FaceBook: A Marinated Perspective

When Facebook first went viral there were a number of articles and blogs which suggested how it might best be leveraged as a tool for reaching non-Christians and for marketing the church. I read some of these with interest, but did not apply much of what I read. Instead I decided to just experience Facebook for myself and entered it along with my “friends”. In the process I have learned that using Facebook as a tool does not really work. Facebook is a community, now 500 million strong, and I chose to be a part of the community. After a few years on Facebook I have discovered some things.

Recently I have been stunned at the quality of connections that can be made through Facebook. I have heard from a number of old friends from college and high school who never knew me as a follower of Jesus. They have seen my posts, which often reflect my faith in a non-preachy kind of way, and have contacted me to talk about “religion”. I just got off the phone with an old fraternity brother who was amazingly grateful and excited to hear whatever I had to say about the Bible or Jesus, or whatever. I had instant credibility with him because of our past association. We talked for an hour and he told me he would be going to Barnes and Noble to get the Bible and other book I recommended. He also gobbled up some links I sent. How often does that happen?

I have come to believe that using Facebook to deliberately market a church or to press Christianity is not its greatest use. Postmoderns, and that’s who is using Facebook by and large, prefer a less confrontational approach. Strident tones don’t hit the mark with them. Creative, thoughtful and pithy posts tend to draw them in. They also crave authenticity. Sincerely joining the community gives us a stake in it, as opposed to being interlopers pushing our agenda. Presence has power.

Here are some things I try to remember when I post or comment on Facebook:

1. Be real. Share things that genuinely touch you, and that you believe will be a benefit to others.

2. Be concise. Brevity is the soul of wit. Long posts tend not to get read nearly as much as those short, snappy ones.

3. Be imaginative. Find things to say that have not been said over and over. Think about it before you post. There should be real value added to their lives by being connected to you. Make them grateful to be your friend.

4. Be interesting. Some say the great sin today is being uninteresting. That may or may not be the case, but it sure is better to create interest.

5. Be eclectic. Don’t be afraid to be different. Vary your posts between the silly, the profound and the personal. People will look forward to connecting with you if you vary what you say.

6. Be generous. Don’t expect others to comment and “like” your posts if you’re not doing that for them. That’s part of being in the community. Don’t be a voyeur, enter the conversation.

7. Be careful. Posting and commenting is fraught with peril. It is easy to be misunderstood when writing our thoughts. Objectively read over what you have written before you post or comment. Many times I have written something and simply decided not to send it at all.

8. Be sensitive- know your audience. Not everything you post will impress everyone on your friend list. Try to imagine how different sectors of your network will react to what you say. It’s okay to target certain segments, but make it obvious when you do.

Missional Coaching Works!

This is a follow up to my post from December about Missional Coaching with the unemployed in the Coal region of Pennsylvania.

Coaching is taking hold in the PennDel District and this is an example of how coaching can work in the everyday ministry of local pastors and laypeople alike. The result is that we reach people who might never think to set foot in our churches, but who can benefit profoundly from the principles found in God's Word and exposure to the people of God. Here are two examples of changed lives.

Jason (not his real name)- Jason was a frenetic and disoriented mess when he arrived at our first coaching session two months ago. He arrived flustered and with a backpack attached that looked like it was a part of him. He described a background of abuse and abandonment. After years in foster care he ended up homeless on the streets of California. A series of events brought him to our little Pennsylvania coal town. He was doing pretty well until he was fired from his job at a major store chain. When he walked in, he had no goals and was definitely in survival mode. Living alone in a one-room rental, he was desperate for a friend who would not let him down. He shared that his biggest obstacle was needing $12 to get a state ID card. He was so grateful when I was able to connect him the resources to get one, and he made a friend from our church in the process. He was so encouraged, and since that time I have watched him slowly come to life. Religion was not something he was looking for, having had bad experiences in the past. But after our second session he asked if he could come to our church. I said sure, and gave him a Bible. He loves to read and has now become a student of the Word and attends several Bible studies as well as church services. He has reached a number of small goals and expects to be employed again soon. His countenance has lifted as he senses that God loves him.

