I ran across this article by Jonathan Dodson that offers some great, practical ideas on how to be purposeful about interacting with non-Christians and sharing life with them. Mostly I think they're great ideas because at one time or another I've done them all and know their value from personal experience. You can find the original article here. But for everyone else, here's the list...

1. Eat with Non-Christians. We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations (Mighty Fine Burgers, Buca di Peppo, The Blue Dahlia, etc). Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture.
2. Walk, Don’t Drive. If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox, convenience store, or apartment office, walk to get mail, groceries, and stuff. Be deliberate in your walk. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog, taking a 6-pack (and share), bringing the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Last night I spend an hour outside gardening with my family. We had good conversations with 3-4 neighbors. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage. Pray as you go. Save some gas, the planet.
3. Be a Regular. Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places. Get to know the staff. Go to the same places at the same times. Smile. Ask questions. Be a regular. I have friends at coffee shops all over the city. My friends at Starbucks donate a ton of left over pastries to our church 2-3 times a week. We use for church gatherings and occasionally give to the homeless. Build relationships. Be a Regular.
4. Hobby with Non-Christians. Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try City League sports. Local rowing and cycling teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons. Teach sewing lessons, piano lessons, violin, guitar, knitting, tennis lessons. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be yourself.
5. Talk to Your Co-workers. How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form mom’s groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively non-Christian. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work on mission.
6. Volunteer with Non-Profits. Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take Saturday a month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your small group. Spend time with your church serving your city. Once a month. You can do it!
7. Participate in City Events. Instead of playing X-Box, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, clean-ups, summer shows, and concerts. Participate missionally. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.
8. Serve your Neighbors. Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, fixing a car. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local Police and Fire Stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative. Just serve!

This summer my parents are putting together a team to work with His Promise Ministries in Arandis, Namibia. So I decided to join them before my fall semester starts up again next August. We will most likely be working with the orphans and vulnerable children supported by HPM and the ministry's school, Talitha-Kumi Christian Academy. We will also partner with Pastor Tresford and Fabiola Banda and their church, Arandis Christian Center, in the ministries they are involved with. If you're interested in learning more about the team or perhaps even joining us, check out our team blogsite at Nam2010.blogspot.com. Seriously, if you're interested in going, there are spots available. You don't even have to be from Raleigh to go; we'll work it out! There'll be updates to the blogsite building up to and during the trip as usual. Hope you'll follow along with us either in person or online!

I went to a new church today called Nexus. It was a pretty cool, inner-city church in Uptown Charlotte (for some strange reason they call their downtown "Uptown"...southerners). The pastor is a missionary to America from Zimbabwe so again, very cool accent. In his sermon today he brought up some very interesting points about the divergance our culture has made between work and play. It made me think about the overwhelming priority we've placed on recreation. It seems like the only reason people work is so that they can go on vacation or save up money for retirement when they won't have to work. We're always trying to get out of work. Just think of how often we're encouraged to take a sick day or a long lunch. Adventure trips and once-in-a-lifetime experiences are now a dime a dozen. They tell us to "Sieze the day" and "Grab life by the horns."

But take a look at the apostles. Those guys were tireless in their work. Everywhere they went they were sharing Jesus with people. And the church fathers, some of those guys we'd call crazy for the amount of time they put into praying over their ministry. How about David Brainerd who wrote in his journal on his 24th birthday, "I want to wear out my life in His service and for His glory." And he did just that ministering to the Native Americans until it cost him his life just five years later. But above all, it was Jesus who said, "My nourishment comes from doing the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work."

It's not often that books make me cry, but I closed this one with tears running down my cheeks. Not because he dies - I knew he died - but because I long to live my life with such passion and purpose. People don't get biographies written about them just because of how they died, but because of how they lived. Jim Elliot wasn't just martyred trying to take the gospel to a violent jungle tribe who had never heard it. He lived with a passion to share the gospel with everyone he possibly could, especially those who had never heard it. That passion, that purpose, met it's fulfillment when he willingly gave up his life pursuing the mission of his Creator. His martyrdom was the natural overflow of the life he lived. In youth group last spring, I told the teenagers perhaps the reason we're not persecuted for being Christians in America is that we're not being very good Christians. Perhaps if we took our mission a little more seriously, like Jim Elliot did, then maybe our opposition would take us a little more seriously. As it is, our comfortable, self-centered culture has lulled us into a tolerant silence so we can no longer tell the difference between Christ and the world. I wish we would stop living such a me-centered non-Christianity. I wish we would read more biographies of people who radically dedicated their lives to the mission of sharing the gospel. And naturally, we starting with me. I highly recommend this book. Prepare to be challenged and inspired. Pick it up. Seriously.