From Mack Stiles book Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living and Speaking the Gospel.
On the eve of his death Jesus said, “A new command I give you: Love one another” (John 13:34). This is by far the most important command for healthy evangelism. We are to love the church. . . .
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34–35). . . .
16 Ways to Demonstrate Love and Unity in the Church
- Attend a church that takes the gospel seriously (Hebrews 10:25). Treat form as secondary, the gospel as primary. . . .
- Become an actual member of a church. I’m serious; membership shows your loving commitment to one another. . . . And just think, the less cool the church the more opportunity to demonstrate real love!
- Read C. J. Mahaney’s book Humility
once a year. . . . Mahaney gives us practical tools for demonstrating love and unity in the context of community.
- Turn down jobs that might take you away from church even if they pay more.
- Arrange family vacations around your church’s schedule. Or better yet, take your family on a short-term mission trip with other members instead of a family vacation. This will blow people’s minds.
- If your church doesn’t have a church covenant, think about developing one that expresses your love for each other.
- Move to a house closer to the church and use your house as a place of hospitality (Romans 12:13).
- Practice church discipline. . . .
- Respect, even revere, the authority in the church (1 Thessalonians 5:12–13).
- Turn heads—really practice the biblical teachings of giving and receiving forgiveness. . . .
- Take care of people who are in need physically in your congregation (Romans 12:13).
- Pray for each other (Ephesians 6:18). Don’t just say you’ll pray. Actually put into place some ways to pray for each and every member.
- Sympathize with other believers (Romans 12:15). Check a critical spirit.
- Focus on caring for one another spiritually by discipling one another (Galatians 6:1–2). . . .
- Share your faith together (Philippians 1:27). . . .
- Read Mark Dever’s 9 Marks of a Healthy Church.
. . . [T]his kind of radical love leads to radical evangelism.
To be a healthy evangelist means to love brothers and sisters.
HT: Andy Naselli