Diane (not her real name)- Diane came to our little town from Philadelphia with her two young children to live with relatives. Although she is only in her early 30s, she has lost all of her teeth and her self-image is very poor. The smallest obstacle will keep her from following through on what she knows she should be doing. In the past two months she has set some reasonable goals including getting her GED, finding a place to live, and getting a job. Her main goal, however is rebuilding her self-respect. She has an appointment to get her new teeth this week, which will be a dramatic step toward her goal. She has also secured an apartment to raise her children in. She will take her GED test this month. Her goal is to open her own Laundromat because she loves talking with and helping people. She is learning that obstacles can be overcome. Diane says that being held accountable and having someone to believe in her has made all the difference.

More to come....

Missional community coaching in the Coal region

In an effort to combine the power of coaching with a missional/incarnational approach to ministry, a fellow pastor and I have volunteered to provide free coaching services for a local non-profit group in our city. We are only in the second week of this pilot program but we are already sensing that this is something God is blessing. I believe this is fairly new ground and am optimistic that it will open doors to bring transformation in our community.

Most of the clients are in transition and dealing with poverty and unemployment issues; the goal is to bring them from dependence to independence in their lives. Some are from a group working to help young people get their GED, others are from a cash assistance program that provides some training, and others are from an employment placement program. The other pastor and I will each be working with four clients each for four months and then gathering a new group.

We developed a flier offering Free Life Coaching to those involved in the program. The response was immediate, with over a dozen candidates filling out the packets to apply for eight slots. Interestingly, several staff members at this organization were interested in the coaching and said they would be willing to pay for it.

The prospect of providing coaching for those in transition is very exciting. Although we have been asked not to “proselytize,” we are permitted to answer questions and spiritual issues are on the table. The opportunities to share Jesus have already been well received and there is every reason to believe that will continue.

Kingdom synergy- boundless

This is a follow up post about the need for a church plant in the Lower Anthracite Coal Region between Hazleton and Shamokin:

I was on my way to Bethlehem today and met Todd Dewire for breakfast. He pastors the Foursquare church in Frackville. There is a young man in Teen Challenge right now who I met this weekend and he is from Todd's church.
Todd is a former missionary to Honduras, 50 years old. He has an older Pentecostal church of about 30 faithful saints, and is looking to open a church plant in the Frackville Mall. Sounds like a stretch, but his heart is right. He just needs resources.
Is this an answer to our prayers concerning the tremendous need for healthy churches in the small coal towns of this region? Is this an opportunity for selfless kingdom synergy?
I invited him to our Catalyst group since we had been on a prayer journey through that area. He will share his heart with our guys and we will pray for kingdom growth there.

Road trip to a forgotten place

The primary purpose of the Catalyst movement is to reproduce and plant churches. Having been in the Lower Anthracite Coal Region for 11 years, I have become aware of a spiritual vacuum in the area between Shamokin and Hazleton.This area is filled with many small coal villages that have been deteriorating for decades. Places like Ringtown, Sheppton, Ashland, Frackville, Shenandoah, Mahanoy City, Hometown and Gilberton. They constitute a forgotten region, but are still populated with tens of thousands of souls. My research indicates that the Pentecostal witness in these towns in almost non-existent, and the church as a whole there is desperately ineffective in presenting the Gospel. The darkness and misery are almost palpable. Our hearts should ache with missionary zeal for these folks.
I recently received a call from a Christian man in one of these towns (Macedonia?) on an unrelated matter. When he realized I was a Pentecostal pastor he began to share his frustration in being unable to find a healthy spirit-filled church anywhere near his home. I knew of some good churches, but they were at least a half hour away. He and his wife are disabled.
Our Catalyst group will be taking a road trip through this region in May. We'll be piling into our church van to chase a dream that God would send someone to break some new and difficult ground. The purpose of the trip is to birth vision and hear from God as we pray and take in the view. We will see abandoned coal structures, blighted cities, and we may even see a place that is literally burning underground (Centralia). We will engage the people and begin a conversation to get a sense of the cost involved to break the stronghold there. Darkness retreats when faced with the light.
Resources, human and otherwise, are hard to come by in these parts. The brain drain that Pennsylvania has experienced for the past decade or two began here in the 1960's. The outlook is bleak and a church planter looking for obviously fertile ground will not find it here. Breaking through will involve toil, commitment, sacrifice and wisdom.
We tend to see white harvest fields where the population trends are moving up. I wonder is that what God sees? I am of the opinion that God delights to show Himself in such places. Where is the light more appreciated than in a desperately dark place.
I am pleased that Rodney Murphy in Hazleton shares this burden and will be joining us on this trip. He attends another Catalyst group and his church is located on the other side of this forgotten region. We seek a partnership and are asking God to send a team to discover and break the missional code for this part of the coal region. I will update this blog when we return from the trip.

