An encouragement about evangelism

I have been listening to a lot of Ravi Zacharias recently and it has done a lot to grow my faith and confidence in what it is I believe. I just wanted to share a quick encouragement from something he said in one of his talks. As someone who travels the world on a regular basis, Ravi said that it is very easy for us in America to forget the weight of sin. As Matthew 19:24 says, it is incredibly hard for the wealthy and materially blessed to focus on God. As it turns out, the vast, vast majority of us in the United States enjoy comforts that Solomon would only have dreamt of. Having everything we desire disguises our immediate need for a savior. Someone who lives in abject poverty or in danger of violence everyday has much less trouble recognizing their need for Christ and feeling the burden of the sin that separates them from Him.

Remembering that, even though here in America we have so much wealth and material security, everyone is heavily burdened by the weight of their own iniquity is something that we can take as an encouragement. We have not been sent into a world to preach a gospel to people who don't really need it. Just the opposite; everyone is in desperate need of it and at some level, even if it is disguised underneath a mountain of wealth, feels the burden of that need. We must trust that God will prepare the hearts of those we share the gospel with. And when we do share the good news, and it is rejected, we must continue sharing and praying that God will soften their hearts for the next gospel opportunity. 

Of snow and persecution

I have often heard that the best thing that could happen to the church, is persecution. That the reason the American church has become so soft is because life is too easy. We may feel pressured by society because of our views, especially in certain parts of the country (like the incredibly liberal city of Seattle where I live). But when you think about it, we have it really good. Think back to the beginning of the church. There were times when you would be killed if you did not renounce Christ! Roman Emperor Nero would eat dinner by the light of Christians burning at the stake. We can barely even comprehend that today.

What is it about persecution that strengthens the church?

Here in Seattle, we just had a few inches of snow. If snow sticks to the ground, the city basically shuts down. All sense of over-productivity that is so common in this area disappears and people will do what they can to stay home and out of the way of their fellow can’t-drive-in-snow Seattlites. As I have been walking around, I have noticed a grand difference in people. As a general rule, people here don’t interact with each other unless they have to. But since the snow hit the ground, people are…nicer! People are going out of their way to help those whose cars have spun out. Stopping and talking to others on the street as they’re walking around. That’s not what people in the suburbs of Seattle do.

So what is it that is causing my fellow Seattlites to be so much more friendly?

I think, in our day and age, with the rise of technology and social networking, personal face-to-face communication has lost much of its value to us. Why spend my time talking with this random person when I have the ability to talk to the people I REALLY want to talk to at any time? It’s hard work to relate to people we don’t know. You have to invest enough time and effort in that person to find things to talk about. Maybe even make yourself vulnerable by telling them things about yourself. But when snow happens to Seattle, you no longer have to work to find something in common. Snow gives you something to talk about without having to work at it. Even Seattlites can do that.

In a similar way, when we, as a church, have it easy, we can afford to wait to talk to the people we really want to talk to. We have no reason to really work at it. Just like the rest of our culture, we have access to technology and social networking that makes it easier to reach out to those who are the easiest and most comfortable for us to reach to.

But when persecution hits (real persecution), that’s no longer an option. Think of countries where there is a great hostility towards Christianity. If you were living in China, for instance, and a believer, you would greatly value every believer who you came across. You wouldn’t have the option of just reaching out and communicating with whoever you want so the people you could talk to would be that much more treasured.

If something as innocuous as snow can bring that kind of commonality to a group of people, than how much greater a commonality should Christ bring? It shouldn’t take persecution for us to be able to advantage of this. There is power in Christ. What is it going to take, short of persecution, to get us to value and treasure one another? I believe that if we are truly sold out to Christ, as He calls us to be, then community and commonality have no choice but to follow…

Excited about sharing the gospel

I had the wonderful blessing of being able to sit and hear Tom Mahairas speak this weekend. Once, as he spoke to my church on Sunday, and once at a dinner the night before. Tom is the founder of CitiVision, a ministry in New York that is producing a vast amount of fruit for the Lord's kingdom.

Tom is an evangelist who's passion for the gospel is unparalleled among any other person I have met. Not only his passion, but also his boldness in sharing the gospel. This man has been faithful in the things that God has laid before him and so God has continued to lay opportunities in front of him. Bigger and bigger things. It is just amazing to see how God has blessed Tom's faithfulness.

