tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70071123706476509632024-02-19T00:41:51.417-06:00DBA Church PlantingUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-69199197128000204732011-05-16T07:45:00.000-05:002011-05-16T07:45:00.495-05:00David Sedaris on his Church Background<div class="MsoNormal" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/images/stories/ARTICLE_Sedaris.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="David Sedaris" border="0" height="166" src="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/images/stories/ARTICLE_Sedaris.jpg" width="200" /></a>I admit it...I love National Public Radio. And I've laughed so hard at stories I've heard on there by humorist David Sedaris that I've cried.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And here, just one answer in <a href="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/books/features/25182-qaa-humorist-david-sedaris">an interview with Sedaris</a> reminds us of why we should, like Jesus, take kids and their relationship with God seriously.</div><blockquote>Q: You were raised in the Greek Orthodox church. How did that upbringing shape you, and how do you feel about God today?<br />
A: I never got the idea of a punishing God, just a really boring one. To see people growing up in the Carolinas who were Baptist, I knew there were others who felt God was going to send them to hell for any little thing, but not me. I didn't feel like it, or like it influenced my writing style.</blockquote><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Imagine if this <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_sedaris">author of books selling over 7 million copies</a> had be introduced to the true vibrant Jesus!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Only the Spirit knows what lies in the future for the young lives you and your church are shaping right now.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-63231342196609606782011-05-07T15:00:00.002-05:002011-05-07T15:02:00.187-05:00"Have Christians Gotten Evangelism Wrong?"<div style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="sharing your faith" height="166" src="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/images/stories/ARTICLE_SharingFaith.jpg" width="200" /> </o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Last night over a long spring evening dinner on our patio, Kristi and I got to hear from a couple who have been missionaries in Cameroon for years. They are back in the States, at least for a while, now. And they are having to rediscover what "evangelism" means in this, their homeland! The husband is visiting in a neighborhood where he shared the Gospel 20 years ago, but finding a different neighbor, a different response and the need to understand our new context.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/25194-have-christians-gotten-evangelism-wrong">Here's</a> an online article I ran across that offers some thoughts about: </div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><ul><li>Come v Go</li>
<li>Consumer v Disciple, and</li>
<li>Do v Be</li>
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<div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">What do you think? </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">How do these apply to your setting, maybe the new church you're working with? </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-84380624175110699332011-03-01T12:09:00.000-06:002011-03-01T12:09:08.666-06:00Bible Storying<div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal">I had a great weekend at <a href="http://www.hillcrestbc.com/">Hillcrest Baptist Church</a>’s Global Impact Celebration. This mission fair-type event gave the church a chance to meet and learn from about 20 missionaries from the global, national and local mission field. The church is <a href="http://www.hillcrestbc.com/ministries/missions/">actively involved</a> on all these levels. I was privileged to represent the work of <a href="http://www.dba.net/">DBA</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Great elements of the weekend were the two opportunities to talk personally with a couple of Bible Fellowships (i.e., Sunday Schools). The groups were interested in the diversity of our mission field and the variety of ways that God is reaching them through <a href="http://www.dba.net/churchplanting">new churches</a>. That includes Bible “storying.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTjR4RxKWVa41RiDiS2335HqYiZIEDIL_JG82in5WqfAFqmMpgW0g" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTjR4RxKWVa41RiDiS2335HqYiZIEDIL_JG82in5WqfAFqmMpgW0g" /></a>One lady there is working with ESL at Hillcrest. She was interested in how they might use storying in what they do. I just passed on to her the same couple of websites that I just put on our DBA webpage.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Interestingly, storying has come up with two or three of our new church plants just in the last month! It seems this might be a direction the Spirit is guiding us to lean into. Check out the several items about storying and “T4T” on DBA’s church planting webpage, <a href="http://www.dba.net/churchplanting">www.dba.net/churchplanting</a>.</div><div class="MsoNormal">.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-82541472593700318962011-01-26T13:31:00.000-06:002011-01-26T13:31:34.332-06:00Reaching 20-somethings/Millenials<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: small; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Millennials-Connecting-Americas-Largest-Generation/dp/1433670038"><img src="http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTmcn3sWuqqJ8Ogr1EGxvRjkDTzXLOkctjq21D8CODurQneWBn1PQ" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Tahoma, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">Millenials are Americans born between 1980-1991. Likely they are missing from your church plant.