Christianity Today Top Ten books for ministry leaders 2008

Here is a link to an interesting list of books from Christianity Today to provoke thought and conversation for ministry leaders.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/le/2008/fall/21.76.html

From the article: "Charles Spurgeon counseled his students to be discriminating about what they read, and to bathe in good books "until they saturate you." He said, "A student will find that his mental constitution is more affected by one book thoroughly mastered than by twenty books merely skimmed." But which books to choose? Each year in ministry, leaders find there are more books to read and less time to read them. That is why Leadership is presenting the ten books of 2008 deemed most valuable for church leaders. The titles were compiled from submissions by a diverse group of more than 100 pastors from across the country. Our contributing editors then voted to determine the winners in two categories: The Leader's Inner World, and The Leader's Outer World. We hope this canon contributes to your development as both a follower of Christ and a leader of his church. And yes, we know canon means "list" and not "artillery," but we still liked the image."

ALSO- for those interested in growing your library cheaply with local library Book Sales sign up here for automatic notification of sales in your area. Books typically sell for between $1-3 for hardcovers, and .50c and $1.50 for paperbacks at these sales, but arrive early.

http://www.booksalefinder.com/

Communitas: intimacy through adventure

Many of us crave teamwork, adventure and risk in our leadership environment, but most of the time these are sorely missing. We are caught between our need for stability and success in ministry, and the powerful lure to live an edgier form of Christianity, like we imagine Jesus Himself and the apostles lived.

How many times have we bemoaned the lack of commitment we see from church folks? No matter how hard we promote and cajole, it seems like the same folks always make up the core of volunteers. There must be a better way to carry out Christ's mission. What began as an amazing safari turns into a tedious trip to the zoo.

I think I may have found an answer in what Alan Hirsch and Michael Frost call "Communitas". Dictionary.com defines it as "the sense of sharing and intimacy that develops among persons who experience liminality as a group." "Liminality" refers to a place of threshhold, where a group is out of their normal environment and culture and moving into a new phase of experience.

Communitas describes what I felt on the cold and wet soccer field or in the suffocating wrestling room as my fellow athletes struggled together chasing the elusive goal of greatness. It is found in perhaps its most extreme form on the field of battle, when soldiers very lives depend upon their intimate relationships with their comrades.

I have always wondered why I have not found a greater sense of teamwork and closeness in church life, even among peers in our denomination. I have found most relationships to be pretty much surface level, and cooperation to be short-lived. I know I am not alone.

As a fraternity brother in the 1970's the pursuit of communitas in the house was very intentional. In fact, it was the main goal when bringing new members into the house. The hazing and rituals were all about creating a "brotherhood" through liminality. While Christ's methods and goals are very different from those of a secular fraternity, lessons can be drawn from what they are able to achieve.

There have been times when I felt a greater sense of communitas, as opposed to the shallow and paltry sense of "Community" we usually end up with in the church context. Short-term missions trips produce this level of relationship because they place us in a foreign environment with limited resources and uncertain outcomes. Folks feel united, exhilirated and renewed after such an experience, and are generally disappointed when they return to "normal" church.

But I have identified a few other practical ways to promote and create communitas in our churches and lives. Group fasting creates a type of communitas, as do retreats, certain types of small groups, spiritual discipline groups, and intentional missional outreaches. Articulating purpose and vision and plunging into it with others is what these ordeals are all about, and they energize people. There are innumerable ways to do this.