Listening to all of the stories that Tom had to share certainly inspired me in my walk. Being around someone with a passion for the gospel serves to kick-start that passion in you. It really is all about Christ! Sharing the good news, the revelation of the mystery of God as Paul would put it, should be paramount in our lives! There are so many people, people whom God loves, who are destined to an eternity separated from God surrounding us daily! God has chosen to use us, in many cases, to direct these people towards Him. Can we be satisfied with always being the person who will witness by living a righteous life? Certainly we must do that, but there are times when we must share the gospel! Why always wait for someone else to share it?

There is a boldness with which we must live our lives. A boldness mixed with an urgency that pushes us to reach out to those lost around us. Most of us do not share our faith because we are afraid that we will be rejected. But it is not us that is being rejected, but Christ. Our identity should be in Christ alone. And we are called to share with others what God has revealed to us through His holy scriptures. Nowhere in the Bible will you find the sentiment saying, "Share the good news with others, unless you think they will reject you." You have no idea how God may have been preparing the heart of the person before you. God works in mysterious ways outside our comprehension and if we wait to share the gospel with someone until we are certain that they are ready to accept it, we are seriously underestimating the power and authority of God's role as sovereign Lord.

Let us revel in the fact that we serve an awesome God who cares enough about us to allow us to be a part of the process of building His kingdom! James 5:20 proclaims to us that we may have a hand in that process! What's more exciting than that?

Really puts it into perspective...

I just heard this brief snippet from a Francis Chan sermon and it sparked my soul's imagination. I love how Chan explains where our focus should be with this analogy.

I really had to think about where I am putting all of my time and my effort. Am I investing my life in a way that screams, "I am going to spend eternity with my savior!"? In all honesty, not even close. I'm not living my life like that's true and, maybe even worse, I'm not even thinking about this life in that way. This sermonet is very much worth the four minutes...

The context of James

I have come to believe that it is of the utmost usefulness to understand the context of a book of the Bible before you study it. Many references and points that the authors make can make so much more sense if you understand who the author is, who he is writing to and what they were going through.

It is widely agreed that the book of James was written by James the half-brother of Jesus. It is interesting to note that James did not even believe in the divinity of Christ until he saw that Christ had been resurrected from the dead. If you look at when James was martyred it becomes apparent that the book of James is most likely the first book of the New Testament to have been written. So it is also good to remember that this is the book that was written closest to the time and life of Christ. Because of this we see James using many concepts and ideas that Christ directly talked about during His ministry.

James was a powerful and influential figure in the early church; essentially leading the church of Jerusalem. So when he writes, he writes with authority. The book is not written as a letter, as many of the other New Testament books are, but as a sermon. There are commands and imperatives all throughout the book. 

It is written to Jewish believers that have been scattered abroad. It is also very important to remember that the early church was very heavily persecuted, so remember as you read that the people who this was written for were being beaten down for their faith.

Lots of Progress

It's been awhile since I've sat down and really considered the progress I've seen in my college group and in my personal/walk with God. This has been a very productive season of life for me. As I could write forever about all of the things that have been going on, I will simply choose a few to write about.....for now.

As for the college group, we have REALLY reset. Our church is still in search of a pastor to take over the group and we are down to about two college students coming every week. But God is good. He has placed two couples and a few others in our group who are willing to come every week and pour into the students that are there and who will come. That stability is something that we have been missing for quite some time and I know that it will greatly impact the group as it grows. God is good.

Separate from the college group I have started a bible study that meets weekly. What a blessing! The first week there were about 15 of us. And that number has remained each week. We are going through the book of James one chapter a week. This has been such a blessing to me in how God has used it grow and strengthen me in my personal walk. I have never read the Bible with such comprehension/retention until I was preparing to teach it. I think I will be trying to write about the study now and again and what God is showing me through my studying...

God is good!

Blessings

Generation Integration

I am in a college-age group here in the Seattle area and we have just hit the reset button. New college pastor. Not really sure where we are going as a group now but I am excited by the opportunities that are presenting themselves. As a group we have been more or less stagnant for upwards of six months now. When would be a better time to revitalize the mission and focus?

One huge problem that we have had for at least as long as I have been apart of this group is a lack of integration between our students and the rest of the church. There is precious little community being spread around between the generations at my church. This problem is one that I have become most acutely aware of as something that has to change if we are ever going to move forward.

How do you go about integrating age groups that have zero contact with each other? I guess that's what I'm going to try to find out. We have been operating as a completely autonomous branch of the church and I believe that trying to tie the group back within the confines of the church as a whole will have its own unique set of challenges. But isn't that what we're called to do? To operate as one body spreading the gospel through our love and community with one another? I certainly don't think our community is drawing too many folks right now...

I read an interesting summary from one pastor on how he intended to bring unity back to the generations of his congregation. I found some of his points useful, especially right near the end.

Blessings