Do the Most Good...

Rewire your spiritual reflexes from defensive passivity to courageous activity. You are God’s Poiēma; a masterpiece destined for display.

About the Campaign

The Do the Most Good campaign, is a clarion call and Apostolic charge designed to move the Church from a state of defensive passivity into the “messiness of the marketplace” where true ministry happens. Designed to combat a culture defined by fragmentation and spiritual anxiety, these resources present a sustained forty-day immersion built upon the theological foundation that believers are God’s poiēma, His divine masterpieces, saved not by works, but for the good works He prepared in advance.

Preaching Suite

This section provides weekly thematic summaries of the readings and detailed sermonic outlines to help Pastors deliver a consistent and powerful message. Each outline is structured in a three-part format, Introduction, Message, and Challenge, ensuring that every sermon culminates in a direct call for the congregation to enter the "marketplace" of ministry.

Week 0

The Apostolic Charge

Theme: Re-wiring our spiritual reflexes from defensive passivity to courageous activity by reclaiming our identity as God's workmanship.

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." — Ephesians 2:10

I. Introduction

  • Recognize the cultural moment of spiritual anxiety and fragmentation.
  • Address the "existential crisis of passivity" where the Church retreats into safety rather than demonstrating love.
  • The 40-day immersion is a call to transition from theological debate to marketplace demonstration.

II. Message

  • Identity as Poiēma: You are not just a saved soul; you are a divine poem or masterpiece, crafted by the Master Artist for a specific display.
  • Incarnational Theology: Faith must "take on flesh." We serve not to earn God’s love, but because His love is already complete.
  • Dignity of Purpose: Identity creates service. A masterpiece is defined by the Artist, not by its performance or failures.

III. Challenge

  • Leave the "theological sidelines" and enter the marketplace where ministry happens.
  • Treat the coming week as a purposeful spiritual assignment to prepare for the immersion.
Week 1

The Call to Active Faith

Theme: Moving from "doing no harm" to "doing the most good." Transitioning from passive righteousness to proactive cultivation.

"Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it." — Psalm 34:14

I. Introduction

  • Transition from Week 0’s identity to Week 1’s activity.
  • Challenge the congregation to move beyond a faith of mere avoidance.

II. Message

  • The Fence and the Garden: The "fence" of moral order (passive righteousness) is only meant to protect the "garden" of active goodness.
  • The Failure of Omission: The Priest and Levite kept their "fence" clean but failed because their "garden" was barren.
  • The Engine of Totality: Love for God (vertical) is the engine; love for neighbor (horizontal) is the "shoe-leather" evidence.

III. Challenge

  • Shift from "duty" to "delight." Move from "I have to" to "I get to."
  • Turn one "Thou shalt not" (fence) into an active "Thou shalt do" (garden) today.
Week 2

The Heart of the Matter

Theme: Confronting the heart-barriers of prejudice, selfishness, and bitterness that prevent us from acting in mercy.

"But he, wanting to justify himself, asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'" — Luke 10:29

I. Introduction

  • Explore why we search for "loopholes" to escape the radical demands of love.

II. Message

  • The Question that Limits: Defining "neighbor" narrowly is a way to disqualify those we find inconvenient or different.
  • The Samaritan Profile: Mercy requires five acts: Compassion (heart), Proximity (closing the gap), Practicality (using resources), Sacrifice (cost), and Completeness (follow-through).
  • Overcoming Evil: Use the "weapon of blessing" for enemies to break the cycle of animosity and protect your own heart.

III. Challenge

  • Release the "100-denarii debt" others owe you in light of your "10,000-talent" forgiveness from God.
  • Perform an anonymous act of service for someone you instinctively filter out of your circle of concern.
Week 3

The Inner Workings

Theme: Finding the power for the mission by shifting from human "straining" to spiritual "surrendering."

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." — John 15:5

I. Introduction

  • Address the burnout and exhaustion that comes from trying to "do good" in our own strength.

II. Message

  • Fruit, Not Works: Goodness is a supernatural fruit of the Spirit, not a work of the flesh. A branch doesn't strain; it simply remains connected.
  • The Humility Revolution: Dethrone the "self." Humility is self-forgetfulness and accurate self-assessment of our dependence on God.
  • The Mindset of Christ: Practice Kenōsis (self-emptying) by laying down your rights to serve another.