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Tahoma, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;"><a href="http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/11/a-new-generations-perspective.html">This study</a> looks at why.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Tahoma, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">For example, "When looking for information or advice about two-thirds of American 'Millennials' prefer to talk with a variety of people who have personal experience rather than one individual considered to be an 'expert.'"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Tahoma, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">The researcher, Lifeway's Ed Stetzer asks, "<b>Does this change in the way a new generation seeks advice and sees influence make an even greater argument for small groups and missional communities in the church?</b>"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: Tahoma, Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 22px;">Check out <a href="http://www.edstetzer.com/2010/11/a-new-generations-perspective.html">the whole thing</a> and see what you think.</span><br />
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</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-33141868611611868712011-01-18T14:52:00.000-06:002011-01-18T14:52:39.696-06:00Alan Hirsch: Church Growth Model Reaching Only 40 Percent of Americans<a href="http://www.jlinkglobal.com/zbxe/files/attach/images/103/377/alan_hirsch2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.jlinkglobal.com/zbxe/files/attach/images/103/377/alan_hirsch2.jpg" width="133" /></a><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">"This is a problem because 95 percent of American churches are using a model that even if successful will reach less than half the population, said Alan Hirsch, an internationally recognized missiologist and founding director of Forge Mission Training Network."</span></span></blockquote><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.christianpost.com/article/20101104/alan-hirschchurch-model-reaching-only-40-percent-of-americans/">Here's</a> the whole article.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">My wife Kristi and I got to spend the day with a group of ten others and Alan Hirsch last November. He has some interesting and challenging things for all kinds of churches to consider. What I like most about him, though, is his frequent references to following the Holy Spirit in finding the way to best express the Good News to various types. Some expressions might be really different from what we're used to.</span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-47845549150802741792010-06-04T09:30:00.000-05:002010-06-04T09:30:01.677-05:00Follow the "Risky" Spirit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://share.triangle.com/sites/share-uda.triangle.com/files/images/sheet%202.preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="One Sheet to the Wind" border="0" height="240" src="http://share.triangle.com/sites/share-uda.triangle.com/files/images/sheet%202.preview.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><blockquote>A church that pitches its tents without constantly looking out for new horizons, which does not continually strike camp, is being untrue to is calling...[We must] play down our longing for certainty, accept what is risky, and live by improvisation and experiment. - Hans Kung, The Church as the People of God</blockquote><br />
<blockquote>Only God's Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don't know where it comes from or where it is going. - John 3:8 (CEV)</blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: inherit; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"></span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Much more than following any growth plan that promises "success," we need new church plants that boldly, obediently follow God's unpredictable Spirit to new horizons! </span></span></i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-49474409667971856942010-06-03T10:55:00.000-05:002010-06-03T10:55:33.476-05:00All Became Missionaries!<blockquote>"Forced to leave home base, the Christians all became missionaries. Wherever they were scattered, they preached, they preached the Message about Jesus."</blockquote>Then, after describing what just one of these Christians did, the Bible says,<br />
<blockquote>"And what joy in that city!" (Acts 8:4 and 8, The Message Bible)</blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-69350747698558456912010-05-26T09:30:00.000-05:002010-05-27T12:45:51.305-05:00Only 3% of Churches Reproduced Themselves Last Year<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><a href="http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/images/may10s2c_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/images/may10s2c_3.jpg" /></a><o:p>Only 3% of churches served as the primary sponsor of a church plant (new congregation) during the previous 12 months, and only 14% gave financial support in partnership with other churches to help start new congregations. A total of just 28% of congregations participated in some way, financial or otherwise, in church plants.