Category: Faith Ponderings

Dear Salvation Army, 4 Proven Ways To Evangelize

Dear Salvationist,
How does evangelism work?
Does the word “Evangelism” turn you off?
Does that word evoke in you some sort of imagery of phoniness and deceptive means to introduce people to Christ?
Is there a proven method to reaching people?
Is that what we’re called to do – to “reach people”?
What does “Evangelism” look like in our world today?
Obviously it differs from culture to culture.Photo Mar 10, 9 27 12 AM

You’ve seen them before in your neighborhood.
Is it dishonest to NOT answer the door when the Jehovah’s Witness knocks on it?
You keep telling yourself to be polite, yet you’re still in your pajamas and your hair is a mess, you can’t help but feel embarrassed and that your personal space is being invaded.

Have you been here before?
Most of us have.

Is this the proper way to evangelize?
Is there really a blueprint to evangelism?
Do you have to rehearse cue cards and scripture passages, until you’re polished and prepared to really “sell it”?  Is that what evangelism is – selling a product, selling Jesus?
I don’t think so.

Photo Feb 24, 1 29 59 PMThere’s something harsh these days about cold calling and neighborhood canvasing.
Don’t get me wrong, perhaps in some ways it can be successful…I’ve just never seem much evidence to that fact, instead quite the opposite.  People are put off by it.  Most want to have nothing to do with what “you’re selling”.   I’m not proposing we stop evangelize, I just think that perhaps we’re going about it all wrong.


Dear Salvation Army, Here are 4 Proven Ways To Evangelize:

1. True Evangelism Happens Organically.  Photo Mar 10, 9 28 31 AM
Genuine evangelism happens naturally and because the sweet aroma of Christ is evident in our compassion for others.  This isn’t a forced, “cold-call” or a cue card session.  This is Christ being seen in us, spontaneous and real – no pretenses, no ulterior motivations, just a Christ-follower wanted others to experience the free of grace and love.

2.  Relationship Building
handsTrue evangelism and even discipleship takes place when we care more about the person than we do a “pew-filling”.   Relationship building costs more in us, perhaps that’s why people are less inclined to invest in relationships than they are in the door knocking type of evangelism.  When we intentionally seek out people, befriending them, caring about them, showing up for them – we will see a deeper type of compassion and love in us.  We will want to fully commit to sharing Christ.  We will take the time to be the very reflection of Christ.  Relationship building, to me, carries the most authenticity when it comes to evangelizing to people around us.

3.  Coffee Shop/Bar Gimmicks
Pastor Offers “Free Prayer”… 
I cringe at the word “Gimmick” but it means more than just phony pretenses and cold

free1
Isn’t all prayer “Free”?  Who’s paying for prayer? 
approaches.  If we have this desire to win souls, and we are brave, we can put ourselves “out there”.  This won’t drive the masses to your corps (church), but this is a different type of statistic – one that carries compassion to the need.  Set up shop in a cafe’.  Place a card that says “free prayer” or something like that.  Go to the local Bar (gasp) and sip a coke-cola while you offer yourself to meeting people with Christ on your mind and heart.  (** I would caution you, with the latter approach, that if you have or had a drinking problem – I would advise against going to the bar and sitting.  The temptation might be all to real for you.**)  There is something about getting into the community and being a beacon of hope where perhaps someone is searching for a voice of encouragement and care.


4.  Finding YOUR Groove!
grooveDon’t be someone you’re not.  Don’t be fake.  Don’t put on a show – Jesus isn’t a show, or a facade, and I wonder sometimes how God-honoring some of these evangelistic methods truly are.  Does God need us to sell Him to the masses?  Is that what we do?  Is that in the job description?  I mean, sure, we need to be intentional, we need to care about others, but do we have to go door to door?  Do we have to pass out tracts at a sporting event? – No.  I think that REAL evangelism looks nothing like that – I think it can present itself as hateful instead…and people are so turned off by it, that no one pays attention to it.
I believe God has given all of us unique gifts and abilities – perhaps within those gifts and abilities lies this sweet-spot.  It’s our groove.  It’s the place where we thrive and where God thrives with us.  Perhaps, it is in this groove that our true abilities to evangelize really takes wings.  Within our groove we find balance and commonality with others.  Within our groove God brings people to us through the path that we’re on.  Within our groove true passion and genuine love is evident.

