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Jesus Next Generation Ministry

Will the real church please stand up?

Do you look at Covid-19 as a mountain or a molehill? Do you have faith the size of a mustard seed or do you have faith the size of an ocean. The second question is much more important than the first because if you have faith the size of molehill, then you will be able to move a mountain. The worst possible scenario would be for you to have no faith at all.

There’s no doubt Covid-19 has been disastrous for nations that have lost freedoms, churches that have lost members, and families that have lost individuals. However, if you stand back long enough, you might begin to see a bigger picture. And hopefully your students see your faith remain in a faithful God.

Covid-19 has been a disruption in all of our lives and not just an interruption. Two years into this disruption and we still do not know how long this disruption is going to last. I am sure there will be some effects that we will have to live for the rest of our lifetime. One thing we do know, however, is that many people who used to go to church and who we thought would come back have not. A general rule of thumb is 50% of church members do not attend the physical church service anymore and unfortunately, it appears a certain percentage of this number never will.

There used to be an old game show called To Tell The Truth where three people pretended to be a certain person. Panelists were allowed to ask all three people questions but eventually had to take a guess at which person was the real person. Panelists and the audience at home knew who the real person was when the real person was asked to stand up.

Using the nature of this gameshow, I want to suggest some good things that have come from Covid-19.

  1. Covid-19 has shaved off many nominal Christians from attending church. Now, that in fact is not good because we would like non-Christians and nominal Christians to attend church. However, if the church looks more like Jesus and less like the world, is that not good? A church that looks more like Jesus will be more attractive to a watching world.
  2. With the decline in attendance, some churches are struggling to stay alive. This again is not good. However, some of these churches had lost their way pre-covid and have now been forced to reach people for Jesus outside of their walls. These churches should have been doing evangelism all along.
  3. The process of persecution purifies, refines, strengthens, and often grows the church both numerically and spiritually. Persecution is not good in and of itself and certainly isn’t something that Christians should seek. However, persecution for the Christ-follower is unavoidable because Christ himself promised it would come to those who believe.

In short, what I am saying is that I believe the real church will not only survive these trying times, but will thrive. Only those churches that are alive and vibrant will remain. Churches that were dying pre-covid and that refuse to change post-covid will not last. Sure, some of their buildings will remain as some churches have more money than they know what to do with. But churches where worship and mission are dead will not attract the next generation. Their buildings will be empty. Kenda Dean has rightly noted that the next generation wants to be active agents of change rather than passive objects of ministry. David Setran says it may not be fair to ask why the next generation is leaving the church if they were never actually part of the church to begin with.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot get away from this quote by Ken Castor in the book Teaching Next Generations: “Older generations, by putting the needs and concerns of younger generations above their own, successfully encourage the next generations to follow Jesus and effectively empower them to lead in faith.” It’s not that the younger generation is more important than the older generation. It’s that the older generation keeps a church alive by releasing control and passing on the baton of faith.

Castor continues, “The question has often been posed: ‘Will the next generation follow in our steps?’ [That’s the wrong question]. Instead, the question should be reframed: ‘Will the next generation follow in the steps of Jesus?”

I couldn’t agree more. If the older generation didn’t follow in the steps of Jesus, why should the next generation follow suit. New wine is needed for new wineskins.

I once heard a story about an older lady in a church who went out of her way to sit with a younger lady during worship. The style of music was not the older lady’s preference but the older lady joyfully clapped and sang along because she was so happy that her younger counterpart was in church and was praising Jesus.

The answer to dead churches and dead people is and always has been Jesus. Jesus brings life! Andrew Root says the American church doesn’t have a lack of resources. It has a lack of life.

Praise Jesus! Worship Jesus! Go to the nations and make disciples for Jesus! Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

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Articles

Reaching a post-christian generation

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It’s probably been a little over a decade ago now, but I can still remember a man on Christian radio talking about how America was a post-Christian nation. The comment rubbed a lot of Christians the wrong way, but even then, I could understand the sentiment. Any “Christian” country is always a generation away from becoming post-Christian. Europe, particularly England, has served the United States for many years now as an example of what happens when the transition is made.

In doing so, church planters and missionaries to England provide American pastors a template to follow as pastors attempt to reach the next generation on American soil. Perhaps you are one that still doesn’t like that term post-Christian. No problem-let’s just substitute the words “biblically illiterate.” To reach this biblically illiterate generation, you’re going to have to start playing the long game. What I mean by the long game is that it is not only going to take longer for Gen Z to accept Christ into their lives, it is also going to take longer for Gen Z to visit your physical church. That phenomenon was taking place pre-Covid and those who have been working with the next generation for a while can verify the fact.