The idea of liminality is crucial because while we go to great lengths to make people comfortable in church, the way to intimacy and greater commitment may lie in calling them, counterintuitively, to a higher level of separation and sacrifice.

I am still researching this idea, but believe that the renewal of our movement and churches may lie in pursuing communitas. Paul had communitas in the churches he planted, and in his planting team. Jesus had it with His disciples, and when given the chance to opt out of it they replied, "Master, to whom would we go? You have the words of real life, eternal life." John 6:68

Seeds planted in unreached tribe

I visited our local skate park in Shamokin alone last night with 7 Bibles in hand to give away. Last week a group of 17 of us cleaned up their park again and served BBQed burgers and dogs, but I think we overwhelmed them and felt we invaded their turf. The Lord showed me last week what I needed to do to plant some seed. Going alone was the right thing last night.
As I got out of my car I approached a group of about 8 youth in the parking lot and asked if they wanted free Bibles. They were suspicious and unreceptive and said they did not need a Bible. I was glad there was another group over by the skate ramps or this trip would have been a bust in 30 seconds flat!
As I approached the group by the ramps I was glad I had called for prayer support from my wife Faith. I could feel the Lord's hand on me. Cold call evangelism is not my style, so I was glad when some of the kids recognized me from our previous clean up trips.
I asked them if they would like a free Bible and they all said "sure". I then asked if I could read a chapter to them and they said "no problem", and started asking me questions about heaven before I even got started. I was concerned that one wise guy would dominate and distract the group with silly questions, but his questions turned out to be sincere. He even told me that he gets afraid sometimes that heaven is real and he won't be there.
There were 7 kids at first, all boys, but then a few others came over to see what was up. We talked for 40 minutes and I got to look into their eyes and see a lot of pain and hunger. I told them that connecting with God was the most important thing, we talked about repentance and drugs and demons and miracles. Some of them knew quite a bit about the Bible, and you could tell which ones knew right from wrong. The focus was on Jesus and what He came to do on this earth. I left when it got dark and told them I would be back soon. I need more Bibles...
This was one of the most exhilirating times of evangelism I have ever had. I think it was because of the uncertainty. I like security and usually try to make any ministry opportunities a "sure thing" with no room for error. I don't think Jesus operated that way. He was on the edge all the time. It did not make Him nervous, but it gave the disciples fits!

Second unreached tribe discovered in Shamokin

My last post seemed to generate some interest so I am following it with this which occurred Sunday night. I do believe that the discussion and implementation of missional ideas and practices is just beginning. Experimentation and retooling are words we had better get used to.

The fact is that unreached tribes make up most of our culture. When we focus on being attractional we see these tribes as competition because we want them to leave their tribe and join ours. But that's not how successful missions work accomplishes the goal of growing the kingdom. We cannot merely put on native clothes in order to infiltrate the new tribe. We must have genuine love for people, and be willing to spend time with them.

Our Faith in Action team of 25 (including teens and children) met at 6 pm for prayer and the Word before heading out on four mercy missions. I shared Luke 14 -the Parable of the Great Supper -to give foundation to our task of going into the highways and hedges. We also included our prayer team, who remained at the church to intercede for our work.

Space does not permit me to elaborate on the amazing God moments experienced by the three smaller groups we sent out. But the group I was leading discovered a second lost tribe of young people at a local skate park. It resembled "Lord of the Flies" as there were no adults in sight, and there was an aboriginal feel to the place.

We first set out for the park where we discovered the "Ultimate Fighting" tribe a few weeks ago (see earlier post). They were nowhere to be found. So we cleaned up the park again and talked and prayed with a group of five who were playing basketball. They seemed embarassed, but grateful as we gave them each a 20 oz. ice cold energy drink.

Next we headed to the skate park. A notoriously dirty and dangerous place. It was filthy, but the tribe of about 30 skaters between the ages of 11 and 20 seemed oblivious to their surroundings. We began sweeping and picking up, waiting for a chance to speak with some of them. We had only 19 energy drinks to give out, but with 30 kids there, I was afraid giving them out would start a riot, so I began to ask the Lord what to do.