So what’s your groove?
Where has God led you?
How has He used you to bring others to Him?
What are your proven means to evangelism – not cold-calls and passing out tracts, but real, tangible relationship building, loving, caring compassionate, authentic evangelism?

Dear Salvation Army…what is your groove?
Dear Salvationist – Where is God leading you?
Who is He leading you to?

Something more for our Army world to ponder today.

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5 Questions For All Christians To Ponder

These are some basic Questions that we as Christ-followers ought to ponder…also, I would really love to hear your answers!  This is a safe place to ask and answer Please comment below or on this social media feed…let’s dialogue together!

“Quietly trust yourself to Christ your Lord, and if anybody asks why you believe as you do, be ready to tell him, and do it in a gentle and respectful way.” (1 Peter 3:15 The Living Bible)

1) What is Salvation & Stuff?

What does it mean to you?
How do you receive it?
Can you keep it – what does maintaining that salvation look like?

mod2) How do biblical texts apply to modern society today?
Do they still apply?
How do I know which ones still apply?
How to I pick and choose these?

 

 

3) Why does it appear that God is morbidly violent in the Old Testament, yet Jesus seems to be a pacifist in the New Testament?  God
How do we reconcile the two if God and Christ are both a part of the Holy Trinity?
How to we reconcile deaths of children in the old testament when Jesus says “suffer the little children to come unto me” in the new testament?
What has changed from the old to the new?

free4) How does free will affect my faith?
If God preordained all things, where does that leave us?
Does this mean I actually have free will or is it a selective type of free will?
If I have this free choice/free will does that mean God doesn’t know what I will choose?

5) Why do you believe?   believe
Is it because of your family or parents?
Is it because of your personal experiences in life?
How do you quantify your faith to those around you?
What makes your faith in Christ better or more tangible than other religions or faiths?

I look forward to your personal ponderings on these questions…
There is no dumb or wrong answers here…This is a safe place to question, to search and to help one another along this faith journey!  So please, don’t hold back…let’s talk about it!

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Dear Salvationist -Making War and Swaying With Booth!

“We are sent to war.  We are not sent to minister to a congregation and be content if we keep things going.  We are sent to make war…and to stop short of nothing but the subjugation of the world to the sway of the Lord Jesus” (William Booth)

Dear Salvationists, allow me but a few minutes to ponder and dissect this quote by our Founder: 

I understand this quote…I really do. booth
In some ways it resonates with me.
I know that within our world there is a spiritual war that wages on for the souls of men, women and children.
I also have the understanding that for forces of darkness (Satan, demons, sin & death) are not (nor will they ever be) equal to the force of Light who is God – the Creator and sustainer of all life.

I agree with this quote…and yet I have trouble with it.
I agree that we are to engage in a spiritual war as soldiers – not of just an army formed by men and women from the 1860’s, but as an army called by God.  We face opposition almost daily, and even when we wear the uniform (or because of it), we encounter resistance and even contempt.  The spiritual war, which is unseen, is real…it is evident.  This war has claimed millions of souls, and it will not cease simply by ignoring it.
I agree we are to wage this war.
I agree we fight for more than “good works”.
I agree that this army of salvation is here for more than just Sunday church services.
We are more than just a congregation.

“…We are not sent to minister to a congregation and be content if we keep things going…”

However, I wonder if this type language is insulting to churches around the world today?
I understand the context and time that this was written in. I’m not bashing the Founder, or disagreeing with our mission.  I just wonder if these words apply more for the time in which General Booth lived than it does today?  There was a certain segregation in the industrial age from the working class, the aristocrats, the poor.  Even among the churches, in that era, the marginalized and poor were not being reached.  Does this still happen today?  Was this about bashing the contemporary church of Booth’s day or about rallying Salvationists into action?  I believe it was the latter.   I believe William & Catherine intentionally set out to do what needed to be done  in their day and their mission and purpose certainly went beyond the perimeters of “Church”.

(Coincidentally, I wrote about this very topic last week entitled “Are we ‘Doing’ Church All Wrong?” and you can read more about that pondering by clicking that hyperlink. )

I wonder if we, as an Army are STILL fully committed to this war? others
I wonder if we’ve become lacks in some ways.
Is there still a fire in our hearts?
Are we still willing to wage to the very gates of hell for the lost and hurting?
Sometimes within the Church we (all of Christians) are so horrified when a drunkard walks into our sanctuaries…or someone who smells…or someone who is a criminal…or someone of ill-repute…yet, isn’t that what we the “Church” should be all about?  It should never be about the disruption and the order of our services…after all, I believe even the Holy Spirit disrupts our services from time to time because He has something to share that our “order of service” didn’t squeeze in.

