The Word: How to Teach

We have established that our clever arguments and even our deeply personal stories cannot save anyone. In fact, none of us can bridge the divide between God and man. But to present the lost to the Lord, we must lead them to the Word of God. We learned that it is alive and effective, and that the best expression of the Word of God is Jesus Himself. The story of Jesus is found in the first four books of the New Testament called the gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

But how do you read through Scripture with someone who knows nothing about it? How do you teach Scripture if you don't know it? I've heard people say you have to get a Bible degree to do a good job, and sure it doesn't hurt to do that. However, the Apostles were not all college material. Many were rural fishermen. If God can use them, he can use us no matter where we are. We don't have to have all the answers.

First pray before opening the Bible. I'm guilty of not doing this. It's not so much a guilt thing, but it's just ineffective to read the Bible without the Spirit of God directing. So pray, invite the Holy Spirit into the study, and let Him guide you and direct you. If you really have trouble figuring out what to read, just start with John. It's a great book.

If we have established that the Word of God is living and active, why can't it teach itself? Guess what? It CAN! You can read the Bible in short bursts and discuss it. I like to start with 10-12 verses, trying to keep in line with the chapter breaks. For example, if the paragraph or story is 17 verses, I will have us all read the whole 17 verses. It is better to read according to the story structure in the Bible rather than the verse structure. (If you think that is blasphemous, consider that chapters and verses were later added to the text to help us quote and reference it. There is nothing holy about verse/chapter structure.)

Sometimes it is best to set some questions in play, then read the passage and then review it. For instance, we might ask 4 questions: Is this confusing? (Let people know that it confuses you sometimes, too), What does this mean?, Does this hurt?, What should I do?

What this looks like afterwards is that you read through verse by verse aloud (or preferably let someone else read through) and ask if there were any thoughts on the questions asked... again verse by verse. This often gets turned into good discussion and gets derailed. This is what you are wanting. You want the structure to get slightly derailed, because people's deep soul thoughts and feelings aren't expressed in structure.

We may not have to have all the answers, and it is always better to let people go on the journey to truth themselves so they will own their conclusions themselves. If they don't own the conclusions, they will not be passionate about them. Half of getting to know God is this very struggle. If people are struggling, then they are most likely beginning to understand. It's okay if people struggle! I promise! Jesus is a challenge for everyone, even when He taught people face to face, offensive to some and amazingly refreshing to others.

Over time you will begin to see people make their decisions. Some will not accept. This is not your decision to make. Some will find a passion ignited in them for Jesus Christ, and those people will want to know Him more and will want to know what to do. We'll discuss that next.

The Word: Jesus

There is much to be said about being someone who simply listens and reflects. People will also take notice when you can have a rational spiritual conversation that goes deeper than rules and regulations and touches on how you yourself have been saved.

But... spiritual conversations are not going to save anyone. Our words and our testimony are just not enough. The Word of God is effective to break through the barriers that come between man and God.

Key Scriptures tell us about the Word of God. 

Isaiah 55:11 "...so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."

John 1:1-5 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

The Word of God is found in Scripture, and it will accomplish its purpose. Keep that in mind when you share Scripture - it's powerful! The Word of God is also alive and effective for teaching. But if you want to understand the Word of God, look at Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God in flesh. If you have had experience speaking the Word of God into people's lives, you understand these truths deeply.
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Hebrews 1:3a "The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word...."

Colossians 1:15a "The Son is the image of the invisible God..."

Now there is something big to note here - the true way to communicate about God is to first communicate about Jesus. In Him we can see the Father (John 14:9).

The reason I am writing about the power and effectiveness of the word of God, is because we tend to think that our own words and testimony are the ultimate tools for spreading the good news of Jesus. But it isn't enough. Jesus is enough. The power of God is what you are relying on (1 Corinthians 2), not on eloquence or human wisdom. Remember this well. You are a messenger, and you simply point to the one who saved you - Jesus.

All of this to sum up: it is very useful to start with one of the gospel books of the Bible. These are the first four books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Spiritual Conversation: Perspective Questions

People may not believe in Jesus because they have never been given that option. Maybe they have only grown up with the broader story of our culture which says, "follow your heart."

Some people see the world through a different lens than we do, and it is good for us to lend our perspective.

Now, people say not to talk to people or give them advice during their pains, and this is somewhat true. However, there is a difference between judging someone or trying to avoid painful conversations and actually having deep and meaningful conversations. There are so many people who are waiting for a brave person to just talk to them about the hard things, and having worked with uninsured patients and cancer patients for a few years now, I can tell you that for a fact people appreciate someone who will have these talks with them.

Let's say that someone has broken up with a significant other. Remember, that you already have a basis of friendship as mentioned in earlier posts. You can join with them in saying "s/he was a terrible girl/boyfriend". You can say, "you just need to get out there and find another one". You can say, "everything works to the good of those who love the Lord". But, those are probably not very helpful. The more helpful thing may be to first ask about it, how it makes them feel, and what they think the best thing to do now is. Offer perspectives through questions: "What do you think God might be trying to do/say in this situation?" "Where do you find your ultimate satisfaction?" "How do you find the right woman/man?"

