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5 Mobilization Lessons from a Couple of Guys Named Phil<\/h2>\n5 Mobilization Lessons from a Couple of Guys Named Phil<\/h2>\nBy Shane Bennett<\/p>\n
Way too recently I realized the Apostle Philip<\/a> was not the guy who took a carriage ride with the Ethiopian eunuch<\/a>. Turns out there are two Philips! One is an Apostle, and the other a deacon and evangelist. Both have cameos in the beginning of the New Testament, though, and a quick look at their lives reveals some valuable lessons for mission mobilizers.<\/p>\n John gets Philip the Apostle\u2019s story rolling in chapter one of his Gospel. He says two really cool things: \u201cJesus decided to leave for Galilee,\u201d and \u201cFinding Philip, he said to him, \u2018Follow me\u2019\u201d (John 1:43).<\/p>\n I can still remember being in college and reading a mission book or article about this idea. It had a picture of Jesus with a backpack, looking over his shoulder, making a little \u201ccome along\u201d gesture with his hand. The caption said something like, \u201cJesus is on his way to the nations and he\u2019s inviting us to come with him!\u201d<\/p>\n Campy? Yes. Effective? Yes, for me, at least!<\/p>\n I love it that Jesus decided to go to Galilee: to the hard places. To the overlooked people. And having decided such, he invited Philip to join him. This must have been a little tough on the boy. On one hand, \u201cJesus picked me!\u201d On the other hand, \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure I promised Mom I wouldn\u2019t go to places like that!\u201d Apparently the invitation won out.<\/p>\n There is something powerful about a personal invitation. [click to tweet<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n Jesus said to Philip, as he says to us today, \u201cI\u2019m going to the nations and I\u2019d like you to come with me.\u201d You and I are invited by the risen Son of God to participate in the blessings of God being pressed into every nook and cranny on the planet, being planted within every family. Can you even imagine that?<\/p>\n Sometimes we wonder about our part in it, though, don\u2019t we? \u201cI don\u2019t measure up.\u201d \u201cMaybe God doesn\u2019t use people like me.\u201d \u201cMaybe I\u2019m just making all this up in my head.\u201d This is why you should never take a short-term mission team of twelve people, by the way: Each person will at some point think they\u2019re the Judas in the group! You\u2019re better off leaving someone at home or conscripting someone at the airport!<\/p>\n Take heart. God has in mind to use you in ways that are stunning and glorious for his name. He\u2019s your dad, he loves you, and he\u2019s quite pleased to have you working at his side. [click to tweet<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n One last thought. These are good days to be called. Seriously! If you\u2019re going to follow Jesus, why not do it during times in which it really matters? When we see the disconcerting rise of nationalism, in the midst of an unprecedented refugee crisis, and when migration has brought the ends of the earth to the end of your street, you and Jesus might not need a backpack but be fine with an iPhone and a Clif Bar<\/a>!<\/p>\n I\u2019m telling you, these are good days to be a Christian. We have a message to bring. We have power that needs to be unleashed into the world, unleashed with humility, winsomeness, and the very love of Jesus.<\/p>\n Philip said yes to Jesus (probably the lesson from his life that we need the most). Immediately he went to get Nathanael. I wonder if there was a little bit of, \u201cNo way I\u2019m going to Galilee without backup, Bro. You need to come with me!\u201d At any rate, Philip\u2019s response to this crazy-great invitation was to grab a bud to go along. I love that!<\/p>\n When Nate expresses some doubts about whether this guy could be the guy, Philip simply and brilliantly responds, \u201cCome and see<\/a>\u201d (John 1:46).<\/p>\n That\u2019s the ticket, my mobilizing friends: asking our friends to come and see.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why I say to people, \u201cCome and see what God is doing among Muslim refugees in Sicily<\/a>.\u201d That\u2019s why I invite people to sign up for my weekly email, Muslim Connect<\/a>, to see how normal Christians can practically engage with these huge issues and the normal individuals caught up in them. That\u2019s why I invite people to consider the hard places and overlooked people<\/a>.<\/p>\n Look around in your sphere of influence. Who\u2019s waiting for you to say, \u201cCome and see\u201d?<\/p>\n At this point in the story, the music goes all minor and foreboding. Philip, who started so well, falters at two key points.<\/p>\n We read<\/a>, \u201cWhen Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, \u2018Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?\u2019 He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, \u2018It would take more than half a year\u2019s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!\u2019\u201d (John 6:5-7).<\/p>\n It was a test and Philip failed! Give him an F- for the cheeky hyperbole, \u201c\u2026for everyone to have a bite!\u201d Apparently Philip had a hard time understanding what Jesus could do. I\u2019m glad I never struggle with that. It must be hard and sad. Poor Philip.<\/p>\n Actually, I wonder how many tests like this I fail, too. Happily, the canon is closed; John is not taking notes on my life!<\/p>\n Later, and more poignantly, we read that Philip said<\/a>, \u201cLord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.\u201d Jesus answered: \u201cDon\u2019t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, \u2018Show us the Father\u2019? Don\u2019t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me?\u201d (John 14:8-10).<\/p>\n Not only did Philip not understand what Jesus could do, he didn\u2019t understand who he was. This seems to have been for Jesus a preview of the pain of the cross.<\/p>\n If Philip, walking with Jesus as he did, had such a hard time seeing clearly, what hope do we have? He failed the test, ate a hearty dinner, and then stumbled again! If my life heretofore is any indication, I\u2019m going to stumble. You, too? We\u2019re going to stumble.<\/p>\n I remember sitting in the living room of a Muslim neighbor in our town in England. As he shared his conviction that we\u2019re all fine because we\u2019re all finding our own way to God, I found myself nodding in assent! As if from outside my body looking on, part of my brain was shouting, \u201cDon\u2019t nod! You don\u2019t believe that!\u201d But I did. The conversation moved on; I drank my coffee and left. Stumbled. Big time.<\/p>\n Please remember: to stumble does not equal disqualification. An older, wiser John writes<\/a>, \u201cMy dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father\u2014Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world\u201d (1 John 2:1-2).<\/p>\n There is no mess too big for God. The trick is to get back up when you stumble. Don\u2019t lay in your filth! God\u2019s work to redeem all things includes you. [click to tweet<\/a>]<\/em><\/p>\n And should your friends stumble, help them up, lending a hand as someone who has stumbled or may likely stumble in a similar way.<\/p>\n Watch for the second part of this article. We\u2019ll shift to Philip the Evangelist and watch as he responds to Jesus\u2019s call, literally in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.<\/p>\n \u00bb Comment on our website<\/a> or Facebook page<\/a> or email Shane<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 5 Mobilization Lessons from a Couple of Guys Named Phil By Shane Bennett Way too recently I realized the Apostle Philip was not the guy who took a carriage ride with the Ethiopian eunuch. Turns out there are two Philips! One is an Apostle, and the other a deacon and evangelist. Both have cameos in … Continue reading Practical Mobilization<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-practical-mobilization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7074","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7074"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7074\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7077,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7074\/revisions\/7077"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7074"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7074"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7074"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Called to go with Jesus<\/h3>\n
2. Encouraged to bring friends along<\/h3>\n
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3. Not disqualified for stumbling<\/h3>\n