We had a good lesson from the youth minister at our church on Wednesday night. It was about evangelism and how it has an aura of distastefulness in American churches. One of the main reasons he gave is that evangelism is often feels (or actually is) contrived.
Now before I go any further, I have to say that one of the reasons that we chose the church we did is that evangelism actually occurs. The leaders participate in sharing the Gospel with the lost. Actual people from the world give their lives to Jesus and are baptized instead of just people from the youth group who have been going to church their whole lives.
Now back to the point of this post. I believe that one of the biggest hindrances to the overwhelming spread of the Kingdom of God in America today is a lack of community. As a member of the missions committee, I get to hear stories of how whole people groups are converted to the Lord. All of peoples that I know about are societies where the people live in community.
What do I mean by community? I mean a group of people whose lives are woven together on a daily basis. I mean a setting where friendships and work and religious ceremonies and family are all tangled together. For example, the shepherd and the weaver have a relationship because they rely on one another. Everyone in town knows your worst mistake because they were their when you did it but they still hang out with you anyway. People who have done some hard things together often form lifelong friendships. We Americans hardly have any of that. We are largely disconnected from people outside our immediate family. What connection we have is often tempered by technology; we often interact without actually being near the person.
Let me give an example from my own life. My husband has something of a community at his work with a Christian ministry. I am forming something of a community with the Christian homeschool co-op. But my husband and I aren't really in community with anyone as a family except in some respects with our small group at church. And the people we are in the most contact with have knowledge of and are trying to live for Jesus.
When we lived in Phoenix, it was somewhat different. We had no kids. I worked at a landscape architecture office, and my husband worked as a bill collector and then in financial services. We had lots of friends that were searching for the truth about Jesus and we were happy to share what we knew. Two people were even baptized in our swimming pool.
But if I want my kids to experience evangelism, I will have to contrive something. It might be going on a short term mission trip or involved in a ministry at church . Or I could try to form a deeper relationship with our old lawn mower man since I know that he and his family do not have a church home. Now I am not saying that any of these ideas are wrong or bad. I am saying that they do not flow from my normal life.
In places where the Good News of Jesus flows through the land like healing water, there are already relationship channels for it to flow through.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Intolerance of Kids
I heard recently on TV that Americans spend more time grooming that caring for kids. Now as a homeschooling mom of 2 with a tiny sliver of my day given to grooming, that came as a surprise to me. But really it shouldn't have. With day cares and schools, fewer and fewer grown-ups are raising the fewer and fewer kids we are having. Maybe that is why there is a growing amount of intolerance for kids in trendy society.
Instead of promoting family and kids, the trend seems to be to ban them. Here are some examples:
McDain's restaurant banned kids under six in PA.
Some people want to ban babies from planes (or at least business class).
People are calling it "brat bans" and it may be the next big deal for vacation destinations.
At at least one movie theater, kids under six are no longer welcome except on "baby days".
Now I have been the parent with a melt-down kid and I have been the childless adult annoyed that a parent was allowing a tantrum in a theater. But it still saddens me to read these things.
Instead of promoting family and kids, the trend seems to be to ban them. Here are some examples:
McDain's restaurant banned kids under six in PA.
Some people want to ban babies from planes (or at least business class).
People are calling it "brat bans" and it may be the next big deal for vacation destinations.
At at least one movie theater, kids under six are no longer welcome except on "baby days".
Now I have been the parent with a melt-down kid and I have been the childless adult annoyed that a parent was allowing a tantrum in a theater. But it still saddens me to read these things.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Spending on Education
I thought you might enjoy this video by Heritage Foundation. It does a great job of explaining why spending more tax dollars on education isn't the answer.
I think the whole education system would be better without the government at all. There is a great website about this point of view called the Alliance for the Separation of School and State. I encourage you to go check it out.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Happy 4th of July (a little early)
I wanted to share with you an article by Thomas Sowell called "July 4th". In it, he reminds us that July 4th is the day that the Declaration of Independence was first publicly read. Here are some quotes from it to encourage you to read the whole thing.
Some clever people today ask whether the United States has really been "exceptional." You couldn't be more exceptional in the 18th century than to create your fundamental document -- the Constitution of the United States -- by opening with the momentous words, "We the people..."
More than a hundred years ago, so-called "Progressives" began a campaign to undermine the Constitution's strict limitations on government, which stood in the way of self-anointed political crusaders imposing their grand schemes on all the rest of us. That effort to discredit the Constitution continues to this day, and the arguments haven't really changed much in a hundred years.
