by Dr. Tim Orr

 

As I was preparing for week #4 of B.L.E.S.S. training that I will do tonight at First Christian Church in Columbus, IN, I thought I would share an insight that came to mind as I prepared for the lesson. I thought that it might be useful for you and your church. I accidentally gleaned this insight when I planted a church in East Chicago, IN. in 1995. The wisdom came from Luke 10:5-6, which says, 

 "But whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace to this house.' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you." 

 The insight I gleaned from this passage is that if I wanted to impact a larger group of people, I needed to look for a "person of peace”, which is someone, according to the passage, who welcomes you and gives you lodging. In other words, it's someone you connect with and possibly has a significant influence in that group. When you build a long-term relationship with that person, they will likely open up their relational world to you.

 As I reflect on my ministry these last 30 years, three people that played significant roles in reaching larger groups of people come to mind. The first person was a guy everyone called "Mo Mack." Mo Mack just got out of prison, and I befriended him immediately. I later discovered he has serious "street cred" when I traveled to the neighboring city of Gary, IN, to pick him up. When I got two blocks from his house, a gang of guys stopped me in the middle of the road, surrounded my car, and wouldn't let me pass. When I rolled my window down, one of the guys asked me if I was 5.0., thinking I was a cop. I responded by explaining to him that I was Mo Mack's pastor. Immediately they let me pass, and shortly after that, everyone in the neighborhood knew that I was Mo Mack's pastor.

 The result of that relationship was tremendous. Almost overnight, my newly planted church went from a solely Hispanic congregation to a majority African American congregation. Mo Mack put me in touch with so many people, including 20 people, that I led to Christ over three years. I even led his girlfriend to Christ, who died of cancer nine months later.

 The second person of peace was a guy named Nassim, who was a Muslim I befriended unexpectedly. I was asked to serve on a panel to discuss world religions at a local high school. After the event ended, I looked down the row of people sitting at the table and noticed a gentleman at the end who represented the Islamic faith. The presence of a Muslim at the event led me to realize that I had never had a Muslim friend before. I introduced myself and invited him out to lunch. He responded with an enthusiastic "Yes," which began a friendship that continues to this day.

Then, one day, he invited me to the mosque's dinner. He made it a point to introduce me to several men and said this is Tim, my friend. This gesture signaled to everyone that I could be trusted, allowed me to make more friends within the Muslim community, and led to several opportunities to share the gospel over the years.

 The last person I want to share about is Reza, who I befriended while on one of my trips to London. He and I talked after my presentation at the academic conference I spoke at and later had dinner together. This dinner turned into a three-year friendship that opened many doors of ministry for me both in the U.K. and Iran. As I look back on what God did on my last trip, namely speaking at six different mosques, serving on a panel discussion at the University of Oxford, appearing on Iraqi T.V., and being interviewed on a Muslim podcast, it resulted from his influence.

The story's moral, which you have probably already discovered, is that a great way to impact a group of people you can't reach alone is to befriend a “person of peace” and watch God do a work.

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