Justice Revival (free) and Ministry Workshop (scholarship)

You’ve likely heard by now of the free “Justice Revival” that is happening next week, November 10-12 at Dallas Market Hall, nightly at 7 p.m. “Over three days of prayer, preaching and worship, the body of Christ will awake to new life, uniting to answer Jesus' call to biblical justice.”

Speakers include Rev. Zan Holmes, Samuel Rodriguez, and Mayor Tom Leppert. Music will be provided by Israel Houghton & New Breed, Fred Hammond, Salvador and Jaci Valasquez.

Please see http://www.justicerevival.org/ for much more information and schedule for each night.

Tied in with this one-time event are a series of workshops during the day to help churches learn what is working in the area of community impact. This “Ignite” workshop is “an event designed to celebrate, share and inform the community of the most effective best-practice program models in Dallas for social justice and community outreach among churches, nonprofits, funders and individuals.”

There is a $49 cost for this workshop. We believe so much in this idea of community transformation and that that this event could be so helpful to your DBA-funded church plant, the DBA will be happy to repay you $30 of that fee. Contact us for details.

This holistic approach to transforming your community has proven effective in church plants across the nation. Church planting researcher Ed Stetzer cites that “engaging in ministry evangelism [community ministries] is one of the strongest factors found to be associated with higher baptism counts.” (Church Plant Survivability and Health Study 2007, page 5.)

Free Preaching Seminar, November 2

DBA is providing a free Preaching Seminar next Monday morning.

“Creative Expository Preaching” Seminar
Led by Dr. David Allen
Monday, November 2, 2009
9:30am - 11:30am
Activities Building
Lakeside Baptist Church
(9150 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas 75218)
Cost: provided FREE by the Dallas Baptist Association

Dr. David Allen is the Dean of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s School of Theology. There are a couple of links to more information about him on the DBA webpage. Click here: http://www.dba.net/latestnews
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You are also invited to stay after the seminar for a Pastors Lunch and “First Monday” Pastors’ Conference at 11:30am. Those who attend the preaching seminar may eat FREE. Cost for others, $6. After the meal, Dr. Allen will preach. The meeting will conclude no later than 1pm sharp.

We hope this resource is helpful to you as God directs your church plant.

National Night Out, October 6

http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/

This might be a great chance for your church to host an event and get to know its neighbors. Or maybe you'd want to equip your folks to go to the National Night Out event in their own neighborhood and get to know their neighbors.

These new relationships over time might offer opportunities for great spiritual conversations.

You can plan ahead for next year, too. National Night Out has always been the first Tuesday in August. Starting last year, the official day for Texas was changed to the first Tuesday in October because of the heat! I've noticed people using both dates around me. There's nothing keeping churches from using both!

Creating a "God Space" for spiritual conversations

Here’s something I just read. Any suggested answers to his “million-dollar question”? (If so, leave a comment.)

[After telling a story about having a spiritual conversation on a plane] “Every Christian speaker and leader I know seems to have an airplane story. I think it’s because on an airplane, your spirituality has no bearing on where you sit or whom you sit next to. God uses this to bring Christians and non-Christians together as fellow sojourners heading in the same direction. Common ground, close proximity, no cell phones, and the belief that you will never again see the people you are sitting next to create greater possibilities for the natural and the supernatural to collide in meaningful ways.

“Here’s the million-dollar question: How do we natural create room for spiritual conversations like that in our everyday lives? Surely God doesn’t intend for us to wait until our next ride on an airplane.”

Doug Pollock, God Space, Rev! magazine, Sept/Oct 2009, p 50

I recommend the whole article, though I'll tell you beforehand, there is no easy answer given.

More resources, along with some solid ideas for these conversations can be found at the author's website--www.GodsGPS.com

More on Urban Evangelism

Years ago I read the following in Real Hope in Chicago, Wayne Gordon's great book on urban church work...and it has stayed with me. It supports from a different angle the previous blog entry's call for fresh, contextualized ways to talk about the Gospel.

Before long I realized that "get saved" evangelism was designed for suburban folk. It had little meaning in an urban context. The needs of people in the city are not the same as those of people in the suburbs, where material and social needs are met and where people can be more easily motivated by feelings of guilt. People in teh city are not encumbered with feelings of guilt. Their deepest feelings are of hopelessness.

If the Christ of the suburbs is the Christ of forgiveness, the Christ of the city is the Christ of hope. Ultimately, of course, Jesus offers both, but recognizing difference in perceived needs plays an importnat role in forming strategies for evangelism. (p. 170)

A new evangelism question?

One of the most exciting things about new churches is the potential they have to reach people who don't know Jesus personally yet.

Below is one suggestion for a fresh approach in evangelism. If God's given you other ways that spark authentic and relevent conversations about the Gospel, share them with us in the "Comments."

from "An Efficient Gospel" blog entry at http://christianvisionproject.com/2008/02/an_efficient_gospel.html

People are not asking the traditional gospel question much anymore. Asking, "If I died tomorrow, where would I end up?" does not generate much life. But asking people, "If you had just a few years left, what kind of life would you want to live?" generates enormous energy. It is a question of hope, something our balkanized world sorely needs. And perhaps not surprisingly, Jesus has a response to those who are asking such a question and on just such a quest. To them he says, "Wake up." "The kingdom of God is at hand." "Come, follow me."

Going Public!

I've been a secret blogger for a while.

I've used it less for opining and more as sort of a collecting place for items I didn't want to loose track of.

For what it's worth, you are welcome to check out this fairly eclectic compilation at http://www.dbamissionsandurban.blogspot.com/. (Missions and Urban was the name of the DBA division I previously worked with.)

Beginning this week, look here--http://www.dbachurchplanting.blogspot.com/--for any thing new that catches my interest. Much about church planting, but likely lots of other things, as well.

And please comment if you'd like. We'll see if God might use this to promote some thought provoking online conversations.