Christians ministering to MBBs often ask me how MBBs feel when they become Christians. I think one way is to consider and combine two analogies.
The first analogy is someone who suffered a devastating back injury, had surgery yesterday, and must now relearn how to do almost everything. Please think through the pain, much of which cannot be understood by casual observation because the debilitating wounds are mainly internal and the scars are hidden. The injuries force the injured to have to focus intensely on relearning even the simplest tasks, all while dealing with constant, terrible pain.
The second analogy is a person who has moved to a new continent with little or no preparation, doesn’t speak the language and has few or no friends nearby to offer advice or help.
An MBB has to relearn much of what they know about life because they have entered a new kingdom. They must do so while experiencing the terrible pain of rejection and loss, and perhaps even abuse and torture. The people around them may not know how to help, and the MBB may be isolated by their community. The MBB does not know the culture of the new kingdom, and will make many mistakes – often painful ones. MBBs will have umpteen questions, many of which won’t get answered, leaving them frustrated. They might even feel hopeless, thinking that things will always be this way, leading them to leave Christianity.
The above offers a small taste of the life of an MBB.
Keywords: MBB discipleship, two analogies
This is good.
Thanks, Sally.