Tupperware, Mary Kay and the Bible

Wild title, huh?  Well, if you have not read about what we are doing here before now, then READ THIS!  Once you have read THIS, then what I am saying will make more sense. 

Basically, we are entering the community we feel called to, locating people of peace (POP) and trying to have those people gather their natural community together to discover Jesus through the Bible. We are starting what we call "Discovery Bible Studies" that we hope turn into churches.  The idea here is that you want the gathering to consist of local people who naturally hang out, so the group is easier to form and more sustainable in the long term than some clumsy group of strangers. Makes sense to me.

But then it hit me last week.  This is no original idea.  In fact, it is something you are probably quite familiar with.  

Isn't this what Tupperware salespeople do?

Isn't this the basic model that Pampered Chef follows?

And Mary Kay?

And Tastefully Simple?  

You get the point.  Sharing and selling your "product" works most effectively and spreads most naturally if you utilize the pre-existing relational networks that people naturally dwell in.

And is it not the same with the gospel?  If we could get past our fears, wouldn't our family and friends be the best place to live out something so important to us?  Instead, many of us do the opposite.  We keep "church" separate.  So, did we steal the idea from tupperware or has this been the age old process of discipleship that they "stole" from us? ;-)