III. Challenge

  • Stop "straining" and start "abiding" through moment-by-moment yielding to the Spirit.
  • Pick up a "towel" this week by doing a menial, unseen task without seeking recognition.
Week 4

The Mind of Christ

Theme: Directing our power with wisdom and strategy to ensure our "good intentions" result in "God's intentions."

"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere." — James 3:17

I. Introduction

  • Warn against the "unintentional chaos" that occurs when a good heart acts without divine wisdom.

II. Message

  • Earthly vs. Heavenly Wisdom: Earthly wisdom is rooted in selfish ambition; Heavenly wisdom is a gift that produces shalom.
  • The Strategy Toolkit: Access wisdom through Asking in Faith, the Lamp of the Word, Godly Counsel, and the Spirit’s Nudge.
  • The Holy Halt: Pausing before acting to move from impulsive reaction to strategic obedience.

III. Challenge

  • Petition the "Gracious Giver" for wisdom in one specific area of confusion.
  • Seek godly counsel from a trusted brother or sister regarding a current challenge.
Week 5

The Tools for the Task

Theme: Deploying the unique spiritual gifts distributed by the Spirit for the common good of the Body and the world.

"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good." — 1 Corinthians 12:7

I. Introduction

  • Transition from "how" (character/strategy) to "what" (equipment).

II. Message

  • Multipliers vs. Buriers: In the Parable of the Talents, God expects a return on His investment. Don't let fear lead to "burying" your potential.
  • Diversity of Tools: Prophecy (Speaking), Service (Doing), Giving (Funding), Mercy (Feeling), and Administration (Steering) are all indispensable parts of the Body.
  • The Manifestation: Identify your gift by what energizes you to serve others rather than what makes you look good.

III. Challenge

  • Confess the fear that causes you to "bury your talent."
  • Stop burying and start investing; use your gift in one small, low-risk way this week.
Week 6

The Spheres of Action

Theme: Entering the mission fields of family, work, and the public square to sustain a lifetime of active faith.

"Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me." — Matthew 25:40

I. Introduction

  • Recognize that the end of the 40 days is the starting line of a lifelong mission.

II. Message

  • Mission Spheres: Family is the greenhouse (nurturing); Work is worship (Audience of One); World is the mission field (Salt and Light).
  • Salt and Light: Salt preserves and stops decay; Light guides and shows the way to the Father.
  • The Habit of Review: Sustain the change by daily checking your Posture (Towel), Power (Vine), and Purity (Wisdom).

III. Challenge

  • Sign the "Covenant" to carry the campaign’s truths into the rest of your life.
  • Identify one "least of these" in your daily path and serve them as if you were serving Jesus directly.

Teacher’s Lounge

Designed for an instructional deep-dive, these resources provide a comprehensive framework for a one-hour Bible Class or Sunday School lesson. This section explores the week’s biblical principles in greater detail than the expanded sermon, offering theological insights into key concepts such as Poiēma and Plērōma to help participants love God with all their minds.

Week 0

The Apostolic Charge: Foundational Identity

Instructional Goal: To transition participants from theological data-gathering to an active, incarnational faith.

Core Doctrine: The Poiēma Concept

The Greek word Poiēma in Ephesians 2:10 defines the believer as God's "handiwork" or "masterpiece." We are not saved by works, but we are definitively saved FOR them. Identity creates service; we do not work to become a masterpiece, we work because we are one.

Class Content & Discussion

  • The Significance of 40 Days: Discuss the biblical precedents of 40 days for cleansing (Noah), covenant (Moses), and victory (Jesus). Explain why 40 days is the required time to break old habits of inaction.
  • The Crisis of Passivity: Identify the three "twin evils" that stop us: selfishness, fear, and the paralyzing noise of busyness.
  • Practical Praxis: Have participants stand and declare their identity as a masterpiece. Assignment: Treat every interaction this week as a "divine assignment."
Week 1

The Call to Active Faith: Garden Cultivation

Instructional Goal: Moving beyond "passive righteousness" to a life that proactively seeks peace and wholeness.

Key Term: Plērōma

Plērōma means to fill to the brim or bring to full expression. While the "Fence" says "Do no harm," the Plērōma heart fills the law with love until it overflows into proactive goodness.