Playing the long game may or may not be your cup of tea. However, an afternoon with a cuppa (that’s how they say it in England) of tea in one hand and a scone or a crumpet in the other hand is going to require a sit-down occasion with some conversation tossed in. Evangelists in America have long promoted the value of having spiritual conversations with others while at Starbucks. It just happens to be that we prefer coffee and cinnamon rolls on this side of the ocean.

The point is someone is more likely to visit your physical church if they have first attended your neighborhood small group or created an ongoing relationship with you through frequent visits, encounters, and stops at Starbucks. I think the Starbucks dining table is where the sketched diagram of the gospel on a napkin became popular. I am sure you have heard of 3 Circles. Starbucks creates a sense of community and this is what the next generation craves most.

But you already knew all of that! Perhaps what you don’t know, however, is that since so many people in England have never been to a church or may not even know where one is, a strategy called “Bible-talks” has arisen. Call it “God-talks”, “Jesus-talks”, “Faith-talks”, or whatever you like, the key principle is that a group of young people are exposed to stories found in the Bible before they are invited to church.

I have been thinking a lot about what this approach might look like in America. If the screen door to your church is your church’s website or social media feed (where one can first watch the worship service virtually) and your front door is defined as either your physical gathering/worship service(s) on Sunday morning or an in-person small group that meets somewhere throughout the week, then perhaps the step taken in-between the two doors needs to be some kind of digital discipleship group.

I am not referring to a digital discipleship group for believers perse, but rather a digital discipleship group for the unchurched (which includes both Christians and non-Christians). This once-a-week or once-a-month or even once-a-quarter online meeting could be designed to accomplish various goals. One group might meet weekly and discuss a chapter they read out of the book of John. Another larger-sized group might meet once-a-month where a facilitator leads a discussion on topics related to how Christians are perceived by the unchurched (Barna’s list includes “hypocritical, get saved, antihomosexual, sheltered, too political, judgmental”). Finally, a once-a-quarter group meeting could be something as simple as hosting a vocational seminar on Zoom or Facebook where your church brings in Christians from various sectors to speak on work as worship. Gen Z is dying to know how faith and life relates to their work. Talks like these offered by the church, led by a Christian leader, and offered to the next generation can go a long way in breaking down the barriers held between our faith and culture.

Having then tasted some of the Holy Spirit and Christian love coming out of these groups and talks, some of the de-churched, unchurched, and never-churched may just be willing to give your virtual and finally your physical church’s worship service a try. Baseball fans in America know the season is upon them (that is, if MLB doesn’t strike). However, they also know the season and the games themselves are long. New rules have been implemented to speed up the game, but clearing 30 minutes of a 4-hour game isn’t exactly pushing it.

If you like slow and are willing to be patient, you and your church may find yourself soon reaping a large harvest out of the next generation. To stay in the game, you need to remind yourself that God’s Word never returns void and that God himself is longsuffering, not wishing that any should perish (Isaiah 55:11; 2 Peter 3:9). Godspeed and Play Ball!

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Articles

Virtually spiritual

Alter Ego' winner Jake Thomsen 'stoked' to work with will.i.am

Holograms, drones, artificial intelligence, gamer-tags . . . these are all part of the world we live in now. In this world, we often distinguish between that which is real and that which is virtual. We use such terms as physical/digital or in-person/online to describe these two different present realities. Our lives are spent and shared in both real space and virtual space.

Your avatar may or may not look or sound like the real you. Your social media profile may or may not be a fabrication of your true self and identity. You may have friends in the real world that you see everyday while at the same time you have friends in the virtual world you’ve never seen a day of your life. You may have money in a brick-and-mortar bank or you may have crypto-currency locked up in a virtual vault.

Our home, work, and third-place lives seemingly alternate in and between these two different realities. Living by all appearances what seems to be alternate lives at times may make you feel like you are two different people. Of course, in the virtual world, you may not even be a person. You may be a fake person, an animal, a robot, or whatever other category your avatar falls under. Under this description, alter-ego wouldn’t even fit the label.