Then it became clear to me that I could stand in the middle of the park and hand the drinks out to those who answered questions I would ask. It was a bit risky, but I ran to the van and got the cooler. I summoned anyone who wanted an energy drink to come close, and instantly had a group of 15 hanging on my words. (the older "cool ones" did not come around, it was mostly the younger ones)

I proceeded to ask them general Bible questions off the top of my head. "Who was Moses and what was the most important thing he did?", "Name one thing Jesus said," "Who was Judas and what did he do?", and so on. It was electric. These kids were thinking and talking about God. One kid recited the entire Lord's Prayer. They came up short on John 3:16, but it gave me a chance to tell them about it.

The spontaneous atmosphere, and incarnational character of what we have been doing opens the door for the Spirit to do more than if we had stayed in our church box. It also gives more value to the times we do meet for worship and teaching because that's where we get fueled for the mission.

As we were leaving some of the boys came and said thanks for cleaning up, and for the drinks. I am hoping they will begin to take pride in the place and keep it clean themselves. Then one of the boys, who was wearing a Led Zeppelin t-shirt, came up to me and said, "I think you were my pastor when I was a kid." I thought he looked familiar, and it turned out to be Georgie. His family had left the church in a split a few years ago, but George always sat up front and loved to be in church. It was great to reconnect with him, and I think something stirred in his heart. I know something stirred in mine.

1 Corinthians 15:58 With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don't hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.

Unreached tribe discovered in Shamokin

Many of us have been reading a lot over the past few years about the missional church and how to reach our culture. It is obvious that things are changing rapidly, and we are lurching farther and farther away from the type of church we grew up in. We are clearly at the place where we must be true missionaries who bring the gospel to unreached people, rather than trying to return the culture to a church they never really knew.

In light of this new reality many have spoken of the tribalization of our culture. We are no longer a homogenous "American" culture, but rather a panoply of tiny and distinct tribes. From skaters to goths and from Nascar to NY City arts types, not to mention the many ethnic groups, we seem to be coalescing around fairly narrow personal interests and affinities. The trend is accelerating. The church is seen as a separate subculture all it's own, with numerous sub subcultures. This has profound implications for us in pastoral ministry as we move away from a purely attractional model.

Mountainside began a bold experiment (bold for us, anyway) this summer as "Faith in Action" was born. We morphed a successful in house small group ministry into a team mission approach to reach our own community. The tiny group of 8 who began with us a few months ago has swelled to as many as 32 as we branch out every Sunday night to perform acts of service for whoever needs help. The focus is on the unreached, though we help church folks too. There are no strings attached, and we have not pushed or promoted our church at all. We do pray with people (they almost always cry grateful tears when we do) when we are done, but prefer to wait for them to ask us why we are doing what we are doing. We have had some visit our services, and one single mom has already surrendered to Jesus. Teams then gather at a local eatery to discuss our excursions and share what God did each night.

This past Sunday I took a small group of teens to do some street sweeping and trash pickup at a local playground. As we drove up we were surprised to find a large group of about 35 teens and younger kids gathered on a grassy patch. They were cheering and we noticed two shirtless teens wrestling in the middle. At first I thought they were just wrestling (Shamokin is a wrestling town), but as I spoke with some of the boys, I found out it was their own version of "Ultimate Fighting". There is no punching, but choke holds are allowed, and you either pin your opponent or they have to "tap out". They alternated matches between older teen and pre-adolescent boys. There was not an adult in sight.

I have an extensive history in amateur wrestling and I am not a big fan of the more brutal forms of the sport. Much like missionaries to Africa were forced to overlook the nakedness of primitive tribes in order to be accepted by them I had to withold my criticisms and safety concerns in order to engage the members of the tribe in conversation. I was able to meet a few members of the tribe and set the stage for a return visit in a few weeks.

Shamokin is a difficult mission field. The city is facing bankruptcy and everything good is shrinking, while negatives abound. We have seen 4 churches close in the past few years, with many others holding on for dear life. The situation is dire.

