Walking and Evangelism

On Friday morning, my postman delivered a padded manila envelope. I suspect that many of my pastoral colleagues have or soon will receive similar packages. Inside was a fancy pedometer and a USB cable. As part of the East Ohio Conference’s effort to reduce health care costs and improve the health of its clergy, they have joined with Virgin Health Miles, allowing pastors to earn cash incentives for keeping track of their daily steps.

As it arrived, I was working on my sermon for the week on rethinking evangelism. My guess is that at least a few of you have read Bill Hybels’ book, Just Walk Across the Room. The book challenges the reader to think about how they define evangelism. What if evangelism was as simple as walking across the room and introducing yourself to someone you don’t know? Rev. Hybels suggests if -10 is used to describe someone living for themselves and 0 is the point of salvation, then success in evangelism is any movement towards the right (towards 0). The average person takes about 10,000 steps every day. My pedometer is a constant reminder of that fact. But what if just a few of those steps could be used to make an eternal difference in the life of someone else’s life?

That, says Bill, is what Christ did. He left his circle of comfort (i.e., heaven) and, walking across the cosmos, He was born on earth so He could lead us to eternal life. Romans 5:8 sums it up pretty well. Like the adulterous woman in John 8, Jesus finds us in sin, deserving death, and instead he gives us new life as He says to us, “You are forgiven. Go and sin no more.”

There is one other point that needs to be stated. “The single greatest value in any evangelistic endeavor is to be in tune to and cooperating with the work of the Holy Spirit.” We need to walk when he prompts and stay put when he is silent. We speak when we feel so directed and remain silent when we don’t feel his guidance. To stay in tune, we need to be in prayer and carefully listen so we may discern that still small voice.

So as I count my steps and strive to be more intentional about my health, I pray that some of those steps will help others move towards spiritual life that will last forever. Maybe you will be challenged to do the same.

Communicating for Change

It's been a while since I've had a substantial post on this blog, but I just had to get this out.

Two pastors recently recommended a book. If you've been a pastor for very long, then you realize that this is a common occurrence. But the subject matter was something that had been on my mind recently. While I usually just nod and go on, this time I felt led to order the book. I am glad I did.

The book is Communicating for Change by Andy Stanley and Lane Jones. The book challenges the reader to rethink their approach to sermon preparation and delivery. The book is divided into two parts. The first is a parable/story that hit me right in the soul. The second half is a more scholarly discussion of the seven imperatives and how they can be applied.

When the book arrived on Friday, I was already in the middle of a couple of things. When I picked it up later in the day, I intended to read the introduction and maybe the first chapter. I am by nature a slow reader. So imagine my surprise when I go so sucked in that I read the entire first half of the book in one sitting. I just couldn't put it down.

By the time I put it down, I wanted to go rework my sermon. Unfortunately, this weekend was my daughter's dance recital and the church's spring cleaning day, which meant there just wasn't time to rework the sermon and do the process justice. However, I did try to apply some of what the book talked about in terms of delivery.

So how did it go? It was an amazing experience. There was a sense of connection that was stronger than usual and I was able to leave my extensive notes untouched. What this book teaches is changing how I approach preaching (something I've done well for the last 14 years).

My thanks to Rev. J. Williams and Rev. R. Hendrix

Moving

It's been a while since I posted (over a year). I have been busy here in Adamsville, and hadn't really given this blog much thought until someone posted a comment last week. I took a couple of minutes and published all the comments that were pending.

If you enjoy the sermons, you can find more (Nov. 2006 to present) at www.adamsvilleumc.com. I don't know if the blogging bug will bite again, so I'm leaving this site up, but right now, there won't be regular updates. I will be posting every couple of weeks on the adamsvilleumc site under the pastor's blog.