These are questions that begin to open perspectives and assuage people's inner defenses. They allow people to start thinking in a bigger picture about a situation that often blinds people to other concerns. Think about it: who thinks about the big picture when something tragic happens to them? No, we think about the tragic thing and how it has effected us and our own situation. But questions take the blinders off and help people to start seeing that there is a story to their life that is being written day by day, and it's leading somewhere.

Ask to pray with them, and talk directly to Jesus with them present and about their situation. Let them see that you actually believe Jesus is alive, and let that be present in your prayer "language". Ask for Jesus to be with them, to speak to them and to give them new purpose in Him. Let them experience the presence of the living Jesus. That is enough for the moment. If they want more, let them accept him. More on that "acceptance" later.
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Religious word of the day - revival. Revival is a church culture thing, meant to be as a gathering to renew and refresh the faith of the congregation. Sometimes you might hear it called a "tent revival", meaning a revival in a big tent to accommodate larger crowds that a church building can do. Often famous or flagrant speakers are called in to preach. This is not a practice shown in New Testament Christianity, but rather is an outgrowth of a church culture phenomenon called the Great Awakening that dates back to the 1700s.

Spiritual Conversation: Starter Questions (and Responses)

So you've talked to God. His Spirit is directing you to talk to a person about Jesus. He may or may not have given you specific instructions on how to do this. If He gives you specifics, follow them and do not follow what I'm going to write.

To begin, you might start with, "What do you think happens after we die?" "Do you think there's anyone up there?" "Weird thought, but what is life really about?" After these type of spirituality questions, ask about Jesus. Perhaps start by asking, "What do you think about Jesus?". It gets easier to ask the question after a few times, trust me, but it is nerve-wracking at first. That's normal.

In scenario #1, you may find that a person is actually interested or curious in Jesus. Ask them if they'd be interested in reading the Bible together, a gospel. A gospel is one of the four 1st books of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Guess what? This is actually easy. You can simply read a chapter or maybe just 10-20 verses at a time and discuss. Ask questions and try not to provide answers. Let them go on the journey themselves, don't hand them answers easily. Questions might include: "What do you think about this statement?" "Do you think Jesus was telling the truth?" "What does this mean?". (more on that in the next set of posts "The Word")

In scenario #2, you find that a person is ambivalent. This is hard. This is often the state of our culture, and something you might feel like challenging. People like to find excuses to be apathetic, like saying "all roads lead to heaven" or "you find your way, I'll find mine". They don't want conflict, and they don't want to change. But... sometimes it is our calling to challenge such people to give up the quiet life and instead be brave and face the truth. Express that you don't want to hurt them, but instead that you do care for them and for this reason you want them to have what you have. You might have to explain you were given this good news and relationship with Jesus as a gift, and you aren't better than them.

In scenario #3, you find a person is offended or hostile. It's okay. Sometimes people get very angry with the messenger, but don't try to force the issue. Continue to love them. Continue to pray for them. The Lord can work with the passions of people, even if they are dead set against Him. The apostle Paul was a known persecutor of the early followers of Jesus and sent many to their deaths before Jesus caught up with him and entered into his life. You might think that hatred is far worse to face than apathy, but it's exactly the opposite in my opinion. If you find a person antagonistic to you, it's okay. If you can't answer their questions like "If God can do anything, can He make a rock bigger than he can carry?" or the joke from MadTV "If life is fair, why do roses have thorns?" or "Why is there evil in the world if God is real?".... if you can't answer those immediately, it's okay. You can simply say, "I don't know" or "I'll talk with God about that and see" or "I'll look into that, can I talk to you about it after I find something out?".

It's okay to not know. What's not okay is to antagonize and meet their hostility with hostility. I have done this in the past, and I regret it. It has never ended well. We don't want to act unlovingly and inoculate people against Jesus.
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Let's talk about some of these questions, but first, let me say something my missionary mentor taught me. He said that people don't really have intellectual hangups with the truth of Jesus. They just want to make excuses to sin. I believe that he is right in most cases. People don't really want to know the answer to these following questions unless they are in a crisis like going through cancer treatment, mourning the loss of a loved one, or experiencing war and murderous atrocities.

Question #1 "If God can do anything, can He make a rock bigger than he can carry?" Just for your own confidence, I'll answer this. Yes. He can. He did this in a sense by becoming a human, Jesus. He limited himself by choice, even though he is all-powerful. God can make a rock bigger than he can lift, but he can also choose in the future to make the rock carry-able. It's a stupid question that is meant to make you think you aren't a rational person for believing that there is an all-powerful God. But believing that there is a God is not the center of our faith. Rather, the center of our faith is that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior. 

Question #2 "Why is there evil in the world if God is real?" This is another question about God's authority and power to act in the world. What do we think as followers of Jesus? We believe that sin, which is disobedience and rebellion against God, is the reason there is evil in the world. Sin has two effects on people, direct and indirect effects. 

Perhaps you find a man who was abused (sin) committing atrocities (sin) against others. He was affected by sin and formed by sin and then repeated the sin and amplified sin. This is a direct effect of sin.

Indirect effects of sin are hard to understand, and that's normal. Why do children get cancer? Because in the past, the human race rebelled against God. God let us make that choice - a life without him. And a world without Him produces death, illness, plagues, unproductive soil, evil.