We are pretty good at dressing up our buildings.  We make them look inviting.  We spending millions of dollars on new edifices with  beautiful plaques of dedication on them…but these places are still only buildings.  They ought to invite everyone in.  They ought to serve the purpose of saving souls…but that shouldn’t be all that we are..all that we do.   We should never be static and firmly planted in just our buildings…we should be an Army on the move – working in our communities…going to the poor, the lost, the marginalized, those without hope…instead of waiting for them to come to us, which they never will.

“…and to stop short of nothing but the subjugation of the world to the sway of the Lord Jesus“
I know, dear Salvationist, that we are Christ’s hands and feet in our world, but does that mean that He needs our help to “subjugate” the world to the sway of Jesus?  I know what Booth means here, but I have trouble with the language.  I recognize our responsibilities and being Saved to Save, or Saved to Serve, but we also recognize that without the power of the Holy Spirit – nothing is possible.  We are without power…and though we might claim certain victories in our own strength, we are never more powerful than when we call upon His presence to guide and to provide.

The world within the “sway” of the Lord – is the Lords work to be done – not ours. lost
We, in my opinion, are called to obedience, and in that obedience we become pliable to God’s workings and will.  It is a power surrogacy or sorts.  We stop talking about our war plans, and our building plans, and our fund raising goals, and we listen to God’s battle plan and His redemptive power will surge through us so that the “sway of the world” has, and always will be His to command.

I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.“They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. “Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.…(John 17:15-17)

Something more for our Army world to ponder today.
To God be the glory!

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The PonderCast – “Fear Of Failure”

Photo Mar 07, 8 09 38 AM

Do you struggle with this fear of failure in your life? Check out this pondercast today, find some encouragement and let’s ponder this together! Also please subscribe, and share your ponderings with us! We want to hear from you!!

If you have something that you’ve been mulling over and pondering for a while, please let us know and we’ll attempt to ponder it here with you on a future episode!

Thank you for tuning in today!

Listen here on:

Or download today’s podcast here:
The PonderCast – “Fear of Failure”

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Sermon Podcast – “Getting Ready to Fail”

epic fail red grungy stamp isolated on white background

We’ve been in our sermon series entitled “Stories” for about a month now, and today’s story is another great lesson for us to glean from the Bible!   There are stories within these pages that tell of failures and success of God’s people.  Today, we explore the Israelites under the leadership of Joshua – and their failure to capture the city of Ai.

Listen to our teaching today entitled “Getting ready to Fail”

Joshua 7:1-9
1 But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things ; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD’s anger burned against Israel. 2 Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the region.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.  3 When they returned to Joshua, they said, “Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there.”  4 So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, 5 who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water.

6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the LORD, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads.  7And Joshua said, “Alas, Sovereign LORD, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! 8 Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? 9The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?”

Sermon Notes – “Getting Ready To Fail”

For continued victory in life we must…

  1. Avoid Self-confidence! (7:1-3)
  2. Avoid Self-Assurance (7:4-9)
  1. Having failed…Return to God-dependence!
  2. We must seek God’s direction, because He alone can bring us true Victory!Questions:
    1.   What areas in your life right now have you neglected to seek God’s direction in?
    2.  Have you experienced failures?  How did they make you feel?
    3.  How can you turn your failures into victories?  Where does God play into all of this?
    4.  Can you trust God to help you today?   Will you trust Him?
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Time Traveling Within A Warm Glow.

We sat there on a blood red double decker bus peering down into the street below.  The amber glow of street lamps bending soft shadows onto the course pavement as shoppers arrive and depart rather infrequently.  

It’s a quiet night as we peer from above.  It seems tranquil, almost melancholy, ring a certain chord within my heart that makes me yearn to remain for a little while longer.  

My eyes shift from the random shoppers regaling of their adventures and rejoicing in their store sales and paper bags with their prizes as proof of their successes…I shift my glance to the red bricked victorianesque shop quietly nestled into this all too tranquil street, like a shiny priceless pearl amongst the clams devoid of riches.

