Mind to Mind in Christ--from Pastor John

At the bottom of every popcorn bag there are a handful of kernels that have failed to pop. They are made to pop. God, giving inspiration to ag science, has genetically engineered them to pop. But according to The Popcorn Board (yes, there really is one) there is a 4 to 47% failure rate based on whether you have a premium or bargain brand.

So what takes the pop out of popcorn?  It’s the dried out kernels or kernels with cracked hulls that robs them of their water content (hmm, I’m restraining a social comment here). It takes a 14% water content to make them burst. So you can actually take the duds and hydrate them into their popability again (is that a word?). 

God builds popability into Christ followers. The Bible says, “Grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3:18). Love one another. Serve one another. Be my witnesses. Respect authority. Be prayer-full. Be generous.  “Do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).

Sin takes the popability out of me, but Christ hydrates the popability right back into me. The church is to be a transformational community helping people, confronting people (truth with love), and pointing people upward. Yes grace is the engine, but Christ forever called people up to be “all in” for Him, not just “half-way” in. 

The Pharisees and the Jewish religious community said, “we are Abraham’s children,” meaning, “we’re getting it right with God by the sheer fact of our being Jews.” They were solid denominational God-followers, so they thought. Until Jesus came along and upset their spiritual apple cart.

The church is to be a transformational community. Pastors, leaders and people are to join hands in this effort to help outsiders—those living outside of Christ—become insiders—popable people living fully in Christ, whatever it takes.