Sin entered into the world because God actually loves us. Hear me out. It was not his intention for sin to enter the equation, no. However, love is always a choice, and God permitted us to have the choice to love him or not. You cannot force love. You cannot make it happen. God gave us a choice, and we, through the first man who sinned, chose to rebel against what God wanted. We didn't choose to love God. This is how sin came in.

However, someone asking this sort of question who is experiening tragedy is asking a different question, even though they use the same words. The proper response is not usually one of words, but of loving kindness... of staying with that person in the moment... of being present and representing God's presence. Sometimes the question they are asking is "Where was God when I needed him?" And you should maybe ask yourself, where were the people of God? Or perhaps, where were you?

There are harder questions asked. So so many. Comment with one and maybe we can discuss it together. But don't be afraid to say you don't know the answers. Don't ever think you know it all. You were never meant to know it all, but you were always meant to direct people back to the One who does know it all. Pray with people. Ask God the question they are asking when you pray with them. Again, I give you permission to act in this way... even though it's commonly not thought of.
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Religious word of the day - Curse. In broader culture it means an evil spell cast on someone or an evil spell that becomes active after interacting with an object that is evil or taboo. However, a different way to look at a curse in the Biblical fashion is the removal of blessing and the beginning of punishment for sins committed. This can become a cycle and affect an entire family. As an example, one man abuses his son, then his son abuses his son, so forth and so on. (I haven't been abused, by the way, so don't assume!)

Spiritual Conversation: Teasers

Jesus didn't really do 3 point sermons (if anyone knows what those are). Do you know why? He was a master teacher, that's why. He told confusing riddles, known as parables, that got people's attention but often left them scratching their heads in confusion. But it left them wanting to know. This is really well explained in Mark 4. 

Whenever Jesus spoke to crowds, he spoke in riddles and parables. Then later, those who wanted to understand the riddle would approach Jesus and ask for an explanation. I think the point of the riddle was to inspire curiosity. It got people to follow Jesus instead of following a bunch of lifeless rules.

Jesus at one point in His ministry called us to be the salt of the earth. My opinion is that we can look at being the salt of the earth as like salt in the mouth. It tastes good in small quantities, and it makes us thirsty for water. 
The way we speak should make people yearn for Jesus, the One who gives Living Water.

If Jesus is truly your Lord and Savior, then He is surely integrated into your very identity and personality. You really have to start with that idea, the reality deep in your own soul. If you don't actually have this relationship, you really don't need to share the good news of Jesus, because you don't really believe it.

We must first express the yearning and great thirst we have, and let people know who quenched that thirst. We must express that we were slaves, and now we are joyously free. This is a reality no one can object to - your own story of how you came to be a child of God. (More on that later.)
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What is wrong with an expository, 3 point sermon? Nothing, it just doesn't work that well. Expository sermons were invented by the Greeks as a form of rhetoric, which is the art of public speaking. It was meant to organize thoughts and make them easy to remember. These sermons were effectively used when Christianity began to battle atheism, a time when Christianity tried to look like the more rational choice over atheism. 

Although the modern era did see these types of sermons used with great effect, we no longer live in the modern era. I would say that most of America is in a postmodern mindset now, which means that science and reason are not the ultimate truths or realities of the culture.

Instead, many regard personal stories as absolute truth. These are what you see used by politicians and talk shows alike to either sell something or get you to vote for someone. They are powerful. True stories are especially amazing. True personal stories aren't everything, but they are a start in having spiritual conversations.

This post is about "teasers", though. Think about teasers as positive gossip. It's a whisper. It's a hint. It's a small taste. Think about something you were really attracted to in the past. You saw a glimmer of something interesting, but you went after it and delved deeper without anyone pressuring you. You KNOW you do this with shopping, hobbies, ideas, etc. In the same way, start to think of these spiritual conversations not as being battles, but as being ways for God to enter into the passions and curiosities of a person.

It's very hard to come up with examples of teasers, but perhaps something like, "I heard God speak to me". It's interesting, strange and yet powerful. Jesus used things like, "I am the bread of life", "I am the good shepherd", "I am the vine and you are the branches". Each of these sayings were confusing and inspired a long discussion.

This is an interesting thing to note from Mark 4, mentioned at the beginning of the passage. In Mark 4, the parable of the sower is given by Jesus to a crowd. He basically just talks about seed being sown and how the seed is either eaten, outgrown by weeds, planted in terrible soil, or planted in good soil. And that is ONLY thing the crowd heard. It wasn't until the disciples approached Jesus and asked for an explanation that they got the deeper meaning of how the seed is the word of God.

Do you see how Jesus chose to reveal himself and his teachings to people ONLY when they actually wanted to understand? If we follow Jesus, then this is the way to go.... teasers, riddles, confusing but tasty conversation.
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Religious word of the day - Amen. It's a Hebrew word meaning "truly" or "may it be so". In my opinion, it's kind of like a strong "yeah!" of agreement.

Spiritual Conversations: Prayer 1st

The first conversation we should have... is with God himself.

Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 that he didn't try to preach a message of wisdom or eloquent words when proclaiming the gospel. Instead he "resolved to know nothing... except Jesus Christ and him crucified." His message would not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power.

Why is this important? By it we understand that we cannot rely on our eloquence or speaking skills. This is a relief to many of us! Instead, our presentation of the good news of Jesus relies on God's power. 

