‘Doin’ the stuff’ is a term coined by the founder of the Vineyard movement, a man named John Wimber. As an early believer, John found himself going to church, and sitting through services getting increasingly frustrated. There was lots of talk and pomp, but no action. Finally, one day John approached someone and they had a conversation like this: “When do we get to do the stuff?” “What stuff?” “You know, the stuff Jesus did?”
That question became one of the great gifts to and from the Vineyard movement. We are always eager to find ways to do the stuff Jesus did (like healing the sick, feeding the hungry, acknowledging the outcast… stuff like that).
So really, we’re apprenticing… that means studying under a master. Our master is Jesus and there are two main components to being His apprentices: Learning – Doing.
We learn by paying close attention to his life. Then, in the words of the late Dallas Willard, “we do what he would do if he were we”.
Doin’ the stuff can be as simple as keeping extra groceries in your car and giving them away to a person in need, inviting your neighbourhood into your home, or visiting someone in a nursing home.
It can also be praying for a co-worker after they’ve shared their heart with you, or it could be healing the sick in Jesus’ name.
Whatever it looks like, doing what Jesus would do (is doing) brings the Kingdom into our broken world and aligns our lives with the heart of God.
“Then the King will say, ‘I’m telling you solemn truth: Whenever you did one of these things to someone overlooked and ignored, that was me – you did it to me.'” -Matthew 25:40 The Message