Class Content & Discussion

  • Fence vs. Garden: The Fence (passive righteousness) keeps evil out; the Garden (active righteousness) produces life. Discuss why the Priest and Levite failed despite keeping their "fence" clean.
  • Shalom-Pursuit: Explain that Shalom is more than absence of conflict; it is wholeness. Use Psalm 34:14 to show that peace must be "hunted" and "pursued."
  • Practical Praxis: Group Exercise: Turn a "Thou shalt not" command into a proactive "Thou shalt do" action. Example: Move from "Do not lie" to "Speak truth in love to build others up."
Week 2

The Heart of the Matter: Dismantling Loopholes

Instructional Goal: Identifying the psychological and spiritual barriers that prevent us from showing mercy to the "inconvenient" neighbor.

The Samaritan’s Five Acts

Mercy in action involves: 1. Compassion (Heart), 2. Proximity (Closing the gap), 3. Practicality (Using available tools), 4. Sacrifice (Personal cost), and 5. Completeness (Follow-through).

Class Content & Discussion

  • The Question that Limits: Analyze Luke 10:29. Discuss why we look for loopholes to disqualify certain people from our care based on politics, lifestyle, or prejudice.
  • The Weapon of Blessing: Discuss the "Third Way" of reacting to enemies—overcoming evil with good. Repaying evil with evil is spiritual theft from God's role as Judge.
  • Practical Praxis: Identify a person you instinctively "filter out." Commit to an anonymous act of service for someone in that group this week.
Week 3

The Inner Workings: Power and Posture

Instructional Goal: Shifting from human "straining" to supernatural "fruit-bearing" through the Holy Spirit.

Key Term: Kenōsis

Kenōsis refers to the "self-emptying" of Christ in Philippians 2. True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less (self-forgetfulness).

Class Content & Discussion

  • Fruit vs. Works: Works are produced by the flesh; fruit is produced by the Spirit. A branch does not "strain" to make an apple; it simply remains connected to the Vine.
  • Taking Up the Towel: Discuss John 13. Greatness in the Kingdom is measured by our willingness to perform menial, unappreciated, and unseen tasks.
  • Practical Praxis: Review the "Check Engine Light": Is your service motivated by duty (straining) or delight (abiding)? Assignment: Perform one hidden, menial chore without seeking thanks.
Week 4

The Mind of Christ: Divine Strategy

Instructional Goal: Learning to apply heavenly wisdom to ensure good intentions do not lead to unintentional chaos.

Two Wisdoms Test

Earthly wisdom is rooted in selfish ambition and leads to disorder. Heavenly wisdom is pure, peace-loving, gentle, and full of good fruit.

Class Content & Discussion

  • The Strategy Toolkit: We access wisdom through four channels: Asking God in faith, the Lamp of the Word, Godly Counsel from others, and the Spirit’s nudge.
  • The Holy Halt: Discuss the danger of impulsive "good." Wisdom requires us to pause and ensure we are moving on God’s instructions, not just our emotions.
  • Practical Praxis: Apply the "James 3:17 test" to a current decision. Is the plan peace-loving and willing to yield?
Week 5

The Tools for the Task: Divine Gifting

Instructional Goal: Identifying and deploying unique spiritual gifts for the "common good" of the body.

The Multiplier Mandate

In the Parable of the Talents, fear caused the servant to bury his gift. God expects a return on the "bags of gold" (gifts) He has entrusted to us.

Class Content & Discussion

  • The Tool Chest: Explore the diverse gifts: Prophecy (strengthening through truth), Service (getting hands dirty), Giving (strategic funding), Mercy (cheerful empathy), and Administration (steering).
  • The Interdependent Body: The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you." Discuss how gifts must partner together to be effective.
  • Practical Praxis: Identify your gift by what energizes you for others. Assignment: Use your suspected gift in one small, low-risk way this week.
Week 6

The Spheres of Action: Entering the Marketplace

Instructional Goal: Sustaining the changed heart through daily review and deployment into the world.

The Habit of Review

To prevent the 40 days from being a "fad," we must daily check: 1. Posture (The Towel), 2. Power (The Vine), and 3. Purity (The Wisdom).