Therefore, we must have conversations... constant conversations with God. We must ask Him to work on people, and listen to Him when He says to do something. For example, He may tell you to talk to a stranger, or to talk to your friend about the Lord (and we'll get to what that looks like later). 

Prayer is essential only because communicating with the Lord and bending to his will is essential. Before we think our ideas and actions are potentially bringing someone to Christ, we must replace that mindset with the fact that the Lord is alive and already acting in the lives of many people. Our job is not to go where we think God is not working. It's to go where He wants us to be and join with His own work and power there.

This is hard to grasp. Our whole faith is hard to grasp. We must rely on the Lord God, not just to give us success, but to give us orders that we follow.

Hospitality: Entertainment

So, you eat a nice snack when you are with your friends. Then you have dinner, maybe dessert, a coffee. Now what? As that 90's garage band sang, "Here we are now, entertain us."

This next part is a little difficult for me to understand. How do we entertain? We are a really diverse people. I myself like to just talk about family, work, kids, hobbies, and everyone's not so favorite - spiritual and metaphysical realities. But, to break the ice, maybe a good movie? Play instruments? Watch the game or some other TV show? I think we all know how to hang out, but how to you get past that?

Actually, you never stop hanging out. People bond slowly, and you will always need to just hang out. People need to just relax. But they will also think of you as a friend when they need someone. They will also listen to you when you start expressing you actually care about them. Don't under or over-spiritualize the art of hanging out. It's wonderful and ordinary. Don't try to be extraordinary. Just love people. Without that foundation of ordinary friendship, don't expect people to just open up to you and feel like you really care about them. Time is the most expensive commodity in America, and if you spend your time with someone, you are caring for them.

Remember you aren't trying to find the shortest and most efficient way to shove some religion down someone's throat. No, the Kingdom of God expresses the good news of Jesus through actual love for the person who doesn't yet serve Jesus. Hang out with them. Be a friend. It's okay. I give you permission to not talk about the plan of salvation the very second you meet them.
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Pro Tips: If you are hosting others, remember a few things. 

1. Turn your thermostat down(if it's AC weather) or up(if it's heater weather) about 15 minutes before others arrive. When people come in, they bring generally bring more heat with them, even in the winter. Be attentive to the temperature and adjust it as needed.

2. Have enough toilet paper. I think that is self explanatory.

3. Have enough ice. Ice goes quick. Some of us have automatic ice makers in the fridge, so this is a moot point. However, still make sure the fridge is full of ice.
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Religious word of the day: Holy. Holy means separate. There are different ways to think about holiness. In ancient Israel, there were common items for common use and more special items dedicated to God or temple use. Or there were ceremonially clean and unclean things. Holiness can also mean morally or spiritually excellent.

For us, I think, holiness is about being devoted solely to God. To be holy, our allegiance is to be solely to God. However, we are unable to be holy without Christ, because we have already failed to be allies of God because we have rebelled against Him. Our holiness and our devotion starts with the forgiveness and inclusion in the family of God brought by the great forgiveness Jesus has given us. We have even become children of God, if we accept Jesus.

As followers of Christ, we are different, either by faith or in reality. We cannot live the same way we once did, and we won't ever fit back in with the rest of the world again because of the salvation we have received. We will always be holy, and in that sense, we will always be strangers. Set apart. Separate.

Hospitality: Food

I like to watch cooking competition shows a lot. It's really funny when the hosts interview ethnic chefs because they tend to make statements like, "I grew up in an Italian family, so we love food." Or, "I'm Latino, so we like food." Hey, a little secret, all cultures like food!

Food is a social catalyst. It starts chain-reactions. Have you ever been to a party or a gathering where there is no food? Yeah, you kept wishing you could leave. Once the food came, though, people started opening up and talking. It's not a fix-all to social awkwardness, but food is just an amazing tool to help conversations get going.

For many of us, this is a natural thought, and you're wondering why I am even posting on this. For others, however, food is a utility and isn't understood to be necessary for social interactions.

For those of us who follow Jesus, let me remind you of something. 1 Corinthians 11 reminds us that when we come together, we are to eat and drink to the remembrance of what Jesus did for us. We even have mentions of these meals called "love feasts" in the New Testament. Some people might think these are orgies, but they aren't. They are feasts to celebrate the common bond of Christ-followers and the sacrifice and victory of Jesus.

If food is essential to the family bond of those who follow Jesus, how much more is food essential to forge relationships with those who don't have that strong bond that we share?

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When planning to eat with someone, find out if they have any preferences, allergies or cultural restrictions.

Pro Tip: Don't invite a good Muslim or Jew out for pork. It's against their religion. Jewish Kosher law can be a little confusing to understand, so consult your friend with your proposed menu to find out if it's acceptable. 

Some Hindus will not eat meat at all, and some will eat chicken/shrimp. Vegetarian with Hindus will never be the wrong choice, but still consult with your friend before finalizing the menu. Offshoots of Hinduism, like Jainism or Buddhism tend to produce more vegetarians as well.

If I went into all of the diets of the world, your head would explode. So, the simple rule is, make sure your friends can eat your menu before making the food.