I think that people who find the Bible irrelevant because it is old also find the Constitution irrelevant because it is old. I also think that God never changes, human nature hasn't changed, and limited government is still a good idea.
But we have gone far from our roots in this country. We used to be a people governed by the Holy Spirit from within or at least by common sense rooted in His Word. We used to know that God set up various governments (family, church, civil) and that each had its own authority. I encourage us all to fall before the Lord and confess the sins of our nation. If you would like to join others in doing this, you can go here to see congregations across the country that will be having a special time of prayer on July 3rd called Call2Fall.
Some clever people today ask whether the United States has really been "exceptional." You couldn't be more exceptional in the 18th century than to create your fundamental document -- the Constitution of the United States -- by opening with the momentous words, "We the people..."
More than a hundred years ago, so-called "Progressives" began a campaign to undermine the Constitution's strict limitations on government, which stood in the way of self-anointed political crusaders imposing their grand schemes on all the rest of us. That effort to discredit the Constitution continues to this day, and the arguments haven't really changed much in a hundred years.
I think that people who find the Bible irrelevant because it is old also find the Constitution irrelevant because it is old. I also think that God never changes, human nature hasn't changed, and limited government is still a good idea.
But we have gone far from our roots in this country. We used to be a people governed by the Holy Spirit from within or at least by common sense rooted in His Word. We used to know that God set up various governments (family, church, civil) and that each had its own authority. I encourage us all to fall before the Lord and confess the sins of our nation. If you would like to join others in doing this, you can go here to see congregations across the country that will be having a special time of prayer on July 3rd called Call2Fall.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Noah for Children
Since I was in the adult class, I can't say exactly what was taught to the kids at my church's Summer Spectacular about Noah. All I can go on is the decorations and the play that everyone attends. Even based only on that there several errors and a little PC blather.
There were no dinosaurs on any of the arks accept for the one my kids and I decorated in the toddler hall. As I was working on this the 9-year-old son of one of the Sunday School teachers told me I was doing it all wrong because everyone knows that the dinosaurs were all extinct long before Noah. I tried to explain politely that I believed they were alive and on the ark.
The animals that were on the big ark display in the atrium included Dalmatians, poodles, and fresh water fish.
It seems to me that while our Senior Minister of the Word was on target for accuracy (he even mentioned that there were no fish or poodles on the ark) the Children's Director obviously didn't think it was important. Or maybe she doesn't agree with a young earth. Or maybe she is ill-informed about the details of Noah's ark having been around the cartoon version of a tiny craft with animals poking their heads out of windows for so long.
It seems to me when something is as scoffed at as Noah's flood that we need to fill our kids heads with realistic images not cartoony goofiness. I really appreciate Answers in Genesis and their newest project: building a life-size replica of the ark completely out of wood. The project is called Ark Encounter.
When I showed my kids the graphic from the website, they were amazed at how huge the ark was compared to people. I would love to take them to Ark Encounter in a few years. I am sure the enormity of the ark will have even more impact in person.
There were no dinosaurs on any of the arks accept for the one my kids and I decorated in the toddler hall. As I was working on this the 9-year-old son of one of the Sunday School teachers told me I was doing it all wrong because everyone knows that the dinosaurs were all extinct long before Noah. I tried to explain politely that I believed they were alive and on the ark.
The animals that were on the big ark display in the atrium included Dalmatians, poodles, and fresh water fish.
It seems to me that while our Senior Minister of the Word was on target for accuracy (he even mentioned that there were no fish or poodles on the ark) the Children's Director obviously didn't think it was important. Or maybe she doesn't agree with a young earth. Or maybe she is ill-informed about the details of Noah's ark having been around the cartoon version of a tiny craft with animals poking their heads out of windows for so long.
It seems to me when something is as scoffed at as Noah's flood that we need to fill our kids heads with realistic images not cartoony goofiness. I really appreciate Answers in Genesis and their newest project: building a life-size replica of the ark completely out of wood. The project is called Ark Encounter.
When I showed my kids the graphic from the website, they were amazed at how huge the ark was compared to people. I would love to take them to Ark Encounter in a few years. I am sure the enormity of the ark will have even more impact in person.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Literal world-wide flood
Our Sr. Minister of the Word gave the Noah lessons all three days of our Summer Spectacular. Several hundred adults were there many of them visitors. I enjoyed it. In part, I enjoyed it because I got an answer to one of my questions: Does this church believe in a literal world-wide flood about 4500 years ago?
The short answer is yes, but we are not discussing the age of the earth or how long man has been on the earth.
