Alex Dye,
associate pastor at Oak Grove Mennonite Church in West Liberty, Ohio,
attended this year’s Sent conference Apr. 26–28 at [the] Beloved
Community Mennonite Church in Denver, Colorado. Struck by the message
shared there from Romans 10, he returned to his home congregation and
relayed the sermon to them on May 5.
"How, then, can they
call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in
the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without
someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are
sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring
good news!"
–Romans 10:14-15
Dye
called on the congregation to think about the good news of Christ and
how we, as Mennonites, share it. He referred to the church planters he
met at the conference as Shane Claiborne might — as "ordinary radicals" —
"because their lives look so much like ours," Dye said. "But they were
willing to do something different, to step out of their comfort zone."
He
talked about the humble surroundings of the conference and challenged
the church to be intentional about sharing the good news. "What would it
look like for you and me if we walked like Jesus, with the same news
that Jesus carried?" Dye asked. "I would think that people couldn’t help
but follow, because the world is in desperate need of some good news
right now."