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Eating also comes with a clean-up chore afterwards. Americans tend to help each other out cleaning-up, but this is not the case with all cultures. In fact, I know some of my foreign friends are actually offended when I try to help with the dishes or clean-up. When I don't think about this phenomenon, they don't understand that helping is how I feel involved socially. When I don't let them clean up without me, it offends them because I'm not accepting their hospitality.

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Religious word of the day: Eucharist. Also known as the Lord's supper, communion, taking of the elements, etc. As explained in the post, it is a vital meal wherein we bond with fellow followers of Jesus as we remember Him. Most traditionally this is done with wine and bread without yeast. 

However, other denominations of Christianity express it in different ways, with grapejuice and regular bread or other foods and drinks as culturally appropriate. This is mostly ritualistic, but I have a strong opinion that it should be a family meal wherein we share the amazing victory of the Lord in our lives and share our gratitude to our Savior as often as we possibly can.

The history of communion goes back to when Jesus shared the Passover meal with his Apostles before he was crucified. The Passover was a Jewish feast commemorating when the Lord had freed the people of Israel from slavery, but destroyed the first-born Egyptians by a plague. This plague passed the Israelites over if they had painted lamb's blood on the doorposts of their house.

The lamb's blood in Jesus' Passover meal was his own, so that the plague of sin would be defeated once and for all. Consequently, His people are free from sin because of his death and resurrection. The wine represents his blood, and the bread represents his body. By taking communion we unite in common union (comm-union) to remember the great and loving sacrifice of Jesus for us.

Hospitality: Neutral Territory

There is a concept called "the 3rd space". The other 2 spaces are work and the home. Social relationships aren't often equal at work, and the home can feel like it is dominated by the host. The 3rd place is neutral territory that all are equal in. It can be a barber shop, coffee shop, meetup group, etc.... but it is definitely NOT a church building.

We need to meet in neutral territory in order to be taken seriously sometimes. It is a place where everyone can be real. It's an elusive atmosphere to find, but it's essential for sharing the good news of Jesus that you avoid any possible barriers to accepting it.

In American culture, we tend to build friendships according to our common interests. Finding a meetup group or a club that participates in your favorite activities is a great way to find a 3rd place where people aren't defined by their obligations, but instead by their passions.

Some friendships might be based on long-held relationships from childhood or school, as well. In these cases, you have a deep relationship or at least one waiting to happen if you are reconnecting to an old friend. Your house might be a neutral ground to build on that relationship in that case.

The point of this post is to get you thinking outside the box of the house and the church building. Sometimes a change of venue is needed to talk about a change in life, so let your setting work in the favor of change.
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One other issue that I have seen disrupt neutral spaces is, regrettably, mixed gender groups. Let me share my opinion about what to do about this and why.

Titus 2 teaches us that older women should teach younger women, and older men should teach younger men. It may be that some people feel more comfortable discussing certain subjects in male-only and female-only groups. This may not apply to all things.

I will say from anecdotal evidence that many of my friends have experienced sexual temptation when trying to use relationship-building with the opposite sex in one-on-one talks in order to share the good news. Might I suggest that we could use Titus 2 as a safety cushion to relieve any sense of duty you might have to share with the opposite sex, unless specifically authorized by the Holy Spirit to you? 

Connecting spiritually with someone is a deeply personal and emotional attachment. We must be able to maintain our own integrity throughout. It is necessary then for us to remain in neutral spaces and groups for our own safety as much as for the benefit of communication it is for the people you are trying to befriend.
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Another useful thing to know is that you are not always meant to be the one "doing something". Sometimes hospitality is letting someone else do something for you. If you can begin to think of visiting someone and accepting their hospitality as service to them, then do it. I fear that within American society, we place way too much weight on "what WE do" rather than "how we receive" from others. It makes others feel closer to you if you accept their hospitality.
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Religious word of the day: Glory. Glory has a religious and a secular definition. A secular definition of glory is the fame and power that comes from celebrity or accomplishment. In Greek mythology, it is the highest ideal, rather than moral integrity. The Hebrew thought of glory is linked to weight, and thus to power over another. When we give glory to God, we are acknowledging that He is greater than all others and that he is more famous, more powerful than all others.

Hospitality: Meet Others

These next posts will talk about how we can effectively communicate with all people about our beliefs. Later on, we will talk about communicating our beliefs with people who hold to religious belief.

Really and truly, people don't care what you think or believe if you don't know them.


Communication begins by creating a safe place to communicate. Otherwise known as a relationship. But it's hard for some particularly religious followers of Jesus to have relationships with unbelievers. There's this belief that we shouldn't be around certain types of folks. And while it is good to not entrust yourself to unbelievers, it is not good for us to abandon them altogether.

Meeting people in our individual culture is sometimes hard. Can I just say, "Please talk to God about this?" People at work may or may not be open to meeting a coworker outside of work. People meet at bars, coffee shops, meetup groups, neighborhood or apartment associations, concerts, festivals, COLLEGE, volunteer organizations, online, libraries, civic centers, etc. You were also born into this thing called a family. More than likely, some in your family don't really know Jesus.

So, dinner at home is good. Inject food into a situation, and people are automatically talking. You might have to eat out if you live in a tiny apartment like mine in the big city. (Can I get some love for Small Space, Big Style?) Hospitality is an art form. If you didn't grow up being hospitable, there is a steep learning curve. Basically, you have to think about how to make others comfortable and you have to find out what they like. I know people who are experts at being hospitable, so I always ask them advice on designing a room or an experience. Play it by ear, but have at least a loose plan.

