Category: Evangelism

What is a Christian?

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I read a Homelife Magazine article this week by and about Tullian Tchivijian (Billy Graham’s prodigal grandson who admits defeat) called a magnificent defeat at the hand of God. He discusses that as a teenager he rebelled against all he knew to be right and was sucked into sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll… now jump to the present, he is currently founding pastor of New City Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 

 

As I read, my first question was… “What?” Did this guy know who his grandfather was? Did this not influence him at all? Billy Graham was/is God’s ambassador to sitting presidents, heads of state as well as the common people all over the world, who preached the message of the resurrection to more people than the apostle Paul could ever had hoped for. Yes, he knew; and that’s why his life went awry.  

 

A great quote from the article: 

 

“The problem between knowing about God and knowing God is as massive as the Grand Canyon. That distance, that separateness, is something that must be resolved.” 

 

That’s why his life was bankrupt. Now back to my original question, “What is a Christian?” We have all heard various definitions: 

o    One who believes in the resurrection of Christ

o    One who trusts in Christ for his salvation

o    One who believes a certain set of propositional truth

o    One who participates in an organized church

o    One who follows the teachings of Jesus or the Bible

o    One who tries to live by the Ten Commandments

o    The list goes on…

 

Another amazing quote from the article: 

 

When my kids ask me, “Dad, what’s a Christian?” I always answer, “A Christian is one who can say, ‘As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, 0 God. My soul thirsts for God”‘ (Ps. 42:1-2). A Christian is someone who hungers for God more than anything else; more than health, wealth, status, good looks, or a spouse. Make no mistake: What we love is a surer test of who we are than what we say. Actions are much easier to fabricate than affections. 

 

That’s the point of HeartQuest 101, to love God more than anything else; to find that pearl of great price and risk everything to get it; to risk getting out of our comfort zones; to step out of our boats of mediocrity and experience water-walking with Jesus (a story from Matthew 14).  

 

This lifelong journey is a quest of the heart, to actively search for God in order to bring a sense of meaning and purpose to this life, then to bring honor and glory to our Creator and Sustainer of this world. So, how does your life reveal the love of your life? If we claim Christ has that number one spot, how does life lived out back up our affections?

The Historic St. Patrick

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Today, we are all supposed to be Irish, wearing green, displaying the shamrock, looking for leprechauns or pots of gold at the end of rainbows, drinking green beer and eating Lucky Charms… it all appears to be just another excuse to party, and we don’t have to wait for the weekend. So, what’s it all really about? Who was this Patrick fellow anyway?  

Robert Morgan writes (in Amazing Stories About Saints, Martyrs and Heroes) that Saint Patrick died March 17, 461, a day that has since borne his name. Patrick was born about 389 in Britain. His father was a deacon and his grandfather a priest. Roman protection of England had deteriorated, and bands of Irish invaders tormented coastal areas, pillaging farms, slaughtering villagers, kidnapping teens. Patrick was taken at age 16. The Irish farmer who bought him put him to tending sheep, and somehow through all this Patrick found Christ. “The Lord opened to me a sense of my unbelief, that I might be converted with all my heart unto the Lord.” 

Following a daring escape at age 22, Patrick returned home to joyous parents who prayed that he would never again leave. But Patrick’s heart burned for his captors, and one night he dreamt an Irishman was begging him to return and preach. After several years of Bible study, Patrick returned to Ireland as a missionary. The Irish were almost wholly unevangelized at the time, worshiping the elements, seeing evil spirits in trees and stones, and engaging in magic, even in human sacrifice, performed by the druids. “It very much becomes us,” he said, “to stretch our nets, that we may take for God a copious and crowded multitude.” And so he did, planting 200 churches and baptizing approximately 100,000 converts, despite a dozen attempts against his life and violent opposition from civil authorities. In his Confessions, he wrote, I am greatly a debtor to God, who has bestowed his grace so largely upon me, that multitudes were born again to God through me. The Irish, who had never had the knowledge of God and worshiped only idols and unclean things, have lately become the people of the Lord, and are called sons of God. 

Think of the love this man had for God and also for his captors. Patrick would sense the call of God to a foreign land to share the good news of Christ with those living in darkness. He thought of others more highly than himself. He was willing to get out of his comfort zone and step out into a risky future. So, on this day of Irish celebration, how is God leading you to get out of your comfort zone? How will you take a risk for God and allow Him to work through you? Peter was called to step out of the boat and walked on water for a while (Matthew 14). How is God leading you? Remember, Peter would never had experienced the thrill of walking on the water had he not stepped out of the boat!

