EPISODE 2A SERIES BY SPIRIT OF INVITATION

This is how it works, right?

We Christians, we’re supposed to harass people. Invitation is supposed to be obnoxious,

right?

Or maybe we’re not supposed to talk about our faith at all.

Do we buy any of this stuff?Do we believe in Jesus?Does our faith really matter to us?

There’s a good chance that if we dig into our own faith first, we’ll end up inadvertently inviting ourselves back in. Not only that, we’ll have a better perspective on how to invite others in.

What would happen if we began to invite one another to remember our joy, to engage in real conversations, to explore and to deepen our faith together?

Are we living the things that we say that we believe?

Do conversations about our faith have a place in our relationships?

If we don’t start withlove, honesty,respectand friendship,

 why are we doing it?

It’s not about church people producing more church people, that look like use and sound like us.

“but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.”John 4:14 (NRSV)

Invitation starts here, at home. It starts with us connecting with our faith, taking that

connection, and making a community that’s centred on Jesus.

“But you are a chosen race,

a royal priesthood, a holy nation,

God’s own people, in order that you might

proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you

out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

1 Peter 2:9 nrsv

When thinking about inviting the people we know into a relationship with the living Christ, it’s possible that we

experience some anxiety. Perhaps sharing our deepest beliefs is not something we’re used to; perhaps we fear a

negative reaction to our disclosure.

These are natural feelings.

That is, if we think it’s all up to us. 

I suppose you could say that because God invited us, so we now invite others – as a response to that first loving act.

God is constantly active in the world, offering that invitation.

Spirit of Invitation, Invited, the Spirit of Invitation Logo, and the Diocesan Logo copyrighted by The Incorporated Synod

of the Diocese of Toronto, 2014. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations from the New Revised Standard Version Bible,

copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United

States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

For more information, visit www.spiritofinvitation.com or send us an email at info@spiritofinvitation.com

Spirit of Invitation gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Diocese of Toronto through

the Our Faith Our Hope program.

Invited is a series of short films that seek to explore what it means to engage in genuine, Christian invitation. We begin with the conviction that invitation is at the very heart of the Gospel – that Jesus invites each one of us to come and follow him, and being an invitational people is at the very core of our identity as Christians. From there, we offer thoughts, images and dreams – and we hope that you’ll join the conversation.  

Home explores our preconceived notion of what Christian invitation might involve. From obnoxious sales tactics to simply avoiding the topic, it’s safe to say that many of us have some issues. But, what if invitation begins at home? What if the first question isn’t about how we invite others - but about how we explore and deepen our faith in community, inviting one another back in again and again.