The virtual world has rapidly changed the world as we know it and COVID-19 has done nothing but accelerate that speed of change. Now, what does this all mean for the church? In their book Faith For Exiles, David Kinnaman & Mark Matlock say,

“Speaking of church—that’s different in digital Babylon too. Christians—even those who are very committed—are busier than ever, attend church less frequently, and have many options for socializing outside a faith community. It is not uncommon for people to attend events and services at multiple churches. Faith-based media is so easily accessible and portable that we’ve got a whole class of people whom the early church would have found almost unrecognizable: Christian consumers. Youth group used to serve as a main social outlet for teens and kids, but it is being replaced by sports and social media. The number of hours connecting, learning, and being discipled in a close-knit church community is now a drop of water in the ocean of content pouring out of their screens. Much more could be said, but the point is this: we are on the front end of a digital revolution that is tinkering with what it means to be human. And we ain’t seen nothin’ yet. We are all residents of digital Babylon. We are all exiles now.”

Mind you, the above excerpt was written pre-covid. You may not like or approve of the diagnosis, but you would be hard-pressed to disprove the facts. Is youth group becoming an archaic relic of the past? Is the transgender movement, advances in the field of robotics, and automation itself changing the essence of what it means to be human? All of this talk is kind of scary until you realize one thing: The Bible portrays a world that is spiritual, whether that world is real or virtual. What I am saying is everything you do in the real world is spiritual and everything you do in the virtual world is spiritual. You can escape the real world by going virtual, but you can’t escape the spiritual world because God created you as spirit.

To be human is to have been given a body and a soul-spirit. Since humans were made in the image of God their Creator, humans themselves have been created with the capacity to create. However, not everything that humans create bring glory to God their Creator. Much of what humans have created in the real world and in the virtual world have been found lacking. Whether its a nuclear bomb or an online predator, the world as we know it is not right and is missing something.

Without Jesus, this world has no hope. Without Jesus, man’s spirit will never truly awaken and inside his heart will remain a God-shaped vacuum. Only Christ satisfies in this life, the virtual life, and the life to come. I hope you have met the Savior. If you have, take some time to think about how you can use your God-given creative abilities to worship and praise God. I think what you will find is that you can bring glory to God whether He finds you online or off.

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Teaching

If Pigs could fly

What if I came up with a theory that said pigs could fly? Ok, someone else has already come up with that one, but work with me here. Imagine that I was the first person who came up with this theory and then imagine that somehow, this theory propagated into nearly every K-12 school in America. All teachers were then forced to teach students that pigs could fly and many students themselves began believing the theory was true.

From the outset, my theory that this theory could take root in every school and flourish sounds absurd. But, isn’t this was has happened or is burgeoning to happen with CRT and the public school system? The thing we miss when talking about the spread of CRT in our schools and society-at-large is the T part of CRT. CRT is just that, a Theory. Theories aren’t necessarily true. That’s why they are theories. Theories must be tested tried and true, proven over time before they should gain widespread acceptance. History itself has proven that CRT, laced with Marxism and racism, has not brought about worldwide good. Many wars have been fought and many lives have been lost due to ideas inherent in CRT.

CRT can be found in a philosophy of education called reconstructionism. Reconstructionism contains tinges of other educational philosophies such as progressivism and constructivism. These latter two philosophies pave the way for reconstructionism to take root in our postmodern times. Social utilitarianism becomes a dominant theme within this philosophy. Within postmodernism, constructs lose their meaning. Language itself is deconstructed and old words take on new meanings.

Postmodernism actually leads us to a destination where meaning has no value at all. Taking my theory to its logical postmodern conclusion, we could say the students that believe my theory end up believing they themselves are pigs and they themselves can fly. The results of believing in and living by such a theory would be disastrous, both for the students and for our society. Thousands upon thousands of students would venture to climb tall buildings and leap off, thinking they were Superman, only to plummet to their death.

Theories have consequences. CRT is dividing students and adults alike on racial lines and the consequences of believing such a theory could be just as disastrous as the consequences produced by my proposed theory that all pigs can fly. America doesn’t need another war fought upon racial lines. Our nation’s history has produced enough bloodshed.

Modernism, with its reliance on science, took man’s need away for a meta-narrator (God). Postmodernism, with its reliance on the subjective, took man’s need away for a metanarrative. However, the results from both periods have not been good. We live in what academics call between the 2nd and 3rd world cultures. In the 2nd world culture, sacred and social order is valued, whereas in the 3rd world culture, sacred and social order is abandoned. The 3rd world culture is a culture of “deathworks” and is the reason we see socio-political historical norms and precedents being pushed to the side.

We need our schools to be places once again where teachers can teach facts and not feelings. We need to get back to valuing both form and meaning. Context matters! So does history. So does grammar. So does the 3 R’s. I could go on, but I’ll stop there. I’ve seen enough pigs jump to their death.