What we experience here in America on March 17 is a far cry from what I read about the real St. Patrick.

Reaching the Buster Generation

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This is a continuation of my previous post on Ministering to the Buster Generation.

 

The stats are interesting. In 2001, 33% of those ages 18-29 attended church, (compared to 40% of those ages 30-64 and 52% of those ages 65-74). So how does today’s church design a strategy for reaching unchurched Busters? Gary McIntosh (One Church Four Generations) suggests five concepts the church must keep in mind, (the author elaborates but you can brainstorm the possibilities under each point). 

1.   Physically, nothing captivates Busters more than sports and fitness.

2.   Relationally, nothing captivates Busters than friends and family.

3.   Mentally, nothing captivates Busters more than entertainment and music.

4.   Socially, nothing captivates Busters more than improving the environment.

5.   Spiritually, nothing captivates Busters more than a search for serenity.

 

While one-size-fits-all does not fit the Buster generation, there are some keys to reaching them. Each church must determine if they are Buster-centered, Buster-friendly or Buster-hostile. Consider these ideas in becoming more Buster-centered (like saying, “welcome, we’ve prepared this experience just for you”).

·     Play down titles and use first names.

·     Eliminate churchy words like foyer, vestibule and sanctuary and replace them with platform, lobby and auditorium.

·     Provide excellent child-care facilities.

·     Explain everything you do, so they have some idea of what’s going on.

·     Use a style of music that they would listen to on the radio.

·     Dress casually.

·     Remodel the church to reflect contemporary colors, rather than outdated.

·     Install equipment that Busters expect: computer and multimedia projector.

·     Don’t call attention to guests, but welcome visitors as a group and invite them to sit back and enjoy the service, directing them to a welcome center in the lobby.

 

Not only can the church value Busters, but other things can be done to reach this generation:

·     Start a new worship experience designed for them.

·     Make a good first impression.

·     Keep things relaxed.

·     Be positive: help Busters to see the joy in serving Christ.

·     Use a response card rather than asking them to come forward after a service.

·     Start a drama ministry or a video production team.

·     Preach “how-to” messages.

·     Establish new ministries.

·     Teach life skills.

·     Provide parafamily structures: small groups, sports teams, task oriented committees.

·     Be involved in the community.

·     Stress marriage and family.

·     Communicate your vision with practical results of your ministries.

·     Offer time and space since their pilgrimage may last longer than others: they are the first post-Christian generation who lack a Christian foundation; they carry hurts that need healing before they can move to another place in their lives; they learn by experimenting and they are predisposed to thinking that church is irrelevant.

The main thing for Busters is relationships, purpose in life and personal healing… wow, healing hurts and building bridges. What a great task for the church! 

Why Does Atheism Reject God?

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Dinesh D’Souza takes on leading critics of the church from E.O. Wilson to Richard Dawkins, from Sam Harris to Christopher Hitchens, extolling how Christianity is at home in the arena of science and philosophy and can offer a recipe for lasting happiness in a disillusioned world. While considering the book, I found this review very insightful, An Argument Against the Atheists:

 

“Today’s Christians know that they do not, as their ancestors did, live in a society where God’s presence was unavoidable. No longer does Christianity form the moral basis of society. Many of us now reside in secular communities, where arguments drawn from the Bible or Christian revelation carry no weight, and where we hear a different language from that spoken in church.”  That is the opening salvo from author Dinesh D’Souza in his new book, What’s So Great About Christianity. 

 

Why does atheism reject God? This is the part I found fascinating, especially since it has been my conclusion for years!

 

Al Mohler writes: D’Souza’s strongest analysis comes when he considers the true character of the new atheism. It is, he suggests, a “pelvic revolt against God.”  In other words, it is a revolt against Christian morality — especially sexual morality. This is not a new observation or argument, but D’Souza makes it exceptionally well: 

 

My conclusion is that contrary to popular belief, atheism is not primarily an intellectual revolt, it is a moral revolt. Atheists don’t find God invisible so much as objectionable. They aren’t adjusting their desires to the truth, but rather the truth to fit their desires. This is something we can all identify with. It is a temptation even for believers. We want to be saved as long as we are not saved from our sins. We are quite willing to be saved from a whole host of social evils, from poverty to disease to war. But we want to leave untouched the personal evils, such as selfishness and lechery and pride. We need spiritual healing, but we do not want it. Like a supervisory parent, God gets in our way. This is the perennial appeal of atheism: it gets rid of the stern fellow with the long beard and liberates us for the pleasures of sin and depravity. The atheist seeks to get rid of moral judgment by getting rid of the judge. 