</o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">These findings come from a LifeWay Research survey of 1,004 Protestant pastors conducted in December 2008 and released April 2010. “Although we see more church planting involvement, we need to see a much higher number of churches starting churches,” Ed Stetzer, President of Lifeway Research, said. <b>“It is widely acknowledged that church planting is the most effective form of evangelism. It should be of great concern that only 28% of North American churches helped start new congregations at all</b>, including only 12% of those who took primary responsibility. For too long, churches have assumed that mission involvement and church planting is someone else’s responsibility.”</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">This story summary: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may10s2c.htm">http://www.pursuantgroup.com/leadnet/advance/may10s2c.htm</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;">The LifeWay article: <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white;"><a href="http://www.lifeway.com/article/170227/">http://www.lifeway.com/article/170227/</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"> </span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-35095687269889462402010-05-24T13:48:00.000-05:002010-05-24T13:48:03.318-05:00Global Awakening is not Local...yet<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">A great spiritual awakening is occurring in our world today. David Barrett's <u>World Christian Encyclopedia</u> documents 82,000 conversions every day, the largest number in Christian history. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">However, only 6,000 are in North America and Western Europe, combined. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><i>(Thanks to the </i><a href="http://www.informedfaith.com/"><i>Center for Informed Faith</i></a><i> for pointing this out.)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;"><b>How might the Spirit be leading us in bringing this global spiritual awakening in our new Dallas churches? </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 9.0pt;">Let us know what you've been hearing from the Lord about this by commenting below.</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-76019170528174499222009-11-04T08:06:00.001-06:002009-11-04T08:13:40.511-06:00Justice Revival (free) and Ministry Workshop (scholarship)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpH9LA0WUthoNZkJpcI6tzYdcBDfHdkpPZ8g5f38oeAzUkdmCALCg8I3pj1NzIKFCHcVKDaD7wybA2G7RY4cM8uz_CU1ribILy2n87YdUVKIxrhE3tfMXXlnjyQt1kxtzhLfdnxOkZfRW/s1600-h/vertical_color.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 130px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5400250542595923778" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfpH9LA0WUthoNZkJpcI6tzYdcBDfHdkpPZ8g5f38oeAzUkdmCALCg8I3pj1NzIKFCHcVKDaD7wybA2G7RY4cM8uz_CU1ribILy2n87YdUVKIxrhE3tfMXXlnjyQt1kxtzhLfdnxOkZfRW/s200/vertical_color.jpg" /></a>You’ve likely heard by now of the free “<a href="http://www.justicerevival.org/">Justice Revival</a>” 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.”<br /><br /><a href="http://www.justicerevival.org/speakers_artists.php">Speakers</a> include Rev. Zan Holmes, Samuel Rodriguez, and Mayor Tom Leppert. <a href="http://www.justicerevival.org/speakers_artists.php">Music</a> will be provided by Israel Houghton & New Breed, Fred Hammond, Salvador and Jaci Valasquez.<br /><br />Please see <a href="http://www.justicerevival.org/">http://www.justicerevival.org/</a> for much more information and <a href="http://www.justicerevival.org/schedule.php">schedule</a> for each night.<br /><br />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 <a href="http://www.justicerevival.org/ignite.php">“Ignite” workshop</a> 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.”<br /><br />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. <a href="mailto:scottcoleman@dba.net">Contact us</a> for details.<br /><br />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.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-10171196647867372972009-10-26T11:55:00.000-05:002009-10-26T12:17:00.557-05:00Free Preaching Seminar, November 2<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9r-YzKxVMTPR0NHZ0Xqr1QePBCyPsIXtkgyvFkKAu8_wYyr_KZj-Vb7j0wt9Oi6fxQxx9AQ0M0Z9-7AWzZyPWI5QbO77_6yjcHK5AaVNPF5pNl6AnLJvDV9irl1AKizuu1xJvg0IMXu-N/s1600-h/Dr.+David+Allen.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 120px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 150px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5396953645082098066" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9r-YzKxVMTPR0NHZ0Xqr1QePBCyPsIXtkgyvFkKAu8_wYyr_KZj-Vb7j0wt9Oi6fxQxx9AQ0M0Z9-7AWzZyPWI5QbO77_6yjcHK5AaVNPF5pNl6AnLJvDV9irl1AKizuu1xJvg0IMXu-N/s320/Dr.+David+Allen.jpg" /></a><br /><div>DBA is providing a free Preaching Seminar next Monday morning.<br /><br /><strong>“Creative Expository Preaching” Seminar</strong><br />Led by Dr. David Allen<br />Monday, November 2, 2009<br />9:30am - 11:30am<br />Activities Building<br />Lakeside Baptist Church<br />(9150 Garland Road, Dallas, Texas 75218)<br />Cost: provided FREE by the Dallas Baptist Association<br /><br />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: <a title="http://www.dba.net/latestnews" href="http://www.dba.net/latestnews">http://www.dba.net/latestnews</a><br />.<br />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.<br /></div><div> </div><div>We hope this resource is helpful to you as God directs your church plant. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-32601796914300000402009-10-01T11:29:00.000-05:002009-10-01T11:42:57.471-05:00National Night Out, October 6<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLrjgjOw5ZK6H0mnfUbKudP-dZ8AA43hAE0dP66DQ5m_kKB1MX3wZu2vvXL3-UzmS3bMylYS_wxp9shRrIMI7MDafToBR260gyKe-N_Jdvj4HUN9yLJnXLAA2vNNX7GclaNYH8GCXynFa/s1600-h/NNO.