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Articles

COME!

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I have a song I am going to request that you look up. But, before I make that request, I want you to meditate on The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). For centuries, the prevailing notion when it came to The Great Commission was that the apostles and the early church had fulfilled the mandate and it thus no longer applied. Christians didn’t sense a need to obey the Great Commission because they thought it had already been obeyed in full. After all, Jesus commanded the Eleven to reach the known world with the gospel and they did. Case closed — right? Wrong!

Missionary William Carey, father of what’s known as the modern-day missions movement, wrote a dissertation in the 16th century entitled An Enquiry into the Obligation of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathen that restored the idea that the Great Commission is for Christians of every age to obey and fulfill. Rather than getting into the semantics of The Great Commission (the main verb, subordinate participles, different translations, or parsing the Greek), let me just say the main point of the verse is for Christ-followers to be Making Disciples. While there are some who want to argue whether the “GO” in the Great Commission means to intentionally go or means “as you are going,” I prefer to ask, “How good is our going?”

When it comes to missions, part of our going includes giving. However, the statistics on going and giving seem underwhelming to say the least. “Americans have recently spent more money buying Halloween costumes for their pets than the amount given to reach the unreached.” Perhaps, just perhaps, we are not going and giving as much as we think we are. Due to our unwillingness to go, perhaps God has another plan. Don’t get me wrong — when it comes to going, God has no Plan B. The Church is God’s plan to reach the known world. There is no other plan. But if the American Church won’t go to the nations as much as God has called us to, perhaps God is in his sovereignty is allowing the nations to come to us. The question then becomes, will we “GO” to those in our own nation.

Really, we have two choices. We can sit and bemoan the fact that illegal immigrants are crossing our borders by the droves everyday. Or we can get inspired to do what Jesus has called us to do and go reach them for Christ. Maybe you need to take time to go and learn a new language. What if we were discipling in droves rather than complaining in droves? We have not just been unfaithful to obey the Great Commission. We’ve also been unfaithful to leading, planting, and building multi-ethnic churches. If you’ll do a serious study of the early churches in the Epistles, you won’t find a homogenous church. But what you will find is tons and tons of churches made up of Jewish and Gentile believers who have been brought together by the blood of the Lamb. Only Jesus can heal our nation’s wounds. Only Jesus can bring the races together. Only Jesus can inspire us to GO or now GO to those who are coming!

Look up and listen to Neil Diamond’s song They coming to America and get inspired. Immigrants from “all over the world are coming to America” and they “want to be free.” True freedom is found in Christ, not a nation. Immigrants are coming to America and looking for a “home.” This earth is not our home, but Heaven is. Immigrants are “traveling light and are coming in the eye of the storm.” Yes, immigrants are coming and many Americans are upset that they are coming. But, “they coming to America today.” TODAY is the day of salvation! Will you GO? Will you make disciples of the nations in America today?

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Articles

Need of the Hour

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In recent posts, I discussed an urgent need of the Church. I stated the Church needs to recommit itself to soul-winning and I even gave an evangelistic method that I think works well in our day and time.

If you are a Pastor, a good place to start for emphasizing the importance of evangelism and for helping your congregation to rediscover a passion for such would be the book of Acts. Most pastors know this as common knowledge. However, what many pastors often miss is that the early church, along with its earliest apostles, were disobedient to the Lord’s command to take the gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the Uttermost parts of the world. As Jews, the apostles and the multitude of disciples were perfectly comfortable with staying home and taking the gospel to Jerusalem. After all, they didn’t have to move (We like our couches). But Samaria??? To those Gentiles???

It was only under persecution (after Stephen was martyred for his faith) that the church was forced to scatter, that Jesus’ disciples became obedient to task of worldwide evangelism. Evangelism is so much more than telling only those you like about Jesus or than telling only those who look and sound like you about Jesus. The narrative in the book of Acts that many pastors either miss or skip over is the narrative that the early churches (read the rest of the NT letters) instantaneously became multi-ethnic congregations because the disciples in Acts finally got on with being Jesus’ witnesses outside of Jerusalem.

To every degree possible, churches should strive to be multi-ethnic, multi-class, and multi-generational. This is what it means to be the church and more importantly, this is what it means to be “in Christ.” Those barriers that used to divide us and those barriers that still divide those “of the world” have been overcome by Jesus. This is what led Peter, who was once a racist himself, to declare that Christians of all color (The Church!) “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession.” And why? “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:9). Thus, evangelism isn’t a call for one ethnicity to share Jesus with one’s own ethnicity. Rather, sharing Jesus with others (Evangelism) is for all ethnicities to share with all other ethnicities.