Blessings to you all

Pastor Tom

From the Pastor's Pen - October

From the Pastor’s Pen

A missionary sat on the patio watching a black ant crawl up a table leg until it reached some spilled sugar. It seemed to eat, then crawled back down the table leg. Soon the two black ants crawled up the table leg to the sugar. They ate and left. Soon a steady steam of black ants moved up and down the table leg to enjoy the sugar. The missionary thought to himself, "They must have some system by which they communicate, 'I have found something good and I want to share it!'"

Last month I wrote about finding the authentic Jesus, that is, one who is both relevant today and true to the record of scripture. When we find that authentic Jesus, we need to share that knowledge with others. This is the essence of evangelism. And that is the word that best describes our activities this October. Consider the following:

· This Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we will be holding Revival. Revival should serve two purposes: it encourages and mobilizes those already in the church, and it provides an opportunity for us to bring unchurched persons to meet Christ.

· This Thursday we will kick off our Fall Kid’s Church program. For six weeks, the church will open and invite the children of the congregation and the community to come and learn about the truth the Bible has for us today. Through this program, we not only impact these children, but their families as well.

· At the end of the month, we look forward opening the church during “Trick or Treat Night.” While the world celebrates Halloween, the church celebrates All Saints Eve (or All Hallowed Eve), where we celebrate the life and testimony of the saints that came before us. Our theme for this night will be “Fishers of Men.”
By providing the light of God’s word and some goodies for the kids, we also have the chance to share with the families of our community the love of Christ.

It will be a full month, and there are a lot of other activities going on this month. As you read this, take a moment to reflect on how you can share God’s word with others this month.

~ Pastor Tom

Revival: Misconceptions, conditions, and marks of true revival

Misconceptions:

Not earthly source. True revival comes from God.

Not emotionalism and enthusiasm. Not about feelings and hype.

Not evangelism. More than telling others about Christ. That's only part.

Not education. It’s more than knowledge. We're already educated beyond our level of obedience.

Not enlargement. A church does not necessarily grow in numbers during revival.

Conditions

1. Consciousness of need. (Rev. 3.14-18 "And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the origin of God's creation: "I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, "I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.' You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. Therefore I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to keep the shame of your nakedness from being seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. ) Do we like the Laodicean church fail to see the need for revival.
2. Firm belief in revival (Matt. 21.22 Whatever you ask for in prayer with faith, you will receive.") Have we asked for revival?
3. Recognize that God desires revival (Is. 48.18 O that you had paid attention to my commandments! Then your prosperity would have been like a river, and your success like the waves of the sea) God’s desire for us is for us to prosper.
4. Strong sense of urgency (Rev. 3.20 Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.)
5. Earnest desire to be revived (Look at the day of Pentecost. They were gathered together in prayer seeking God’s revival. Do we desire revival so much that we go to prayer to pursue it?)
6. Willingness to pay the price (Earnestly following God will cost you something. Are you willing to count the cost? Are you willing to give up all that you have, all that you are, all your aspirations and desires, to be revived by the power of God? It is not something that is lightly undertaken.)

Marks of (2 Chor. 7.14)

1. Brokenness (confessed Sin, Humility)

2. Beseeching (pray, meditate on word, seek God’s face)

3. Burden (will of God, needs of community, desire to reach lost)

4. Behavior (obedience to God’s commands, turn from sins)

John Wesley, “Give me 100 Christians who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen. They alone will shake the very gates of Hell and set the kingdom of Heaven upon the earth”

I feel like Abraham talking to God: If we don't have 100, God, is 50 enough? What if we have 20? How about 5? Do we have five people who will seek God's face with everything in them, and resist sin with the same? God, can you start with one? Here I am, Lord, use me.

Catching up

It has been nearly a month since I last posted, and I just wanted to take a few minutes to drop a few lines. I've been teaching on the Lord's prayer for the last five weeks, using material from one of my mentors and good friends. Since it was almost entirely someone else's material, I did not feel right about putting it up online.

I'll be posting my newsletter later this week, and hope to begin posting my sermons again next Monday.

Blessings.

September Newsletter

“Who is this Jesus?”