Somewhere within a shop owner pleasantly spreads a wisp of a smile as the glowing orange lamp light cast shadows of yet another patron searching for unique wares within this pearl.  They exchange glances, the owner nods politely as the new shopper examines the “maybes” and the “I need these” purposely priced and placed on retro 1950’s shelves.  It speaks of a different era, a much simpler time…oh how we have complicated things since then, thus this store pulls its patrons into a time machine of sorts, striking that chord and halting the insanely fast paced life we are all so victimized by and accustomed to.  

I see all of this from our double decker bus within my mind and I long for simpler times.  I yearn to bring it all to a screeching halt.  All of the “to dos”, all the appointments.  All of the deadlines.  All of the traffic jams and blaring horns.  I want it all to stop…and for a moment it has as I stare out into a space where time stands still.  And in this moment, I breathe, I exhale and I am found again. 

Now I hope I can find him again as I step back into life and out of this street. 

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Are We”Doing Church”All Wrong?

A lot has been said about what “Church” should look like.
Thousands of books have been written about it.
There are many, many workshops and educated teachers whose primary purpose is to instruct the Church how to be…how to exist.

But…

What if we are doing Church all wrong?
church2
Many denominations have glommed onto specific acts of worship – Baptism, Communion, Flag waving, Altar calls, Speaking in tongues, Music Styles, Multi-media blitzes…etc.  -And these are all good things -sometimes important elements of worship, BUT what happens when these “good things” become the main focal point?  Could they become over emphasized?  Could these mere elements of worship become worship itself – completely devoid of its original purpose?

In the process of becoming “Church”…are there times when we lose sight of why we’re a Church in the first place?   I don’t mean to deconstruct the Body of Christ today, but I feel very strongly about this subject.  I believe our belonging to Christ is enough…we do not need rituals to maintain or get closer to God.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I am not saying that these elements of worship are all rituals, but when we do them week after week, month after month, year after year – and we just go through the motions of them…are we in danger of making these outward expressions of the inward change a ritual?

I am not saying that we throw the baby out with the bath water here, but perhaps we need to be more conscious of what we do in worship.

churchAnother question that I often ponder is this –
Is the Body of Christ really supposed to look like the Churches that we see in our communities today?  Are we really supposed to be separated and divided?  
Again, this is not a bash upon any church or denomination, but rather an intern perspective here.  I believe that man made edifices have, at times, taken the holiness out of our holy of holies.

When we try to organize everything, and building our kingdoms, when we try and grow our congregations and sometimes compete against the church down the street…have we lost sight of why we’re a church in the first place?

go
ACTS 2 Church 
The Acts 2 church looks vastly different that any church that I know of today.
These men and women lived in community together…kind of like a commune, but more like a family…not a cult, but a body of Christ built together out of love.  They shared EVERY Resource that they had.  They ate together, they prayed together, they added to their numbers daily.  People saw their love of Christ and it was infectious!

We live in a very individualistic society today…we don’t really understand the Hebrew culture of the Acts 2 church.  We don’t get to be that close any more in our churches.  Sure, we invite one another out to eat after church, or we go to one another’s homes…but our worship services today are so structured and methodical…there’s an order to it.  I am not saying that this is wrong, but sometimes “Community” only becomes achieved on Sundays for an hour or two, and maybe a during another hour at midweek.  We don’t look like that early church anymore.

I wish I had an answer in how we can recapture some of that fellowship…wait there is – Discipleship.  Fellowship.  Family.

We must be more intentional in our church families to be disciples as well as disciplers.
We don’t always operated as individuals  in the Body of Christ – we are joined together, and we need that fellowship – just as God desires that kind of fellowship with us!
What if true Church was more about that fellowship than the number of scripturally accurate hymns or contemporary songs we sing on Sundays?  What if God desires more than just a water baptism or a morsel of bread and wine on our lips?  What if it’s not about flag waving but heart changing?  What if Church is more about what we do outside of the walls of a million dollar structure than what we do on the inside?

I think we get so blindsided by our elements of worship that we forget to look outside.
Sure, we need to be fed, but if all we do is gorge ourselves in our buildings while the world around us is starving, are we “Doing Church” right?

holyI think that before we can “Do Church” we have to “BE Imitators of Christ“…We have to experience the inward change of our hearts before any of these outward things can be evident and real.  After all, wasn’t it God’s instruction to “Be Holy”…not “Do Holy” (Lev 20:26)  We get these backwards many, many times.

I pray that within our walls of “Church” we first focus on being reflections of Him, then we take that reflection into the world so that others might see Him and believe as well!

Something more to ponder today!
You might disagree with me…so be it.

To God be the glory!

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