Besides rooting out racism and building multiethnic churches, the church has many more needs this hour. At this moment, I will only delineate on a few, and of which I think are most prominent. Having written to pastors, let me now share a word with next generation pastors, leaders, etc. It should come as no surprise to you when you see a surge in gender dysphoria and transgenderism within our nation and church’s children and youth. What are you to do about it?

Just as I encouraged Pastors in this post to start with the book of Acts for highlighting the ministry of evangelism in their churches, I want to encourage you to start with the book of Ephesians for teaching “Identity in Christ” to your students. I am convinced the first thing churches need to teach new believers is what their new identity in Christ is all about. There are many resources available for such an undertaking. However, I want to share a particular resource because it comes at this subject from an angle that most resources do not. In Building a Multiethnic Church, Dr. Derwin Gray approaches “Identity in Christ” from a church perspective and not just an individualistic perspective. Thus, when teaching about how identity in Christ applies to the multiethnic local churches in Ephesus, Dr. Gray says, “We”, not “I”. And this interpretation would have been exactly what Paul had in mind when he wrote to the church of Ephesus (Ephesians 1:1):

-WE ARE SAINTS (EPHESIANS 1:1-2)

-WE ARE BLESSED (EPEHSIANS 1:3)

-WE ARE CHOSEN (EPHESIANS 1:4)

-WE ARE HOLY AND BLAMELESS (EPHESIANS 1:4)

-WE ARE LOVED (EPHESIANS 1:5)

-WE ARE ADOPTED SONS AND DAUGHTERS (EPHESIANS 1:5)

-WE ARE A PEOPLE OF PRAISE (EPHESIANS 1:6)

-WE ARE REDEEMED (EPHESIANS 1:7)

-WE ARE FORGIVEN (EPHESIANS 1:7-10)

-WE HAVE AN INHERITANCE (EPHESIANS 1:11-12)

-WE ARE SEALED AND FILLED WITH GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT (EPHESIANS 1:13-14; 5:18)

-WE ARE POWERFUL IN CHRIST (EPHESIANS 1:15-22)

-WE ARE ALIVE (EPHESIANS 2:1-5)

-WE ARE TROPHIES OF GRACE SEATED IN HEAVEN (EPHESIANS 2:6-7)

-WE ARE GRACED (EPHESIANS 2:8-9)

-WE ARE GOD’S WORKMANSHIP (EPHESIANS 2:10)

-WE ARE BROUGHT NEAR TO CHRIST (EPHESIANS 2:11-13)

-WE ARE A NEW HUMANITY (EPHESIANS 2:14-16)

-WE ARE CITIZENS AND MEMBERS OF GOD’S HOUSEHOLD (EPHESIANS 2:18-20)

-WE ARE GOD’S NEW TEMPLE (EPHESIANS 2:20-22)

Yes, We Are! And may I remind you the “WE” is people of every nation, tribe, and ethnicity, according to the book of Revelation. Peter got it! And Paul, the one formerly known as Saul who overlooked and approved of Stephen’s death, got it! With God’s help, Peter and Paul discovered their new identity. And so too can your students!

Finally, both churches and youth groups need to allow more time for members and students alike to testify of the grace of God in and upon their own life. Testimony time doesn’t have to be just a time to share one’s salvation story. Testimonies can include what God is doing in and with you on a weekly basis!

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Articles

The Better Choice

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In yesterday’s post, I highlighted the importance of a church placing evangelism at the forefront of it’s ministries. When it comes to being an effective evangelistic church, research has proven there is no one-size-fits-all approach. However, there is one method of evangelism that remains at the top of all other evangelism methods and that is the method of personal evangelism. Word of mouth remains the best way to share Jesus with others.

In this post, I would like to share a personal evangelism approach that I created. However, before I get to that, I would like to give a brief history of evangelism in the church from a broad scale perspective — “the how”, if you will. The gospel message never changes, but methods of sharing the gospel always will.

In the 1970’s, bus ministry ruled the day. In the 1980’s, mass media in the form of radio and televised services took over. In the 1990’s, the worship service, with an ever-increasing focus on contemporary music, became the tool (don’t forget about the family life center). In the 2000’s, Sunday School and small groups became the front door of the church. In the 2010’s, a church’s website became the virtual screen door before one walked through the physical front door of the church. In the here and now—the 2020’s— your church better have a presence on social media.