Any strategy to see this community transformed must be long term or we should really not bother. Single events or splashy presentations will not make a ripple. Missions work is not for the faint of heart or glory-seekers. If we had been holed up in church that night we never would have discovered this "lost" tribe. Now we must pray for an open door for the gospel. The need for our being there is acute as we seek to gain their confidence and provide a redeeming presence.

Bell to Well

Some futurists and cultural observers are positing the demise of the familiar Bell Curve which charts normal distribution and the ascendency of what is being called the Well Curve. Some have said that this only happens in times of great social upheaval and transition.

In modern times it was a given that there was a large middle and smaller extremes. The middle class was the norm, with the very rich and very poor at the fringes- smaller in number.

The theory of the well curve assumes that the middle has been slowly disappearing, and the extremes are on the rise. This is hard to argue with when you consider the evidence in education (achievers and dropouts), economics (rich and poor), technology (small and big), politics (liberal and conservative). There are examples in almost every aspect of life.

I heard Leonard Sweet touch on this at a conference last year and was intrigued. I looked for signs of this phenomenon in church life and the news. I am seeing more evidence as time goes on. The megachurch movement is an example. It seems we are seeing rises in large churches which value diversity and excellence, and also in small and house churches which value community. The "plain vanilla" church with little to distinguish itself, is becoming less attractive. I spoke with a seasoned ministry pioneer recently about a church plant in a certain community and he said the only thing that would work would be something that had "an edge to it". That's the edge of the well curve as I see it.

It seems this is already affecting our churches as we have some folks who are very involved in our mission, and others stay aloof and merely attned on Sunday. Some churches are doing away with membership, while others are raising the bar or providing options for membership.

Perhaps this explains the difficulty many churches are having with maintaining a viable Sunday School. It is based on a premise that everyone wants the same thing on Sunday morning. Vanilla is no longer the preferred flavor- everyone wants a custom flavor.

I think this is something to watch in the days ahead. There may be adjustments we need to make to maintain our "edge". I think Jesus lived there!

CONFLICT = INTIMACY

I listened to Nancy Ortberg at the Catalyst Labs in Atlanta a few weeks ago. Her workshop was titled "Authentic Leadership" and was good, but one sentence became defining for me this past week. "Conflict is the only way to intimacy." I was intrigued by it at the time, but it has come to embody so much of what we have been through for nine years.

I am not drawn to categorical statements like this one. I tend to see things in shades of gray rather than black and white. "Conflict can't be the only way to intimacy," I thought, there must be some other paths. There may be, but we experienced the power of conflict in a leadership meeting last week and it did bring us to the place of intimacy. And there are other applications as well.

The first and most obvious reality here is that the determinate conflict of the cross produced the ultimate opportunity for intimacy for the entire human race- any who will respond. The battle raged in the twisted and bloodied body of the Savior and broke a course for us to enjoy the real and awesome, intimate and personal presence of the Father.

Likewise, a birthing mother emerges from the grueling battle to tenderly embrace the little one in the epitomic act of intimacy. Without her struggle there would be stillbirth. Her conflict forces life out of her and into the child. We pray for her in the struggle, and celebrate with her in motherhood.

I am testing this truth in other places too. As I enter the conflict of my 50th winter, with all it's winds and bitterness, I do so anticipating the tender quiet walks in the warming spring air that will inevitably be possible on the other side. The conflict helps me appreciate the peace and growth that will surely come.

In our leadership meeting last week we were reviewing a recent conflict that ended with the departure of one family. I had not the slightest idea how the meeting would develop, but simply trusted God to lead us. There were some extremely tense moments, and the Lord had to prophetically intervene, but the conclusion was tears and revelation that had the effect of creating a new intimacy among us. I was exhausted at the conclusion, kind of like giving birth.

Our church is located in an old coal mining culture that has made an art out of conflict. Our church family has been through some major battles in the past 25 years, and some casualties have fallen. Having weathered some conflicts here myself in the past nine years I have wondered if anything good can ever come from the splits and quarrels that have sometimes divided us. Now I have some hope that we can transition into a culture of peace and close relationship, modeled by our leadership, if we will learn to allow the conflict to create intimacy.