Learn to find the good things in people's lives and reinforce them. Nearly everyone has some good quality or innocuous hobby. You don't want to find yourself compromising your beliefs by just accepting everything that people do. That's not good for anyone. It doesn't mean you have to point out the faults of others, but you surely don't want to encourage sin.

Be kind. Send people cards. Give gifts. Become a part of their family. Watch their kids. Visit them in the hospital and go to weddings and funerals. Truly love these people. After all, God did this with you. He, in His kindness, pursued you and loved you. It wasn't because He wanted to score against the devil, but because He genuinely cared for you.

This is not a numbers game.

Please comment on some creative ways you have met people or have provided hospitality.

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Religious word of the day: Redemption. The only thing we redeem in America is a coupon. But redemption is a term that is much harder to define. At it's basic core is the example of a slave who is bought and freed. This is the act of redemption, being bought and freed. In the New Testament, we are shown to be slaves of sin, having been bought with the death and punishment of Jesus and freed by unity with his resurrection.

Preparation: Understanding Religious Beliefs

The previous posts are about preparation: knowing the right motivation for sharing Jesus, understanding the unnecessary barrier of religious words, and finding out what the end goal of discipleship is.

Let's look at some of the basic religious beliefs we are at odds with.

1. Guilt/shame religion: Religions teach you at a very basic level that God is way up high and you can't get to him unless you are a good enough person. Penance or self-punishment is done to "make up" for the evil you have done. At the end of life, you will have a reward if your good outweighs your bad.

The problem with religion is that you can't ever be good enough. God is perfect, and He demands perfection. You know deep down that you can't possibly measure up, even if you try so hard it hurts.

Guilt religion is just absurd. How can your good make up for the evil you have done? It's like saying, "My 20 years of incarceration will make up for me killing your loved one." No, punishment does not make up for evil.  Justice and "penance" is found in the cross of Jesus Christ, where Jesus took our sins away and forgave us. Now life is a life of gratitude, not guilt. We measure up because we have been united with Jesus.

2. Encompassing religion: Ever heard, "All roads lead to heaven. You believe what you believe, and I'll believe what I believe. I'm okay; you're okay."?

This type of religion is marked by an absence of absolute truth. In this, truth becomes about inner intuition and superior spiritual knowledge. This knowledge is not obtained from God giving you direct revelation, like the Bible, that can be read and applied to all people. No, this is gained through meditation, spiritual experiences, séances, magic, etc.

By the way, saying "all roads lead to heaven" is one of the most disrespectful things to say about other religions and shows you really have no idea what you're talking about. The problem with that phrase isn't just that Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6). No, the problem is that heaven after resurrection to be with a personal God isn't even a concept in other religions. For example, in Hinduism, to be resurrected again is actually hell. Reincarnation is seen as a bad thing because it means you must not have measured up to where you need to be yet. The ultimate reality you are aiming for in Hinduism is actually the dissolution of your individual self and becoming energy that unites with the elemental force or creator force of Brahmin. Heaven is not even a thought. See what I mean?

3. Non-religion: This is atheism, the belief that there is no God. It is usually expressed in a very scientific, modernist way. This means that if something cannot be proved scientifically, it doesn't exist. In essence, truth cannot be known if it is not scientific truth.

Atheism comes from two places: a reaction to the oppressive Medieval "Christians" or from Theravada Buddhism. The more common form is the reactive one. It is therefore an anti-religion that is often very negative. You get the feeling they feel superior to everyone for having come to accept the brave thought that there is nothing after death. Agnostics believe that you cannot know if there is or isn't a god. It's basically diet atheism. This is not a humble and more enlightened belief. Rather, it is a cowardly and bland belief.

The problem with atheism is their mechanical way of understanding truth. Love cannot be defined scientifically. Morality cannot be proved or asserted under scientific law. In fact, science cannot tell us "why", it can only tell us "how".
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Comment if you want to talk about any of these you have seen or tried to confront. I've done this a lot, both successfully and unsuccessfully. I'm sure the other readers have similar stories that we can all learn from.
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Religious word of the day: Hallelujah - it means "praise YHWH" in Hebrew. YHWH are the letters of the unpronounceable name of the God of Israel in the Bible. Sometimes it's spelled Yahweh, or erroneously as Jehovah. Praise means to lift up or worship.

Preparation: What Are You Aiming For?

In previous posts, we explored how our proper motivation to share the good news of Jesus with others is joyous gratitude, not duty and pride. We also explored some of the religious terms that might get in the way of communicating the good news.

This post is about what you are aiming for. The adage goes, "If you aim for nothing, you'll hit it every time." We actually have the most compelling goals ever known to mankind wrapped up in the person of Jesus. The reason it's important to have an aim and a vision is so that you aren't trying to just convert people. Let me illustrate this point.

This is what happens a lot of times. People attend a church service or they go to a stadium. They hear an amazing speaker or have a spiritual experience. Then they "convert" by praying a prayer accepting Jesus as their Lord. Then they go home. Then... well, who knows? 