Once again though, in all these changes, the gospel never did. Within the church and its evangelistic training circles, we went through just as many changes as described above. We went from memorizing the Romans Road to participating in training such as CWT, EE, Faith, Grow, Share Jesus without Fear, The Story, 3 Circles, and the list goes on.

All of these tools have merit and are worthy of use, — even today. However, as our culture changes by the day, we need to come up with more relevant tools. In many ways, our evangelism needs to become more apologetics-based. One reason this is so is because our nation has become much more religiously pluralistic.

Here is a strategy I recently came up with. For right now, I am calling it the “Jesus is better” approach. I think we have reached a place in our culture where we first need to help people expose their own idols and then help these same people begin to deconstruct the idols they have put before Creator God (Jesus).

Here’s how my approach works! I like to ask people what their favorite thing in the world is. If it was me answering the question, I would probably say, “watching college football” (good thing the season is almost here!). Then I would follow-up the person’s answer by first affirming their answer and then asking the person another question. For example, “Watching college football is great, but do you know there is something better?” It is at this point you need to genuinely listen to the person’s response. If it was me answering the question, I would probably catch on that the person asking me the question was a Christian and I would say, “Yes, I know there is something better. Knowing and serving Jesus is the best!” But if I was not a Christian and I was answering the question, I would probably respond by saying, “What?” is better. If you are the one asking the questions, this is primetime to say “Being a friend of God” is better.

There could be a range of responses from here, but one of the most frequent responses will be “How?” do you become a friend of God. This is where you BOOM—share the gospel! Share your own story of how God saved you and how you became His friend. Tell about how you were walking planet earth not giving any thought to God when . . . You can talk about prayer and Bible reading, as it relates to being God’s friend, but you must first share the gospel! If the person you are talking to happens to reveal that he or she is already a Christian, discussing quiet time habits and devotional times are totally appropriate. These practices relate to being a friend of God, but outside of Jesus initiating a saving relationship with us, it is impossible for us to be God’s friend. Romans 5:10 is clear that left to ourselves and to our sin, we are God’s enemy. Thankfully, Jesus went on to say in John 6:44 that His Father had the ability to draw sinners like us to Jesus so that we, his enemies, could be saved and thus become his friend! That’s the gospel and that’s what we share!

Here is another example of my “Jesus is better” approach. Say you are a woman and you are talking to another lady. You might say to her, “What is it in life that you like doing the most?” or “What do you value most in life?” She might respond with “shopping” or “family”. This is where you reaffirm her, saying “Shopping (or family) is great, but do you know there is something better?” Here again, you will need to gauge the responses, but if she says, “No, what?” is better, you are now ready to segue into the gospel by responding with “Having a relationship with God whereby you can talk to Him and He can talk to you” is better. Again, be ready to receive a range of responses here such as “I didn’t know that was possible”, “What are you talking about?”, or “Oh, I see where you are going with this” and again be ready to respond appropriately to each. This is no cookie-cutter strategy to sharing Jesus with others. You will need to think of possible scenarios that could come up yourself and you will likely already know how certain people will respond. Know that the Holy Spirit will help you and can give you words you didn’t know you had (Romans 8:26, Mark 13:11).

What I love most about this approach is its conversational nature. The conversation is bound to go in a number of directions. People are tired of hearing us preach to them in the form of gospel presentations. What they really want to know is do we care. Do we care enough to discover where they are at in life and then are we willing to lovingly lead them to take the next step.

“If you’re not fishing, you’re not following.”

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Articles

Fields (and fields) of Corn

Field of Dreams game to return to Iowa in 2022 | FOX 2

A few weeks ago, in a cornfield out in Iowa, Major League Baseball put on a real Field of Dreams game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox. The game lived up to its billing, providing three home runs in the last inning, not to mention a walk-off home run that gave the White Sox the victory. Fantasy became reality as a movie came to life.   

Jesus once spoke about fields, but he didn’t have baseball in mind. Jesus talked to his disciples about the fields being ripe for harvest (Matthew 9:35-38). Now, a cornfield is getting closer to the picture Jesus had in mind. The only difference is the corn would have represented people. If you plant corn, you know you have to wait and pray, hoping the corn seed you planted will be met with the right conditions so that one day you can pick real corn off the stalk. 

In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus talked about sowing seed and the different types of soil that the seed falls on. Jesus said the seed was the Word of God (Matthew 13:1-23). If we are not careful, I think we might confuse these two different accounts. In the latter account, Jesus is talking about people’s reactions to the gospel seeds that we sow. Some people will receive the gospel and some people will not.