Becoming A Priest To Those Who Don’t Go To Church

Many of you are already in relationship with or have heard of Johannes Amritzer from Stockholm, Sweden (http://www.missionsos.org). Early this year I heard Johannes give a great teaching on “Becoming A Priest To Those Who Don’t Go To Church.” Like me, I’m sure you’ll find something to apply.

Johannes focused first on Abraham in Genesis 23:3-6 and how he had lived among the Hittites in such a way that they had great respect and regard for him – seeing him as a “Prince of God!”

Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, “I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead.” The Hittites replied to Abraham, “Sir, listen to us. You are a mighty prince among us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for burying your dead.” (Heb. = elohyim nasi = “a prince of God”)

- It is not enough to have respect and influence inside of the Church; we must have the same influence outside of the Church!
- Abraham walked in the land that he “would possess” as though he “already possessed it!” We must move through the land that God has promised to give us as though He has already given it and we fully possess it! It is ours!

Johannes then considered the Apostle Paul’s ministry in Athens recorded in Acts 17 and shared seven principles for “Becoming a Church Planting Priest in the City.”

1) Paul had a disciplined spirit. v16

- Paul could move throughout the pagan city without it affecting his testimony. There was no compromise within him.
- He wasn't taken in by the city's carnal attractions, nor did he remain aloof like some “holier than thou" visitor. Instead, Paul was able to observe the needs of the city without it exciting his unrighteous or self-righteous flesh.
- If you do not have a disciplined spirit you're not ready to move forward in church planting.

2) Paul knew how to build relationships with all kinds of people. v17

- He gave value to all people, both in the synagogue and in the marketplace.

3) They gave Paul their platform. v18-19

- Once you are regarded in their eyes, they will open the door for you to share.

4) He connected with their culture. v22-23

- He did not attack them. His statement “You are very religious” may have been viewed as a complement by the Athenians - “Thank you, Paul!”

5. He could quote their authorities. v28

- He related to them by touching something that was important to them!

6) He called the people to repentance. v30-31

- The rest is in vain if we never present the Gospel.

7. He discipled those who responded. v34

- The focus is always on disciples, not simply decisions.

"Tenured bigots" not making it any easier

Barna's revelations regarding evangelicals' abysmal reputation among the young is bolstered by the fact that a recent study found similar views are held by most college faculty members.

"In a recently released scientific survey of 1,269 faculty members across 712 different colleges and universities, 53 percent of respondents admitted to harboring unfavorable feelings toward evangelicals."

This study was not funded by a group of right wing "nutjobs", but by a Jewish group looking for anti-semitism! The study found that faculty harbor ill feelings toward Jews only 3% of the time.

See complete article at Thefire

Most of us have known that strong anti-Christian sentiment exists in the ivory towers of academia, but now there is proof. College campuses remain a chief battleground for the hearts and minds of our most precious commodity- the young.

Another example comes from my alma mater, Lehigh University in Bethlehem. This now secular campus was founded on Christian principles, but their most promoted project for 2008 is a week-long religious seminar taught personally by the Dalai Lama! In addition, all incoming freshmen were required to read the Dalai Lama's autobiography. Though alumni fight bravely to restore some vestige of her proud Christian heritage, hope grows ever more dim.

There are implications for our evangelistic efforts in the months and years ahead. We have yet to see any "method" for reaching the young rise to the top of the heap, but there is hope. Fervent prayer, coupled with strategic evangelistic efforts by persevering saints will win them one at a time. Commitment to a creative, humble and power-filled presentation of the Gospel is ground zero.

Young Americans Can't Stand Evangelicals

There is no doubt about it--young, non-Christian Americans can't stand evangelicals.

A Barna survey just released says, The new study shows that only 3% of 16 - to 29-year-old non-Christians express favorable views of evangelicals. Here is a related news story.

Is this a problem for our evangelism efforts? What is the root cause? What is the cure?