Class Content & Discussion

  • Mission Fields: Family is the greenhouse (training ground); Work is worship (Audience of One); and the World is where we act as Salt (preserving) and Light (guiding).
  • The Final Score: Analyze Matthew 25. Serving the "least of these" is serving Jesus directly. Inaction is the primary sin of the "Goats."
  • Practical Praxis: Sign the "Do the Most Good Covenant." Assignment: Set a daily "Habit of Review" alarm to keep the heart aligned with the Master Artist.

Group Leader Hub

This hub focuses on the "Community Commitment" by providing small group facilitators with a structured "Three-Part Group Rhythm"; Reflect, Discuss, and Commit. These interactive session outlines are designed to foster accountability and encouragement, helping groups transition from passive theory to active praxis as a collective force for good.

Week 0

The Apostolic Charge: Gathering for the Mission

Phase 1: Reflect

Discuss the "existential crisis of passivity." Why has the church historically retreated into safety?

Phase 2: Discuss

  • What "twin evils" (selfishness or fear) currently limit your desire to serve?
  • How does viewing yourself as a divine Poiēma change your perspective on your daily routine?

Phase 3: Commit

Pray for courage to leave the sidelines. Commit to treating this week as a spiritual assignment.

Week 1

The Call to Active Faith: Tending the Garden

Phase 1: Reflect

Share one "horizontal" action you took this week that was a direct outflow of your "vertical" love for God.

Phase 2: Discuss

  • Where is your "fence" of passive righteousness preventing you from seeing a "garden" of active good?
  • Who is one person whose Shalom (wholeness) is shattered, and how can you hunt for its restoration?

Phase 3: Commit

Identify one "no-harm" rule and plan a corresponding "do-good" action as a group for the coming week.

Week 2

The Heart of the Matter: Releasing the Debt

Phase 1: Reflect

Confess where you were tempted to ask "Who is my neighbor?" to justify an act of omission or inaction.

Phase 2: Discuss

  • What is the "100-denarii debt" you are still demanding repayment for in your life?
  • Which of the Samaritan’s five acts (Compassion, Proximity, Practicality, Sacrifice, Completeness) is hardest for you?

Phase 3: Commit

Pray for the "weapon of blessing" to be active in your heart. Commit to serving someone you instinctively filter out.

Week 3

The Inner Workings: Abiding in the Vine

Phase 1: Reflect

Where did you feel the most "straining" (anxiety or frustration) this week? Where do you need to abide?

Phase 2: Discuss

  • What "rights" have you found most difficult to lay down in your pursuit of Kenōsis (self-emptying)?
  • How can we, as a group, better support each other in "walking by the Spirit" rather than "striving"?

Phase 3: Commit

Take up the "towel" together. Pray for the Holy Spirit to produce supernatural fruit (love, joy, peace) through you.

Week 4

The Mind of Christ: Seeking Counsel

Phase 1: Reflect

Share a time this week when your "good intentions" (earthly wisdom) led to disorder or unintentional chaos.

Phase 2: Discuss

  • How have you utilized the three-legged stool of strategy (God, the Word, and God's People) this week?
  • In what area of your life do you need to apply the "Holy Halt" before making a decision?

Phase 3: Commit

Provide "Godly Counsel" for one another. Pray specifically for wisdom "from above" for each group member.

Week 5

The Tools: Investing the Talents

Phase 1: Reflect

Name your spiritual gift (or suspected gift). What specific fear tempts you to "bury" that talent in the dirt?

Phase 2: Discuss

  • How do the "quiet gifts" of Mercy and Administration in our group complement the "speaking gifts"?
  • Are we being "Multipliers" or "Buriers" of the resources God has entrusted to this specific group?

Phase 3: Commit

Partner in service. Commit to a low-risk way to use your gifts collectively for the "common good" of the church.

Week 6

The Spheres: Carrying the Covenant

Phase 1: Reflect

Where did you struggle most to "do the most good" in your home or workplace greenhouse this week?

Phase 2: Discuss

  • As we reflect on the "Final Score," which "least of these" will be your focus for the next three months?
  • How can we maintain our "Habit of Review" to ensure this journey wasn't just a 40-day fad?

Phase 3: Commit

Sign the "Do the Most Good Covenant" as a group. Pray for a lifetime of active, joyful, and relentless love.

Contact the Campaign Author

Need support or additional resources? Email Dr. Peter-Donnell Boynton.