But Matthew 9:35-38 is different. Jesus is saying that the fields are ALWAYS ripe for harvest. There are people right now who are ready to receive the gospel, if only we will share. It is true that we will sow gospel seeds and sometimes have wait to wait many years before we see the fruit of it in people’s lives. But it is equally true that sometimes we will sow gospel seeds and see immediate fruit. Not everyone receives the gospel the first time they hear, but some do. At the same time, sometimes we reap what others sow. You may share the gospel with someone who has heard it a thousand times, and you just happen to be the one who leads that person to the Lord. That’s what Jesus is saying in this account: Look up, There is always corn ready to be picked!

Many denominations and churches have lost their way. They wonder why their numbers are plummeting. The answer is rather quite simple. They’ve stopped harvesting. A church or denomination that stops winning people to the Lord will eventually die in the same way that a crop will die without water. We must share the gospel with everyone everywhere everyday so that all the gospel seeds that have been planted by us or others will continued to be watered. 

Most church leaders agree that the church has at least five purposes, which are mandated from Scripture. Though given different names by different leaders, those five purposes are Worship, Ministry, Discipleship, Fellowship, and Evangelism. I would add Prayer to that list. However, of those five, I would consider one to be essential or primary. You might think it to be Worship because after all, didn’t John Piper say that missions exists because worship doesn’t. Piper’s analysis is correct, but glorifying God is the end-result. Without people being won to to the Lord, Worship, Ministry, Discipleship, and Fellowship simply cannot happen. 

My dream is that struggling churches would return to following Jesus by being “fishers of men” (Matthew 4:19). That Jesus would open their eyes so that they would see corn as far as their eyes can see (a trip to Iowa in the middle of harvest season might be a good place to start). That they would once again “seek and save that which is lost” (Luke 19:10).

If I was a lost person, the last place I would want to go is to church. I would have no desire and would feel out of place (kind of like a fish out of water). But, if I had just come to know the Lord, the first place I would want to go is to church. I would crave the exhortation, edification, and encouragement from being with other like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ. The culture we live in has changed. The church needs to stop inviting people to church and start inviting people to Jesus. Cultivate relationships with lost people on their field. We’re the road team now. Go to their homes and do things with them that they enjoy doing. It might be going to a ballgame. Then, initiate gospel conversations. If you are then able to pick some corn, don’t leave them out to dry. The first thing you should do is invite them to attend church with you. After all, you’re already friends. 

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The War within

The desire of self- destruction. “Unless your name is death, I would… | by Lagos Thomas | Medium

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By Their Strange Fruit : Biblical Justice

Have you noticed lately how American Marxism is gaining ground in our culture and society? From college campuses to social media to mass entertainment to peer pressure to corporate politics and more, the next generation continues to face an incoming onslaught and ongoing avalanche in the form of classroom state-mandated CRT, availability of transgender multi-use restrooms, and the promotion to devalue the concept of the nuclear family.

The truth is the seeds of Marxism have been in place for decades in various American institutions, but now the seeds have grown up and are beginning to germinate in full bloom. Just as many from the LGBQT community have come out in time, so now many underground Marxists have come out of their closets.

It is at this point I want to remind you of a reference I made in a previous post to Rod Dreyer where he wrote of Marxism not as being a different political ideology, but rather being a rival religion to the Christian faith. Rod is right. Marxism and Christianity are at odds with one another. I could spell out many differences between the two religions, however, my preference is to share some commonalities.

CRT, which is a staple of Marxism, has captivated the next generation due the theory’s emphasis on justice. Overcoming injustice is certainly a good trait and one that Jesus would affirm. In fact, Jesus spent much of his life correcting the injustices he saw around him. Has the Church spent too much time trying to get people on earth into heaven to the peril of ignoring biblical justice, thereby allowing heaven, in the form of God’s Kingdom, to come down to earth? Derwin Gray speaks to this phenomenon at some length when he writes of building a multiethnic church in the here and now. One day, believers in the Lord Jesus Christ will gather from all tongues, tribes, and nations to worship King Jesus in and around the throne room of God. But, why wait until then?

I certainly don’t approve of Marxism or CRT. But can we not say that many of Marx’s adherents are trying to make a right, yet are going about it in the wrong way. I mean, rioting and looting and burning American cities, buildings, and monuments down to the ground are not ends that justify the means. There is a proper way to bring about justice. But how can outright force, violence in demanding one’s way, and defunding the police be the correct means? I am not a pacifist. There are times when war is necessary. But declaring war on your nation when your nation is the greatest nation on earth is not one of those occasions.

