Day 2: Walking The Talk - The Good News Neighbor

“How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” (Romans 10:15, NLT)

My first church was a megachurch of six people. When I arrived as a twenty-four-year-old pastor, they had not held worship services in over two years. I had no idea what I was doing, and they had not done much of anything in some time.

There was one deacon who held the congregation together. Randy had more tattoos than teeth, and his spiritual gift was grit. I’ll never forget how he would light up a Marlboro in the back of the sanctuary if I preached too long. He gave new meaning to 2 Corinthians 2:15, “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.”

Randy decided we needed to go door-to-door and start doing outreach again. I agreed. The rural community was small, with about 500 or so residents. I was bi-vocational, commuting about two hours one-way on the weekends. We decided the following Saturday to start the process of meeting every neighbor.

We knocked on the first door, and someone greeted us. At this moment, I realized Randy had a different objective than me. I introduced myself as the new pastor. He immediately asked for money.

“We don’t have air conditioning in the church, and you need to give us some money to help so you’re not scorching in the heat when you visit.” Randy held out his hand.

That summer, we visited most of the homes in the community. The neighbors gave enough money to install an air conditioning system, and another thirty people started attending. Did we have the greatest approach? Hardly. But God honored our feet. We were not the best messengers, but at least we went.

Randy taught me that you do not have to be a smooth talker to win your neighbors’ hearts. You just need to be genuine and willing to put others first. He was rough around the edges, and his tactics only worked for him. But God used his feet because he was willing to bring the good news.

What practical ways can you use your feet to bring good news to the people around you? Invite a neighbor to church and pay for lunch after the worship service. Pray for someone and send them an encouraging text message letting them know. Write a handwritten letter to a friend who is struggling. Discipleship is more than gaining Bible knowledge. You must use your feet as much as your mind.