 

I have thought this for years, not so much the sexual immorality part, but the fact that modern atheism wants to be accountable to no one. That statement sounds as if atheists are evil people, desiring to eliminate all moral codes. Not true. As a recent media report puts it, atheists want to spread the message that “we’re good people, just not God people.”  

 

In the new book, unChristian, the author states that modern apologetics do not work in our postmodern relativistic society. Christianity just does not “click” using logical rational arguments for God’s existence. I believe we all evaluate the facts as we see them and choose to believe what we do based upon our interpretation of those facts. For atheism, I can’t help but think D’Souza’s point is valid.

Ministering to the Buster Generation

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Broadly defined, Busters were born between 1965 and 1983 and represent about 66 million Americans (roughly ages 25 to 42). They have seen many changes and advances in their lifetime: Roe v. Wade, high technology, video games, television quality and choices, the Challenger disaster, the Berlin Wall came down, peer groups became essential, music had become more cynical, AIDS, the Persian Gulf war, the youthful Clinton administration (his relatively young age and who can forget Monica)…

 

Their characteristics may be described as desiring freedom, non-work-a-holic, into 60’s nostalgia, survival (from AIDS to pollution to over population), feeling neglected (divorced parents, single-parent homes, virtual communities), rejecting the values of the Boomers and even postponing marriage.

 

So, where do they fit in the church? Busters value a true family atmosphere (often coming out of a generation of broken families); get involved in local causes in order to see the results of their efforts, have shorter attention spans (the sound bite generation); want a church to meet their own needs (a pragmatic faith that works for them) and a faith that works for others (becoming involved in social, political and environmental issues)…

 

Let me get to my subject. Gary McIntosh (One Church Four Generations) suggests many ways the church can seek to understand this generation.

  • Define Vision – we must have a clearly defined vision and a commitment to accomplish the task. He says that “to know Christ and make Him known” is too theoretical to be relevant to Busters. Pragmatic busters want to know how the mission will be carried out; how are we going to get to know Christ and to whom is the church trying to make Christ known?
  • Keep Worship Authentic – honest, straightforward, tell-it-like-it-is services are attractive to Busters. They can be short or long, but they cannot be considered a waste of time. They are not so much bored with worship but with services that move slowly. Music is important, so we need to use up-to-date music in a variety of styles, even having busters help plan the services.
  • Focus on local issues – rather than far away places. They will feed the homeless in their own area but seldom will they minister across the country. They want to know that their money is making a difference and do not give because they are asked to give to the regular Boomer channels of missions support. So, experiencing missions is important, even if that experience takes them internationally.
  • Challenge to Short-term Service – the general rule is to recruit for short-term and to renew for long-term. Long-term commitments are not the norm, so experiencing a ministry first helps develop a commitment to it in the long term.
  • Small Groups – Busters love feedback and discussion with people they trust. Step-by-step instructions and accountability are usually needed to move from concepts into action.
  • Answer Questions – since Busters need to sort out various hurts in their lives, the church needs to provide practical messages, classes and groups. They need help with problems they face every day: AIDS, divorce, pornography, immorality, child abuse, drugs and alcohol abuse, STDs. They need honest answers and biblical solutions.
  • Develop Need-Based Ministry – we might call some of these support groups: divorce care, overcoming addictions, surviving abuse.

We have to understand the driving forces behind the group we are trying to reach. This group is the future of the church. What will the church look like after the Builders and Boomers begin to die off? So, what do you think? 

Too Much Emphasis on Conversion

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One of the themes in the book I am reading (unChristian) is that Christians put too much emphasis on converting people to their way of thinking. This is a barrier to many people on the outside of the Christian faith.

 

Think about it, how do we react when the Mormons or the JW’s come to our door? We usually say exactly the same thing! “They’re looking to convert people to their religion” or “I just don’t want to talk with them, I don’t want what they’re selling.” Just as I would never take their invitation to consider their religion seriously, why would I think anyone would do the same when I knock on their door “peddling the truth?” (That is in quotes because do not all religious groups claim to have the truth?). The barrier is that there is no relationship established.

 

One story in the book was about a guy that moved across the country to NYC. He met another guy in town and they had a good conversation. The New Yorker was friendly, something the guy from out west did not expect. Eventually the Christian guy from NYC invited the newcomer to a Bible study. When he said, “no thanks” he never heard from the Christian guy again.