Many young people in BLM, Antifa, and many young people on college campuses and in public schools are chasing down two things: (1) the perfectibility of man, and (2) Utopia on earth. Now, trying to improve society and our earth, even through environmental means, is a noble cause. Jesus was all about restoring culture on earth and his followers should be as well. However, Jesus also realized something that Marxists do not. Jesus realized that man could never perfect himself on earth and that utopia on earth will never occur on this earth — that is outside of Jesus making it happen. In other words, neither idea is going to happen this side of heaven. The good news, however, is that one day Jesus will right all wrongs! Jesus will create a new heaven and a new earth where people he has made righteous will live in harmonic utopia. Systemic, structural, and individual racism will also end for good!

No society, no culture, no nation will ever be perfect. America the beautiful is full of flaws and has a history marred in sin. This is no cause to erase history or to forget history. Rather, it is cause for America to learn from its past failures, make amends, and make sure that its sins do not reappear. This is where God comes into picture. America can’t make itself right in her own efforts and neither would her self-destruction cure all evils. The better route is for our nation to repent of its sin, turn to Jesus, and begin to follow His Word. Then and only then will peace flow like a river and justice roll like a wave.

Christianity offers a better narrative than Marxism! And Jesus, not man, controls the narrative. Do you know this Jesus? The One that told the scribes and Pharisees they did right to tithe but did wrong to neglect the weightier matters of the law such as justice, mercy, and faithfulness. The One that said he was sent to preach the good news to the poor and to set the captives free. If not, perhaps you need to read the gospels or watch The Chosen. The Chosen contains much information that is extrabiblical yet is nonetheless one of the best visual presentations I have seen of what the Christ may have been like while walking this earth. I ask you again, “Do you know Him?

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Let’s shake on it!

Image result for black hand white handshake

There is no issue more controversial right now in our churches, schools, and workplaces than the issue of critical race theory (CRT). This theory has torn the nation, denominations, and even families into two.

I have written previously about CRT, but I think I need to expound further. Rather than come at CRT from an academic angle, I think it is high time we all speak personally to the subject at hand.

CRT as a theory in and of itself has a lot of complexities and I am not going to delve into every aspect of the theory. I will say that within my own convention, the majority of black pastors would say that CRT has made some contributions to society at-large and that the majority of white pastors would say to side with CRT is to side with heterodoxy.

Rather than shout at each other from across the room, let’s all try to sizzle the emotion for a second and try to understand where each side is coming from. I don’t think black pastors are saying CRT is bulletproof. At the same time, I think that white pastors are doing their best to accentuate the authority and sufficiency of Scripture.

When it boils down to it, I think black pastors would like white pastors to acknowledge that systemic and structural racism exists while I think white pastors would like black pastors to acknowledge there are evils that exist within CRT and that these evils need to be made public.

Can I just say, as a white pastor, that systemic and structural racism exists and that it has existed in America since its inception. This fact shouldn’t be hard for anyone to admit. At the same time, I must say that I am not a proponent of CRT and I think our country would be better off in the short-term and in the long-term without it.

That being said, CRT, which is founded on the three legs of equity, inclusion, and diversity, has brought many atrocities to light. What I mean is that CRT has forced and is forcing our nation to discuss race-related issues that have often been side-stepped or ignored altogether. The problem is civil discourse has taken a major hit over the last decade and it has become hard for many people, even of the same race, to talk to one another about any subject.

Rather than talk to each other about the nuances of CRT, I think it would be best if we first examined our own hearts and then began talking to one another as fellow image-bearers of God.

When you examine yourself, ask yourself if you are a racist. Probe yourself to see if you have ever displayed racist behavior or attitudes toward another God-given image-bearer. If you have, repent first to God, and then whereas possible, repent to the person you sinned against. There is no way you will do the latter until you have done the former.

Let me ask you this: How much in your life have you gone out of your way to get to know people of other colors, backgrounds, nationalities? And when I ask you that question, I mean right here in America and not on some international mission trip. Many times, I’ve been the only white guy playing full-field soccer with hispanics or the only white guy playing full-court basketball with blacks. I once lived in an apartment complex where I was the minority. People of other colors know whether you love them or not. They can tell by your actions and not just by your words. I would submit that once we get right with our Maker, we’ll be able to get right with other men.