Excerpt:

In what ways does God prod Christians today to "get out of Jerusalem"?

Brenda: The dominant culture of the United States is experiencing some major wake-up calls. I don’t think you have to be one political party or another to say that right now we’re having some very difficult times economically, politically, socially, militarily. And I think that when we get to the end of our rope, it’s often those things that make us stretch to Samaria.

So now even the military is saying we need people who are culturally competent. Cultural awareness is no longer just a nice bonus. Our adversaries are less likely to blow us up if they find us here understanding who they are and the situations they face. We are realizing we’ve got to go to Samaria—we’ve got to figure Samaria out and learn how to honor this place. It’s as important to our well being as it is to theirs.

So Jesus says, you’ve got to get to the ends of the earth, but before you get all the way there, you might want to venture into Samaria and see how you do, before you find yourself someplace more distant.

It’s going to become your kingdom training, cultivating the skills and competencies to be in this family that’s made of people from every tribe and every nation. The first disciples didn’t necessarily have any more skills than we do to be a part of this new family. They knew how to be with Jews—and they probably needed reconciliation just among themselves! But Jesus asks them to move beyond that.

The kingdom he’s building is going to require movement. Ultimately it will get to the ends of the earth, and they will be changed in the process of taking it there.

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