 

Wow, that sure emphasizes a negative side of Christians! Are they looking for the next convert; a notch on their conversion belt? Or are they genuinely interested in people?

 

I was on a business trip to China when I found a fellow believer who was teaching in a school in Shanghai. She told me a fascinating story about her work, the children, the city and the new friends she had met since arriving in town. Since it is not illegal to be a Christian, she would tell her friends (in the normal conversations of life) that she was a follower of Jesus. One new friend said, “You only want me to believe like you do.” The teacher corrected her and said, “I want to be friends whether you believe like me or not.” Great answer!

 

I’m convinced that Christianity is more caught than taught; living a life that honors God and hope that people see our sincere love for God shining through. Hopefully in the normal conversations of life, we will find opportunities to put in a good word for Jesus, not because we want to convert people, but because it is hard to keep silent about the greatest thing that has ever happened to us!

Christianity Has An Image Problem

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There is a fascinating book called, unChristian (Kinnaman and Lyons) that declares Christianity has an image problem. I’ve known it for years but did not really have any research to support it. I often heard stories like:

  1. The church is only after my money
  2. Look at the lifestyles of TV evangelists
  3. Church is boring or irrelevant
  4. Remember Ted Haggard and Jim Bakker?
  5. The church is full of hypocrites
  6. I don’t need to go to church to worship God
  7. Too many priest sex scandals and cover-ups
  8. Christians are too narrow-minded

Once teenagers get their driver’s licenses, it seems participation in church activity is usually the first item scratched off the list. Remember that Christianity is a relationship more than it is a religion. Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit, so believers not living out what they say they believe is one of the greatest barriers to outsiders giving Jesus a try. Believers in Christ are the church; it’s not the building or an activity we do on Sundays. It seems I read that Gandhi would have become a Christian, but he could not find any of His followers.

So how has the Christian faith portrayed itself to a skeptical generation? What does Christian mean to you? For many, it means very conservative, indoctrinated, anti-gay, anti-choice, angry, violent, judgmental, illogical, hypocritical, too political, building their own empires, trying to convert everyone to their way of thinking, who cannot live at peace with anyone who believes differently than themselves. So, what did I leave out? A lot of this originates from the hurtful past of former believers.

How are Christians to overcome this negative stereotype? Today’s Christians are known more for what they are against than what they really stand for. Its one thing to know about Jesus, it is another to really know Him. Assent to a set of propositions is not what Jesus desires, but that we become His disciples, followers who live out what we believe. We are not alone, there are other authentic pilgrims on this journey.

I heard Greg Stier of Dare2Share Ministries tell a story of when he was a pastor, about being in a coffee shop, studying at a table with all his Jesus books in front of him. As he was leaving to pay, there was a Goth looking kid wearing a Marilyn Manson T-shirt behind him who noticed all his books. “Are you religious?” he asked, “Because I don’t like religious people.” Greg looked at the guy and said, “Me neither, I can’t stand religious people! You know who else didn’t like religious people? Jesus! Eventually those religious people had him killed.”

So, there he was with this kid with the Manson gear, both agreeing that religious people made them sick. But Jesus showed them by rising from the dead! Greg then went on to tell him about Jesus being into relationship rather than religion. In some ways people may be into spirituality or even into Jesus, but they don’t like the church. Sad reality, since believers ARE the church.

Church Growth, Pastors and Evangelism

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I just read a Bill Easum article about how to grow a church with less than 500 in worship (this also was sent out through the RASNet.org newsletter). Here is an excerpt:  

You want to know the most important ingredient for growing a small church? It’s a pastor who has one-on-one conversations with non-Christians that leads to their conversion to Christ. I’ve been saying this for decades based on my personal experience as well as my observations of pastors who grow small churches. However, now this insight is backed up by a 2005 study of 700 church plants funded by The Lilly Foundation and the Lutheran Brotherhood titled “New Church Development in the 21st Century.” The study included churches from seven mainline denominations (You can read about the complete findings in the book Extraordinary Leaders in Extraordinary Times).  

The study compares church plants that grow beyond a small church with those that either failed or succeed and then hit a plateau and didn’t grow beyond a small church. Here is the key finding of the study as far as I’m concerned – The more focused the pastor is on evangelism the larger the church becomes.  

 

If you are in a church under 500 in worship the most important thing you can do to grow that church is to practice personal, one-on-one evangelism. In a church this size you can grow the church all by yourself. Just bring in fifty to seventy-five new Christians and/or new members and everything changes. You are the solution, not another program!  

