Life's Intersections (:mic)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our friend Michael Thompson posted this and permitted me to post it here: In the city where I live there is an intersection which has two gas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/03\/30\/lifes-intersections-mic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Life's Intersections (:mic)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Our friend Michael Thompson posted this and permitted me to post it here: In the city where I live there is an intersection which has two gas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/03\/30\/lifes-intersections-mic\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-03-30T10:13:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-03-28T12:15:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/03\/30\/lifes-intersections-mic\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/03\/30\/lifes-intersections-mic\/\",\"name\":\"Life's Intersections (:mic)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-03-30T10:13:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-03-28T12:15:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"Our friend Michael Thompson posted this and permitted me to post it here: In the city where I live there is an intersection which has two gas\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/03\/30\/lifes-intersections-mic\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/03\/30\/lifes-intersections-mic\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/03\/30\/lifes-intersections-mic\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Life’s Intersections (:mic)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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{"id":26693,"date":"2012-03-30T05:13:22","date_gmt":"2012-03-30T10:13:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?p=26693"},"modified":"2012-03-28T07:15:24","modified_gmt":"2012-03-28T12:15:24","slug":"lifes-intersections-mic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2012\/03\/30\/lifes-intersections-mic\/","title":{"rendered":"Life’s Intersections (:mic)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Our friend Michael Thompson<\/a> posted this and permitted me to post it here:<\/em><\/p>\n

In the city where I live there is an intersection which has two gas station\/convenience stores, one on the southeast corner and one on the northwest corner. \u00a0They are both Speedway brand stores . . . no joke. \u00a0It is my hope that they are owned by the same person, but I\u2019ve never looked into it.<\/p>\n

There has been a question forming in my mind, sort of a pastime thought experiment. \u00a0It started through my own shopping habits, but really took shape when I saw the double-Speedway intersection.<\/p>\n

Here is a missional question . . .<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

All minor details being equal (cost factor, distance, quality of service, etc), if presented with two local business \u2013 one owned by a member of your church community, the other owned by a non-churchgoing agnostic \u2013 which place should a missional believer choose to frequent, for the sake of the kingdom?<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the one hand, we take care of our brothers and sisters in Christ and should support their livelihoods by making their business prosper. \u00a0On the other hand, we are summoned to be salt and light into a broken world, which would mean showing agnostic businesspeople the love and grace that Christian people (ought to) have. \u00a0One is the edification of believers, the other is lifestyle evangelism. \u00a0Of course, we could make a habit of going back-and-forth . . . but that might simply be the philosophical copout option when in reality we know that we get into routines. \u00a0(Also, the thought experiment assumes that you would be a \u2018regular\u2019 if either impact is to be made.)<\/p>\n

What if we change the parameters a bit?<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. Christian-owned business v. outspoken-atheist-owned business.
\n2. Christian-owned business v. Muslim-owned business.
\n3. Christian-owned business v. Milwaukee-Brewers-fan-owned business (just kidding, nobody would choose the latter).<\/p>\n

You get the idea. \u00a0I am curious as to what kind of thought we have when making decisions like these. \u00a0If we have any thought at all. \u00a0If we simply choose to support the members of our church without consideration, are we then in danger of creating a disconnected holy huddle? \u00a0If we simply choose to be the evangelists at all costs, then are we being unsupportive of those business that have a positive kingdom presence which could help transform neighborhoods?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One could go back and forth for quite some time, I think . . .<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"