I have heard this question asked with increasing frequency in
recent days.  The most poignant time was when I heard Bishop
Bruce Ough (from the West Ohio Annual Conference) tell a story
about his son and now daughter-in-law.  At the time, his son
was engaged, and on a certain Sunday,his son and his fiancé
went to church with the family.  As they sat in church and
listened to the pastor speak about Jesus, the bishop overheard
the young lady leaned over and asked his son, “Who is this
Jesus that the pastor is talking about?”  The reality of the
world we live in is that something like eighty percent of
all people under the age of twenty-five have never stepped
foot in a church, and most of these are not familiar with
the Biblical stories as the previous generations were.

Before we can begin to answer this question for others,
however, we must answer this question for ourselves.  We
need to figure out who Jesus is and what he means to us
before we try to tell others about him.  The Jesus often
portrayed in churches is a meek and mild-mannered man who is
nice to everyone and never gave offensive.  This Jesus is not
only pretty dull, but also seems too unrealistic to a
generation that is slow to trust what seems too good to be
true.  The good news is that the Jesus depicted in the Bible
is very different from this image. Jesus is depicted in
Scripture and history as a dynamic leader, who spoke the
truth of the Kingdom of God even when it was offensive.  

The Jesus of Scripture wove together rope into a whip and drove
the money-changers from the temple courts (John 2:14-16).  He
is the same Jesus who referred to the Pharisees as a brood of
vipers (Mt. 12:34),and he is the same Jesus who told the crowd
gathering to stone the woman found in adultery that whoever
was without sin could cast the first stone (John 8:7). The
Jesus of Scripture and history was (and is) a radical whose
interest lay in telling truth. The church can learn from his
example.  While we should never go out of our way to be
offensive,we should also never gloss over the truth of the
Gospel in order to avoid giving offense.  Jesus calls us to
be salt and light in the world; sometimes the world doesn’t
like that.  

The church needs to offer the world the “real” Jesus, who people can identify with, and who raised the standard at which we aim. This is a Jesus who
younger people and older people alike will want to know and follow.

note: the ideas in this newsletter borrow largely from my good friend, Pastor Jared, with some minor editorial changes.

How Hot Are You?

It’s good to be back from vacation. Several people have asked how our time away was, and I guess you could sum it up in one word: HOT! As I thought about that this week, I wondered if there were a thermometer to measure our spiritual intensity, how hot would you and I be? The Bible word for being hot is zeal (literally translated “to boil”). If 1 is cold and 10 is hot, what number describes your relationship with Jesus Christ? If you are 5 and below, then you are lukewarm.

Jesus, David, and the heroes of faith were eaten up with zeal for the Lord. They were earnest and zealous for the God, having a fervent mind, an indignantce towards the devil, a warmth towards one another, and an energetic pursuit of the things of God.

John Wesley said, “If you’ll get on fire, people will come and watch you burn.” When I read that, my first thought was a picture in one of my college textbooks of a Buddhist monk who had set himself on fire in the street as a protest. That picture will forever be burnt onto my mind. Are you and I willing to be so sold out for God that our acts of loving kindness burn a permanent image on the minds of others?

When we have that zeal within us, we’ll find that we are so grieved for those who lacks the good things of God in their life that we have to act and share with them. The Bible says those who don’t have a zeal for God are poor, wretched, naked, blind. . . Have you ever seen a picture of a homeless person? There are people who are very well off physically, but spiritually, the are that homeless person. There are many people in churches this morning who have every outward appearance of zeal, but inwardly are starving for something.

In Revelation 3, John writes (beginning in verse 14): 14"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm--neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

17 You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

19 Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. 20 Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches."

What does this have to say to us today? First, we all fall into one of three categories: cold, hot, or lukewarm (v. 15). Second, the lukewarm person is not easy to spot. They have the outward appearance of a Christian. They say of themselves “I’m rich, I don’t need anything. I’m satisfied.” That sounds a lot like the mantra of today’s American.