He did a good job of sticking up for the fact that the genealogy is of real people who lived 900+ years (as opposed to clan leaders or other mumbo jumbo). He did a good job explaining the local/universal debate and defending the universality of the flood. These were the reasons he gave:
1. It is the simplest reading of the text.
2. Why else would God insist on a boat instead of migration?
3. The year long duration of the flooding/drying process seems out of league with a smaller flood.
4. God promised to never do this again, but there have been many catastrophic floods since then.
5. Jesus and Peter use the flood of Noah's day as an example of God's ability to judge the whole world.
He also mentioned the flood traditions from around the world, and how there would have been plenty of space for all of the kinds of animals. He also pointed out that there would have been only one doggish animal not coyotes, wolves, etc.
Here are some other nuggets of interest that I gleaned.
Enoch means dedication. He started walking with God the year Methuselah was born. Methuselah's name means when he dies judgement comes. Methuselah long life shows God's grace. (FYI, Methuselah died the year of the flood.)
We must have a supernatural worldview not a purely natural one. This is the most rational explanation of the marvels we see around us.
The source of trust is what you are trying to build. What are you trying to build with your life? What does it show that you trust? Build something now that will survive when judgement comes.
Obey even when it doesn't make sense. For example, how can being dunked under water have anything to do with my spiritual life?
Faithful move upstream in a downstream world. Sometimes this might involve moving upstream against even religious people.
God shows he remembers us with deeds (wind to recede the waters), signs (olive branch in the dove's mouth), and his Word (speaks to Noah, gives covenant).
True faith looks for a way to respond to grace.
The short answer is yes, but we are not discussing the age of the earth or how long man has been on the earth.
He did a good job of sticking up for the fact that the genealogy is of real people who lived 900+ years (as opposed to clan leaders or other mumbo jumbo). He did a good job explaining the local/universal debate and defending the universality of the flood. These were the reasons he gave:
1. It is the simplest reading of the text.
2. Why else would God insist on a boat instead of migration?
3. The year long duration of the flooding/drying process seems out of league with a smaller flood.
4. God promised to never do this again, but there have been many catastrophic floods since then.
5. Jesus and Peter use the flood of Noah's day as an example of God's ability to judge the whole world.
He also mentioned the flood traditions from around the world, and how there would have been plenty of space for all of the kinds of animals. He also pointed out that there would have been only one doggish animal not coyotes, wolves, etc.
Here are some other nuggets of interest that I gleaned.
Enoch means dedication. He started walking with God the year Methuselah was born. Methuselah's name means when he dies judgement comes. Methuselah long life shows God's grace. (FYI, Methuselah died the year of the flood.)
We must have a supernatural worldview not a purely natural one. This is the most rational explanation of the marvels we see around us.
The source of trust is what you are trying to build. What are you trying to build with your life? What does it show that you trust? Build something now that will survive when judgement comes.
Obey even when it doesn't make sense. For example, how can being dunked under water have anything to do with my spiritual life?
Faithful move upstream in a downstream world. Sometimes this might involve moving upstream against even religious people.
God shows he remembers us with deeds (wind to recede the waters), signs (olive branch in the dove's mouth), and his Word (speaks to Noah, gives covenant).
True faith looks for a way to respond to grace.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Church like the co-op
What if Sunday school classes at my church were run like the homeschool co-op?
Let me give a little background to this question.
After the previous two posts, I started thinking about other systems that allow for variety and transparency under an umbrella of essential truths. Our homeschool co-op is an example of this. There is a statement of faith that you have to agree to before joining. This is pretty basic evangelical Christian type stuff. Saved by grace not works. Jesus was all man and all God. Jesus lived a sinless life. You get the idea.
Within the families that attend, there is variety under this umbrella. There are "quiver full" families and others that use birth control. There are families that love Halloween and others that abhor it. There are those that abstain from alcohol and those that enjoy a beer or glass of wine occasionally.
When it comes time to decide what classes will be offered the next semester, everyone gets a chance to suggest classes/teachers. Parents put tally marks next to the classes they would like to see offered in their kids' grade level. The classes with teachers and lots of tally marks generally make it onto the schedule.
The class teacher must write a class description before the time to sign up for classes. The description tells which curriculum will be used and more detailed information on what will be covered in class. This gives parents a chance to decide if the class fits with their family. For example, last semester there was a class on movies and world views. The teacher e-mailed out a list of the movies that would be viewed and discussed before the sign up day. Parents that didn't want their kids to watch Avatar (one of the movies discussed) didn't sign their kids up for that class.
So what if my church's adult Sunday school worked this way?