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 170px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5387672859620759538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNLrjgjOw5ZK6H0mnfUbKudP-dZ8AA43hAE0dP66DQ5m_kKB1MX3wZu2vvXL3-UzmS3bMylYS_wxp9shRrIMI7MDafToBR260gyKe-N_Jdvj4HUN9yLJnXLAA2vNNX7GclaNYH8GCXynFa/s200/NNO.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/">http://www.nationaltownwatch.org/nno/</a><br /><div></div><br /><div>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. </div><br /><div></div><br /><div>These new relationships over time might offer opportunities for great spiritual conversations.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>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 <em>both</em>!</div><br /><div></div><br /><div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-34787210921890128582009-09-08T14:20:00.000-05:002009-09-08T14:23:16.315-05:00Creating a "God Space" for spiritual conversationsHere’s something I just read. Any suggested answers to his “million-dollar question”? <em>(If so, leave a comment.)</em><br /><br />[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.<br /><br />“Here’s the million-dollar question: How do we natural create room for spiritual conversations like that in our everyday lives? Surely God <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">doesn</span>’t intend for us to wait until our next ride on an airplane.”<br /><br />Doug Pollock, God Space, <u>Rev!</u> magazine, Sept/Oct 2009, p 50<br /><br />I recommend the whole article, though I'll tell you beforehand, there is no easy answer given.<br /><br />More resources, along with some solid ideas for these conversations can be found at the author's website--<a href="http://www.godsgps.com/">www.GodsGPS.com</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-8197649888257318592009-07-27T11:31:00.000-05:002009-07-27T09:31:42.246-05:00More on Urban Evangelism<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9T7UOA7uciXqjPMGE4sMhFlU0CJyECgpfSQdHsDgjMuf81vnVokYFJ_SsaHYiGHvS4gN-RDTCJYA5bToY6FnezBkLoRg_fk4zvKD9YQTyIUJ77PnWzVmbrvPdiqrGUpdW_rQ8LqkDeFf/s1600-h/RealHopeInChicago.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 81px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 124px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360979125293267026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9T7UOA7uciXqjPMGE4sMhFlU0CJyECgpfSQdHsDgjMuf81vnVokYFJ_SsaHYiGHvS4gN-RDTCJYA5bToY6FnezBkLoRg_fk4zvKD9YQTyIUJ77PnWzVmbrvPdiqrGUpdW_rQ8LqkDeFf/s320/RealHopeInChicago.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div>Years ago I read the following in <u>Real Hope in Chicago</u>, 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.</div><br /><div><br /><blockquote>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.<br /><br /><strong>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.</strong><em> (p. 170)</em><br /></blockquote></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-26092420619949060492009-07-21T12:47:00.000-05:002009-07-21T13:23:43.363-05:00A 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. <br /><br />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."<br /><em></em><br /><em>from "An Efficient Gospel" blog entry at </em><a href="http://christianvisionproject.com/2008/02/an_efficient_gospel.html"><em>http://christianvisionproject.com/2008/02/an_efficient_gospel.html</em></a><br /><br /><br /><blockquote><p>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, <strong>"If you had just a few years left, what kind of life would you want to live?"</strong> 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." </p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXg2K8IV5bMF1tqyhgUlW1d_Z31MICRJanvN3SonXl0nspuerMJRQqQqANA4M6LZ4wVGnLo5fKJ_m2bc7qRacu7SPDe_Tod3hD0QjcvkFs7OGCbQmf85jUjrelodOIyckp6pPJhXwCwm4Y/s1600-h/ChristianVisionProjLogo.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGH0TwKaBguaaZJIJMRyCT7RCWcpErh2dLXKoyQODfHopsGdq_DJm_srVreb2-THgclIuuGzCedoeyGPXtHSbbXL4ry49qWGlBitXpntF8ivytQ1Fxx4OhYTHEPLH3DNZzsMGrzkowFBN/s1600-h/ChristianVisionProjLogo.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 103px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 102px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360974346619376162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibGH0TwKaBguaaZJIJMRyCT7RCWcpErh2dLXKoyQODfHopsGdq_DJm_srVreb2-THgclIuuGzCedoeyGPXtHSbbXL4ry49qWGlBitXpntF8ivytQ1Fxx4OhYTHEPLH3DNZzsMGrzkowFBN/s200/ChristianVisionProjLogo.jpg" /></a></p><p></p></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7007112370647650963.post-80893233662246535892009-07-17T09:32:00.001-05:002009-07-17T14:10:47.749-05:00Going Public!I've been a secret blogger for a while.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />For what it's worth, you are welcome to check out this fairly eclectic compilation at <a href="http://www.dbamissionsandurban.blogspot.com/">http://www.dbamissionsandurban.blogspot.com/</a>. (Missions and Urban was the name of the <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">DBA</span> division I previously worked with.)<br /><br />Beginning this week, look here--<a href="http://www.dbachurchplanting.blogspot.com/">http://www.dbachurchplanting.blogspot.com/</a>--for any thing new that catches my interest. Much about church planting, but likely lots of other things, as well.<br /><br />And please comment if you'd like. We'll see if God might use this to promote some thought provoking online conversations.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0