I call this "popcorn conversion". You heat the person up with emotion. They pop and convert into something new. Then .. it's just fluff and stuff that sticks between your teeth, the person isn't really deeply changing or connected to God. Honestly, we who are leading people to Jesus have the responsibility to disciple them. There is no call in the New Testament to just leave people alone after they give their lives over.

The problem is the word "convert" and what that means. It is a one time part of a person's life wherein they convert from being unsaved to saved. Convert is not a word used very often in the Bible; it's used a total of 8 times. The word disciple is used an amazing 296 times in the Bible. Jesus said for us to make disciples, not converts, and there is a mind-blowing difference there. Disciples take time; they are welcomed into the family of God. They learn with this amazing support group how to live in God's presence.

We are hopefully aiming for the full vision of God that sees perfect union between Him and His family, the church. It is something you have to confront culturally, because we are very individually minded people. But the Church is a collective, family-minded people. There should be no such thing as an isolated Christian because we are essentially pack animals. When we think of conversion, we have to think this way. We are not just welcoming people to a relationship with Jesus, but also a relationship with us.

We are aiming for being an entire group of people who are looking like Jesus more and more everyday, becoming closer and closer in unity with the living God.

Preparation: Reform Religious Vocabulary

Prayer, repentance, faith, confess, preach, evangelize, disciple, convert, sin, baptize, church, Christian, Lord. 

These are words that are religious. They aren't inherently bad, but they might confuse the uninitiated. Even worse, it might conjure up images of a violent religion with a sordid past.

Let's go through these words one by one and talk about why we would actually be loving people to find a new way to say what we mean so people don't have an unnecessary barrier to learning about Jesus.

Prayer. Prayer can be simplified as talking to God, but I believe it is a lot more than that. Prayer is listening to the Lord, and it is also bending to what He wants. Prayer can have the unfortunate connotation of being a ritual that only the religious can pull off. For more information from Jesus on what prayer is, read Matthew 6. There is so much more to read on prayer, so comment if you want to have more information on it. My suggestion is that we refer to prayer as a "conversation with God".

Repentance. Repentance just means to turn away from something and turn towards something. It comes from the Greek word "metanoeo" just in case you care. Jesus famously preached, "Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is near." So it's a 180. It's handing your life over to God. It's letting God turn your life around. There are so many ways to say it.

Faith. Faith can mean a few things. It can mean religion, as in "I would like to share my faith." It can mean believing something unseen. Faith is not really Biblically defined as a religion. Other religions were never defined in the Bible as being "faiths". Faith is more defined as trust. Trust has this element of believing that God is good, that He is real, that He keeps His promises, that He loves us, that He revealed Himself to us and that we are to act on this trust. Trust encompasses not just belief, but also action. After all, trusting someone has an element of win or lose. You either win because you acted in a way that trusted someone, or you act and lose because someone betrayed that trust.

Confess. Confession is a word used in the justice system. It has this flavor of crime, police, jail, courts and judges. But confession to us is more about being humbly open about your shortcomings and your mistakes. It can be about expressing guilt, even guilt for actual crimes committed, but more often than not it is about letting God and the trusted community of believers lovingly work with you in your shortcomings. It is not about being open about the mistakes you made and just accepting them as something that will never change. That helps no one.

Sin. Sin is a difficult thing to understand. In broader culture it means a religious offense. But for us, sin is the destructive force that is rooted in disobeying God's loving and perfect ways. It creates a vast and impassible gap between God and man, ruining the relationship that we were destined to have together. In Greek, the term is "harmartia", which means to miss the bullseye in an archer's target. But the Biblical writers took it further than that to show that sin was what brought death to a perfect world. It's about disobedience, so it is any selfish action that contradicts the two main commandments, "Love God; Love others as yourself."

Baptize. I can hear the controversy already brewing. The English word "baptism" is actually a word steeped in controversy because it isn't a translation. The New Testament was written in Koine Greek, a trade language of the time, and the word for baptism is "baptidzo" in this Greek. Outside of the Bible it was a word used to describe boats that had sunk in the water. It was not translated correctly because it went against a religious tradition. Basically, someone was a coward and didn't want to translate it right.

Before the fireworks start, let me tell you a couple of things about myself. I was raised in the Lutheran church, a church that participates in infant Christening or baptism. This is a practice of sprinkling water on a child to signify their future faith in the Lord. I was sprinkled when I was 13, though, since I wasn't really born into that church. In college, I was baptized through immersion in water, and I'll tell you why. Romans 6 and Mark 1 give pretty good simple explanations. Romans 6 explains that baptism is a unity with the death, burial and resurrection of Christ - so it has to symbolize that somehow. Immersion is probably the best way to bury someone completely without killing them, as long as you raise them up out of the water... Mark 1 gives us the picture that Jesus "came up out of the water", which isn't really a picture of sprinkling water but rather of having been down in the water. At my church they just call it "dunking". It's important to understand because it is one of the things Jesus wants us to do. If you haven't been baptized, let's talk about that.