Now the Devil comes to deceive us in 2 ways. If we are cold, he tells us that we will never amount to anything. That forms within us a defeatist attitude. We begin to say over ourselves, “ I am a worthless little person. I can not get ahead. I know I will fail.” This type of attitude will keep us from fulfilling the potential that God sees in us. If we are lukewarm, the devil whispers in our ear, “everything is fine, you can take it easy. You have arrived.” The lukewarm Christian looks at those in the world and says to him or herself, “I’m not so bad. I’m better than they are.” Be wary of that voice, for God’s voice will never tell you that you’re better than someone else.

For someone who is lukewarm, God offers the following advice:

1. Buy gold of God that has been tried by fire. I heard the same thing on the radio this week. Buy gold. What does that mean. There are so many things in our lives that have no lasting value. The story is told about Dr. Dobson when he had heart surgery. He honestly thought he was going to die as he lay on that table. And he said at that moment, it did not matter how many books he had written, how many academic and professional awards he had won, how much money and possessions he had amassed. In that moment where he faced the prospect of his life ending there were only three things that mattered: who he loved, who loved him, and what he had done for Christ. 1 Corinthians 13 says in the end of it all only these three remain: faith, hope, and love. To buy gold means to infuse your life with those things that have an eternal value. Scripture reading, quality time with family, time spent in praise and worship as you draw closer to Christ. How much time today will you whittle away with trivial pursuits that have no lasting value? Buy Gold.

2. Get white raiment. This speaks of the blood of Jesus and the righteousness of Jesus. I looked hard for a picture for the power point this week. It’s hard to find a picture of a person wearing white. Most of those I found had a cigarette in their hand, needed more clothes, or had something spilled on their white clothes. As I thought about it, those very problems plague us as well. We can’t trust our own works to justify us, for our doubtful habits continue to ruin the picture; nor can we trust the law to justify us, for our goodness under the law never quite covers enough of us. In both instances, our sinful nature tends to stain our righteousness before we get very far. Only the holiness of Jesus that he gives to us through the cleansing of the blood can make us spotless before God. When God looks at us, he doesn’t see us, but he sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is like a great big robe that covers us.

3. Get some Eyesalve. If I were to update this, I would say, we need to get glasses to correct our vision. We need to see as God sees, to have vision for lost souls in our area. We need to refocus our vision off of ourselves and look for what God is calling us to do around us. During his ministry, Jesus healed a blind man. (see Mark 8:22-26) He spit in the man’s eyes and laid hands on him then he said, “Do you see anything?” The man replied, “I see people as trees that are walking.” This scripture illustrates the problem with our vision, and it is two-fold. First, we tend to focus only on ourselves, unable to see beyond our needs and wants to consider others. After an encounter with Christ, however, the man could see others, just not as they were. One commentator says of this passage that we often treat people as trees. We look to see what good they can be to us. When I served at Stafford, the trustees had three trees taken out. They were pretty scrawny trees, giving no shade. They were fruit trees, but they remained fruitless. So they were cut down. Too often, we look at other people that way. We ask ourselves what the person can do for us. We fail to realize that every person is of sacred worth to God, regardless of their past, their present, or their future. If we saw the lost as Christ sees them, then we could not help but improve our witness to those who are lost, for they are priceless to God.

The passage concludes with two pretty amazing verses. In verse 19, the Spirit tells John that God doesn’t bring this rebuke because he’s mad at us, but because he loves us. He just wants to see us be everything he’s made us to be. So in the next verse, he extends an invitation to us. If you are lukewarm, Christ is standing at the door to your heart this morning. He says to us, “Open the door, and I will come in and live within you. And you can live in me.”

HOW HOT ARE YOU THIS MORNING? Are you full of zeal for God? If not, then I invite you to come and ask God for gold, for white clothes, and for better vision. He loves you this morning and wants to see you full of zeal for him.