mistake about it. The church that lives under the marching orders of her Founder Jesus is all about the transformation of people.
Can you imagine trying to make disciples of Jesus without being about transformation? Can you imagine being a disciple of Jesus without transforming? Yet...
So many churches do not bother themselves (or others) with transformation. Why?
Because it's hard. Real hard. Painful, even. Inconvenient. Sacrificial. Uncomfortable. And in our current culture, even offensive. We live in a world that exalts enabling and affirming everyone just as they are no matter what, even if it is hurting them or those around them.
In contrast to this, the Southwest church stands, Lord willing, as a beacon of light against that. "That thing we do" necessarily includes the transformation of people, and the world, into something better than the status quo.
And we refuse to accept that the desire for transformation into Christ's image is somehow intolerant, judgmental, or unloving. On the contrary, the Kingdom way of life is the best possible life, and the passive acceptance of anything less is what is unloving, maybe even cruel.
Just like Christ, we don't force transformation, rather we co-create transforming environments and then lovingly invite each other and the world into them, allowing the invitee's willingness and the Spirit of God to do the rest.
What does a transforming environment look like? We observe by looking at Jesus's ministry that it is a serving, adoring, learning, together, and inviting environment. What we call being "SALTi" around here.
We want every single person in a SALTi group as a matter of our faithfulness to the will of our King.