Church. The word in the Greek is "ekklesia". It just means "gathering" or "community". It does not mean a building. Most Christians were meeting in homes during the times of the New Testament, and there is no evidence that there was a separate religious building owned by the Christians. Church is the people of God living in community to journey on the mission of God together. It is within us as a group that God has chosen to express His presence in this world (Matthew 18:20, Ephesians 4). There are many wonderful expressions of who the Church really is in the New Testament, and I encourage you to research it further in the Bible. The Church, however, is also not one singular denomination (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). It is only evidenced as the collective people who have turned to God and place their total trust in Jesus Christ. Beware the word "church", because it has the added baggage of being a religious institution that murdered thousands upon thousands of people in the Middle Ages. This is still very much felt in Europe and the Middle East. This was absolutely not what God wanted from His people as Jesus commanded us to love our enemies.

Christian. It was actually a derogatory term that someone else named the believers. So if it feels derogatory to you, it feels right! :D Christian obviously comes from the word "Christ", which means "anointed one". What's "anointing"? It's sort of a pre-coronation ceremony with oil poured over the head of the person who is becoming King. I guess it's kind of like calling someone "president-elect". A Christian, though, is one who follows Jesus. We were also termed as followers of the Way, the believers, the saints, etc. There are lots of ways to say Christian without saying the word Christian. The one thing you have to watch out for is that if you claim to be a Christian, you may find yourself having to defend some of the actions of people claiming to be Christian who never really followed Jesus...

Lord. The word Christ is discussed in the previous paragraph, but the word lord has this British thing going on. It's a title that tells us someone is royal or important. However, we don't really have that in America, unless the word president works. Maybe boss is a better term. We just don't have lords and masters in America. Ideas?

I know this was a lot to read, and I promise the future posts will be shorter. But the next time you hear some religious words, don't take it for granted that you know what the words mean. Other people who never grew up in a Church culture won't know what you mean, or they might think of something bad. We can clear up our language and instead bring understanding and intrigue to our discussions if we avoid such terms.

Preparation: First Things First

First things first. We have to each take a personal inventory. What are our motivations for sharing about the Lord Jesus and making followers? I always like to journey from dark to light, so bear with me as I write about the dark things first, then hopefully turn on the lights.

Let's start with some of the ones we might need to avoid: duty, fear, anger, ethnocentrism, and pride are a few motivations that are pretty common. Duty and guilt appear very spiritual, but they are not. They are drawing on this notion that God will accept us when we have done everything right. This is how some people enter into sharing their faith because many ministers have pressured people to do so. Fear and anger are deeper expressions of that insecure relationship with God, fearing that he will punish those who do not "evangelize". Ethnocentrism is an expression of pride. It means thinking that your culture is better than others and expressing that in thought and deed. I can resonate with this one, having gone on a few missions trips with the idea that my way of life needed to be taught to others because they were from "backwards" cultures.

How do we approach these problems? These are mainly religion-problems. What I mean by that is that they are based on a system that believes you have to be good enough to reach God. (As in, you have to do what He says to be accepted.) We really have to dig deep into our spirits to understand our motivation, because this is the wrong place to start, and it isn't the good news of Jesus. 

The good news of Jesus is that, yeah, we are messed up and we can't measure up, but that Jesus not only paid the price of our mistakes, but He also raised us to new life to be able to please God. This means that duty and guilt are dead. Our lives are simply gratitude to God for saving us from ourselves when we didn't measure up. This speaks to the fact that obedience is not a burden, but a joy. Obedience, then, is a joyous participation and adventure in gratitude, not a bitter duty to be done like a chore.

Matthew 28:18-20 shows us one of the amazing ways we can participate in the Kingdom of God. "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority on heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"

John 3:16 sums the proper motivation up nicely, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." Our reason for sharing is love. We have been loved so much. Have you experienced that love? If not, know deeply and accept that the Lord indeed loves you. He truly does. Ask the Lord to show you His love and kindness. He will. Accept Him as the King of your life, and walk into the amazing purpose He has for you (His purpose in you is not just to convert people, by the way). 

It is a hard road, because there is a lot of evil in the world that tries to prevent you from understanding this deeply and accepting Jesus as the King of your life. But Jesus summed it up nicely, "Then he said to them all: 'Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?' "

Before we can spread the good news of Jesus, we actually have to accept it. We also can't act out of religious motivations of duty, fear, and pride. It just doesn't make sense. We share about Jesus because we ourselves have experienced His great love, we know the amazing worth of obeying this great King, and we see this as an adventure in participating with the Lord in His quest to save the world.

Does that make sense?

Introduction

Welcome to the "Announce the Kingdom" blog. This blog is going to document the journey my wife and I are taking to spread the good news of Jesus and make disciples.The reason we want to document it openly is because we know that it is hard, and many are discouraged because they feel they don't know what to do or what to say. We do want to emphasize that it's difficult. In fact, it's impossible. But, we have a God who does the impossible.

Why would you listen to me? I'm not really an expert, and I'm certainly no Billy Graham. We are just common people who really want to follow Jesus. That doesn't make us amazing; it means that Jesus is amazing. I think it would be good for us as a group to see ordinary people going through this journey who aren't employed by a church. It's good because I think sometimes we let others do the job, thinking that we really should let the professionals do this.

About the format of this blog: The last thing we want to do is make these articles and reports about patterns that are easy to repeat. Patterns sometimes make us less dependent on God because we feel like "we can do it ourselves" if we have a good pattern. Following Christ is never about being independent from God. We need His Holy Spirit everyday. We also need each other. God has worked a wealth of wisdom into the people of the church, and I hope that you will feel free to jump in and comment.

:D