 

I can’t help but believe that thousands of faithful pastors of small struggling churches reading this article have just dropped into depression or into feelings of failure. I know many churches with evangelistic pastors and yet the churches continue to remain small (and the reverse is also true; church growth in spite of the pastor’s efforts). This article caused me to ask a few questions: 

  1. What about the concept of addition vs. multiplication (equipping the saints for the work of ministry by multiplying our efforts and effectiveness)?
  2. What about the role of the congregation in discipling these new believers, (trying to close the back door)?
  3. How welcoming is the congregation to the new believers the pastor has personally won?
  4. What about the pastor who faithfully and regularly shares the gospel yet sees no fruit or growth?
  5. What about the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing people to Christ?
  6. At what point does the pastor admit that it is God who is causing the growth? (perhaps growing to over 500 in worship, when the pastor’s evangelistic efforts have less impact).

It appears this article suggests the lack of church growth is the pastor’s fault, and the converse would also be true, if the church grows it is due to the pastor’s effort… which is something great to talk about at pastors’ conferences.  

 

Kent and Barbara Hughes’ book Liberating Your Ministry From Success Syndrome redefines success as faithfulness, serving, loving, believing, praying, holiness, and attitude (it is a great read).  I believe direct evangelism grows churches, but to make it all about the pastor’s evangleistic activity seems short-sighted.

 

I believe that church growth is more than adding numbers to the roll or notches on a belt; it is about the people of God, on mission with God, making disciples for God, in order to make a difference in the life of the world and the kingdom.

Why Bother With Discipleship?

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I recently read a great article by Dallas Willard regarding the issue of discipleship. He challenges the modern idea that we can be “vampire Christians” like saying to Jesus… I’d like a little of Your blood, please, for salvation, but I do not care to be your student or to develop Your character. In fact, just let me live my life and I’ll see you in heaven. Willard quotes A. W. Tozer, that salvation apart from obedience is unknown in the sacred Scriptures.

He stresses the importance of becoming an apprentice of Jesus, mainly to avoid the practice of sin, and that it is by spiritual transformation that the “cup becomes clean on the inside” and the “tree will bear good fruit.” This is far from assenting to a list of propositions regarding the Christian faith. Walking with Jesus in discipleship is the only way to exercise a power that is beyond us in dealing with problems and evils that afflict our earthly existence.

He ends the article with this quote:

But, someone will say, can I not be saved–get into heaven when I die–without any of this? Perhaps you can. God’s goodness is so great, I am sure, that He will let you in if He can find any basis at all to do so. But you might wish to think about what your life amounts to before you die, about what kind of person you are becoming, and whether you really would be comfortable for eternity in the presence of one whose company you have not found especially desirable for the few hours and days of earthly existence. And he is, after all, One who says to you now, “Follow me!”

Missions and Worship

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I was reminded of a fascinating book by John Piper called, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of God in Missions. He begins this intriguing book discussing the relationship between missions and worship, two topics very dear to my heart.  

 

Piper says, “Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn’t. Worship is ultimate, not missions, because God is ultimate, not man. When this age is over, and the countless millions of the redeemed fall on their faces before the throne of God, missions will be no more. It is a temporary necessity. But worship abides forever. Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal in missions.” 

He goes on to say that it’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the enjoyment of God’s glory. The goal of missions is the gladness of the peoples in the greatness of God. (Psalm 67:3-4). 

“But worship is also the fuel of missions. Passion for God in worship precedes the offer of God in preaching. You can’t commend what you don’t cherish. (Psalm 104:34; 9:2). Missions begins and ends in worship.”  

Piper concludes his chapter one introduction with, “Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak. Churches that are not centered on the exaltation of the majesty and beauty of God will scarcely kindle a fervent desire to ‘declare his glory among the nations’ (Psalm 96:3). Even outsiders feel the disparity between the boldness of our claim upon the nations and the blandness of our engagement with God.”  

 

I understand his point, but I suppose it is also possible to have little zeal for God in worship and still be a congregation focused on missions, perhaps as a substitute for a dynamic relationship with Jesus. This type of missions may be more helping the less-fortunate than it is bringing the nations and our neighbors to Christ. 

 

In corporate worship, how do we encounter God (how do we even encounter God on a personal level)? Can it be that the modern church in America has settled for a worship service over an authentic worship experience, whereby the congregation is connected with God at the deepest level? When was the last time that you saw God’s people gathered for worship where they were passionate about experiencing God (as opposed to being excited about fellowship with others, love for the music, praise for the preacher, etc.)? If God is truly the audience of our worship, what sort of performance did we put on last Sunday? Was He pleased?