The Link

The End.  At the end of every story, we discover this powerful phrase. The End says something has been accomplished or achieved. Something is finished, or maybe the end of the story tragically reveals something unfinished. 

Every story has an end in mind.  In the same way, every movement has qualities and characteristics that it either endorses or despises.  Those qualities act as the engines of that movement’s cause.  The Link is no different. It is our dream that our engines- our eight DNA strands- are ever increasing within our community. In this blog series, I will use the acronym “LINKSTER” and will take one letter per post, to offer these eight strands of DNA that we desire to multiply and fill the Earth with.

The Letter “L” actually breaks the rule and represents two realities:  Lovers and Leaders.  During his life Jesus gave us two riverbank statements, through which the water and life of His obedient Church would flow.  Without one or the other, we are destined to flood, and cease flowing. Therefore we must firmly establish these riverbank desires of Jesus.

The Great Commandment is the first riverbank statement that we long to embrace. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.” So foundational is this reality that Jesus taught over half of the Bible hangs on these two commandments.  Jesus said, “All the Law and Prophets hang on these.”  It’s as if there are certain passages in the Bible that act as the hooks on which other passages are intended to hang.

Jesus was making it extremely simple, but He set the bar extremely high at the same time.  Really Jesus? All my heart? All my mind? All my soul? All my strength?  “All” represents a pretty high quantity.  Jesus said “ALL,” and He is not willing to budge.  He is, through the Spirit of God, pursuing His bride and depositing grace in her again and again.  He does this so that her heart’s capacity will be filled with love toward Him and toward His people. 

In short, if we are not lovers, we are nothing.  Scripture is clear that, without love, we are nothing but resounding gongs or clanging symbols.  Therefore, the Link community longs for the love of God to come and empower us to be LOVERS.

But that’s not all. 

The other riverbank reality through which God’s people flow like water is what the church has called the Great Commission.  “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, Go, make disciples of all nations; teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you and baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  And surely I am with you even until the end of the age.”  Making disciples is the key purpose that provides direction for the believer’s life. 

Allow me to be clear for a moment:  if we call ourselves Believers, but are not engaged in a disciple-making movement, we are walking in disobedience. 

In the Link community, we believe every person has a unique and God-given leadership destiny. Discipleship is about cutting off the chains that hinder effective love and leadership from flowing forth.  Discipleship is also about receiving and growing in the gracious gifts that Jesus offers to His obedient church.  “To him who overcomes” is more than just a nice phrase found in Revelation. It’s the heartbeat of our Leader.  The Faithful Witness, Jesus, is shaping a community of people for glorious victory.  It is our call, and the hope of the world, that we would take seriously the commission of Jesus to make disciples. 

  Lovers and Leaders