We all have member accounts to log in to the church website. New classes often start in September, so they could have the suggestion process start in April. They could set up a page for suggestions, and each member could log in and leave the name of the class with a brief description and a suggested teacher (themselves or someone else) and class format type (lecture or discussion).
After a couple of weeks of suggestions, that feature could be turned off and each member could vote on up to 5 classes they would like to see offered.
It would take a group of coordinators (just like at the co-op) to figure out the logistics. 300 tallies gets the chapel. 50 tallies gets the library. Questionable subject matter with lots of tallies could be approved or nixed by the elders. Suggested teachers that hadn't taught before could be interviewed or something.
After the logistics process, list of upcoming classes and teachers could be published on the website with a more detailed description of what was going to be covered.
I think there would be several advantages to this system. First, we would get away from age/stage-of-life centric classes. Second, it would be easier to get to know people with similar spiritual interests. Third, you would know right up front what subject matter was going to be presented. Fourth, everyone would have a chance to have some input into what we learn and the format. Fifth, people with a gift for teaching could have a chance to actually teach. There could be practical (parenting, divorce recovery, etc.), wold view (The Truth Project, Resisting the Green Dragon, etc.), and straight up Bible classes (I and II Peter or the miracles of Jesus). Maybe there could even be a class called "Q and A with the elders" where I could ask all of my questions (see previous post).
There would be a disadvantage to this system in one respect. Some people would not want to leave the comfort of going to the same class that they have gone to for years. So maybe this would be better implemented on the class level. Then each class could publish their chosen topic and teacher for the semester. Or maybe a class could suggest themselves in the congregation-wide suggestions by suggesting their teacher and their class perameters and all voting for what they know.
Any thoughts?
Let me give a little background to this question.
After the previous two posts, I started thinking about other systems that allow for variety and transparency under an umbrella of essential truths. Our homeschool co-op is an example of this. There is a statement of faith that you have to agree to before joining. This is pretty basic evangelical Christian type stuff. Saved by grace not works. Jesus was all man and all God. Jesus lived a sinless life. You get the idea.
Within the families that attend, there is variety under this umbrella. There are "quiver full" families and others that use birth control. There are families that love Halloween and others that abhor it. There are those that abstain from alcohol and those that enjoy a beer or glass of wine occasionally.
When it comes time to decide what classes will be offered the next semester, everyone gets a chance to suggest classes/teachers. Parents put tally marks next to the classes they would like to see offered in their kids' grade level. The classes with teachers and lots of tally marks generally make it onto the schedule.
The class teacher must write a class description before the time to sign up for classes. The description tells which curriculum will be used and more detailed information on what will be covered in class. This gives parents a chance to decide if the class fits with their family. For example, last semester there was a class on movies and world views. The teacher e-mailed out a list of the movies that would be viewed and discussed before the sign up day. Parents that didn't want their kids to watch Avatar (one of the movies discussed) didn't sign their kids up for that class.
So what if my church's adult Sunday school worked this way?
We all have member accounts to log in to the church website. New classes often start in September, so they could have the suggestion process start in April. They could set up a page for suggestions, and each member could log in and leave the name of the class with a brief description and a suggested teacher (themselves or someone else) and class format type (lecture or discussion).
After a couple of weeks of suggestions, that feature could be turned off and each member could vote on up to 5 classes they would like to see offered.
It would take a group of coordinators (just like at the co-op) to figure out the logistics. 300 tallies gets the chapel. 50 tallies gets the library. Questionable subject matter with lots of tallies could be approved or nixed by the elders. Suggested teachers that hadn't taught before could be interviewed or something.
After the logistics process, list of upcoming classes and teachers could be published on the website with a more detailed description of what was going to be covered.
I think there would be several advantages to this system. First, we would get away from age/stage-of-life centric classes. Second, it would be easier to get to know people with similar spiritual interests. Third, you would know right up front what subject matter was going to be presented. Fourth, everyone would have a chance to have some input into what we learn and the format. Fifth, people with a gift for teaching could have a chance to actually teach. There could be practical (parenting, divorce recovery, etc.), wold view (The Truth Project, Resisting the Green Dragon, etc.), and straight up Bible classes (I and II Peter or the miracles of Jesus). Maybe there could even be a class called "Q and A with the elders" where I could ask all of my questions (see previous post).
There would be a disadvantage to this system in one respect. Some people would not want to leave the comfort of going to the same class that they have gone to for years. So maybe this would be better implemented on the class level. Then each class could publish their chosen topic and teacher for the semester. Or maybe a class could suggest themselves in the congregation-wide suggestions by suggesting their teacher and their class perameters and all voting for what they know.
Any thoughts?
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