1 Corinthians 13:4 says "Love is kind" (NIV).  Kindness is an action - it's something we do.  However, sometimes as Christians, we're a lot better at talking about something than actually doing it. 1 John 3:18 address this by saying "Let us stop saying we love people; let us really love them and show it by our actions" (Living Bible). 

40 Days of Community is about fulfilling God's purposes for our lives together - deepening the sense of community in our small group and then reaching out to the community around us.  It encourages us to be a group that is not exclusive and self-centered, but rather a group than is inclusive, God-centered, and outwardly focused.  In the DVD, Rick Warren points out that immature Christians are often inwardly focused and more concerned with their own "growth" and "needs."  As we grow and mature in our relationship with God, the goal is to be transformed into being outwardly focused - asking questions such as: "what can I give," "who can I help," and "where can I serve?"  1 Corinthians 13:11 states "When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things" (NLT).  It's time to grow up... Reaching out together is a necessary step to spiritual maturity in our own lives and as a small group.  Reaching out involves much more than our words - it involves action and physical demonstration of love, compassion, and care.

Jesus demonstrates this principle in Mark 6:34-44 (commonly known as the "feeding of the five thousand").  Our study examines this passage to identify five keys to being used by God in our community:

Step 1 - Recognize the Need.  In Mark 6, at the end of the day when everyone was hungry, the disciples wanted to send the people away back into the world to get food for themselves.  However, Jesus knew that if we let the world meet a person's physical needs, then that person will look to the world to meet their spiritual needs too.  Therefore, Jesus said "You give them something to eat."  The disciples were overwhelmed at the prospect saying "That would take eight months of a man's wages!"  It was seemingly impossible.  

How can we apply this?:
God wants to work through us to reach other people - we are to be his delivery system as he answers the needs of a hungry world.  Jesus did not limit his ministry to people's "spiritual" needs.  He met their physical needs as well - and we are to do the same in His name.  We need to ask what needs there are in our community and where people are going to go to get those needs met.  Jesus often asks us to do something that seems impossible to us...

Step 2 - Take Inventory:  Jesus asked the disciples "'How many loaves do you have?'... 'Go and see.'  When they found out, they said, 'Five - and two fish.'"  When the disciples gave Jesus what they had, he performed a miracle.  Jesus took the little that they had to offer and did far more with it than they could have ever imagined.

How can we apply this?:
What do we have right now?  What talents, resources, and passions has God given each of us?  We need to take inventory.  In the DVD, Pastor Warren says that it's pretty much guaranteed that we're going to come up short - we won't have enough money, resources, etc... However, we need to be aware of what we have and what we don't have.  We need to dedicate what we have to Jesus - and then see what He can do with it.  It's important to not wait until we have more to get started.  We are to start where we are and give Jesus what we have right now.  2 Corinthians 12:19 says it best: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (NIV). 

Step 3 - Get Organized:  Jesus directed the disciples to "have all the people sit down in groups... of hundreds and fifties."  This way there was not mass chaos into trying to feed everyone.

How can we apply this?:
Warren suggests that we break our community into component parts - survey the community around us and find the different niches and needs.  Then organize a plan with how to go about reaching out.

Step 4 - Prepare your Heart:  We need to ask Jesus remove own agenda when reaching out to others.  Again, we need to offer Him everything we have - time, talents, resources, and energy.  It's only when we're kind and willing to show love that people are willing to listen - but again, sometimes we get more focused on talking rather than demonstrating.  We need to prepare our hearts to let God work through us. 

Step 5 - Be Available:  Jesus took the five loaves and two fish "and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves.  Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people."  Again, Jesus took what little the disciples had, blessed it, then gave it back into their hands to complete the work.  "They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.  The number of men who had eaten was five thousand."

How can we apply this?:
Pastor Warren presents Jesus' actions of taking, breaking, blessing, and using the loaves as an analogy of how he wants to work through us.  He wants to take our life, break it of its self-centeredness, bless it, and use it.  He wants to take our resources, bless them, multiply them, put them back in our hands to deliver - and to work through us to deliver more than we could have ever imagined.  However, we have to make ourselves available in order for Jesus to work through us.  It's not about just throwing money at a problem or "taking up an offering" for every cause that is put in front of us - that's much too impersonal and not what Jesus demonstrated.  Jesus gave the bread back to his disciples and had them feed the people.  They were the delivery system, just as we are the delivery system for demonstrating God's love in our community. 

Pastor Warren states "It's time for the church to stop treating outsiders as though they were lepers.  We have to reach out to them in love and make ourselves available."  Romans 5:8 tells us "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (NIV).  We need to reach out in love to all those around us - not just those who are "in our circle", who share similar values, or who we think are "deserving" or "worthy enough."  After all, Jesus died for us when we were still sinners - not after we "got our act together."  We need to think in practical ways about who needs our help, who needs to know God loves them, and how can we show kindness and demonstrate God's love.  This is not something just to check off our "to do" list as we study community for 6 weeks - then move on to something else.  Rather, this should be a starting point in a lifestyle of ministry and caring about people the way Jesus did - and doing it together.