When Trying to Convert a Non-Christian Advice

Jonathan McIntosh over at Rethink posted a video of a friend of his who is not a Christian, but gives valuable advice in how we should approach people when wanting them to meet and trust in Jesus.

I remember what it was like to be a non-believer and also what it was like for some to try to convert me in very unloving and unhelpful ways so I could not agree more with much of this wisdom as someone who has been on both sides of the fence.

Rethink is a great site dealing with what living in a missional way really looks like today.
Click Here to Check It out.

DeYoung Reviews "Deep Church"

The buzz about "Deep Church" by Jim Belcher is growing through the Twitterverse. Like any new book now a days, it is claimed as a "must read".

Kevin DeYoung gives a good, balanced review of this book here.

Here is an excerpt:

Ah yes, another book on the emergent church. I admit I both really wanted to read this book and really didn’t. The wanting is because, as you may know, I too wrote a book on the emerging church. So naturally I was curious what another author–one with blurbs from the likes of Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, Rob Bell, Scot McKnight, and Tony Jones–had to say about the movement.

But a big part of me didn’t want to read the book. Believe it or not, I don’t live for controversy and I don’t wake up in the morning hoping to jump back into emergenty thoughts. I spent a year of my life researching and writing about the emergent church and then another year teaching and doing interviews about it. That was enough for me. Besides, perhaps I’m naive, but I think most people can now see the emergent movement for what it is. There are enough resources out there now for people to make up their minds and decide whether this is a healthy reform movement or a conversation pushing the boundaries of evangelical faith and sometimes jumping the bounds of orthodoxy itself.

Click here to read the rest of the review

6 Essentials of College Ministry

Working in college ministry for over 2 years now, I could not agree more with these 6 essentials. Especially with #1, Jesus cannot be overlooked or understated in college ministry. He is our source of life, redemption and eternal joy, we cannot act like He is just a means to an end or that Christianity is about moralism and duty.

From The Resurgence:

1. Don't confuse the gospel with religion
To prevent doing this, talk about Jesus (who he is and what he has done) all the time. If you don't, students will think Christianity is really about something else, like morality, philosophy, piety, social justice, or a religious experience. If you start talking more about what they should do instead of what Jesus has done, you're preaching another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), which is to put heavy burdens on them (Matt. 23:2-4).

2. Learn about sexual assault
The prevalence of sexual assault is staggering. At least 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. And the numbers are much worse for college students. These young women and men feel crippling shame, deep guilt, and painfully alone because of what has been done to them.

3. Teach students how to read and interpret the Bible for themselves
This means being clear on the relationship between the law and the gospel. The law is "perfect, true, and righteous altogether" (Psalm 19:7-9) and "holy, just, and good" (Rom. 7:12), but it does not effect what it demands (Gal. 3:21). The good news is that on the cross Jesus took our penalty of law-breaking and fulfilled the law, so he could give us his righteousness. God then works in us to will and to do his good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). The very law that condemns us becomes the very thing that God fulfills in us through the power of his Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:18-23), not through our effort (Gal. 3:1-3).

4. Be prepared to comfort students because of divorce and death
College students are at a phase in life where their parents seem to get divorced, if they aren't already, now that their children are leaving home. This is also the age when grandparents begin to die.

5. Study apologetics
Many students still have brain cells left, and they've been reading and thinking about their world. They have legitimate questions about who Jesus is and what he did and why he isn't just a good example. They want to know why they should trust the Bible as reliable. The immense suffering in the world makes them doubt either the goodness or power of God or both. They think Christians are hypocrites and bigots, so why should they become one?

6. Be prepared to counsel students about what they're really facing
You must be prepared to counsel about eating disorders, pornography, cutting, abusive relationships, and the lingering damage of sexual sin. College students tend to be the shock-absorbers of the myths our cultural sells. Idols are brutal slave masters.

Truth On Campus

From Think Christianly:

“There is one thing a professor can be absolutely certain of: almost every student entering the university believes, or says he believes, that truth is relative.”—Allan Bloom

“To say of what is that it is not, or of what is not that it is, is false, while to say of what is that it is, and of what it is not that it is not, is true.”—Aristotle

“…You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”—Jesus

“If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair”—C.S. Lewis

The Motions

I am praying that this song, The Motions by Matthew West, is our anthem for The Well. As we fight just going through the motions of ministry this year. That our all-consuming passion is Jesus, to love, follow, obey and make His name known to the city and campus. That our lives would be lived in such a way that He is all people see with how we risk and love.

That's my prayer for 2009-2010, I don't want to look back in May and say, "I wasted it."

Listen to this song, the story of Matthew West is a story of God's grace and love.

I was so stoked on this song that I bought his album, Something to Say, which is really good and worth a purchase. My buddy Zach also used to play with Matthew so that helped me like it even more.

Click here to purchase via Amazon

Also Check Out Matthew's Myspace

Unlikely Disciple, Unlikely Experience

What is it like to be a liberally minded, ivy league student in the middle of one of America’s most conservative, evangelical colleges? That is the question Kevin Roose took on in his book “The Unlikely Disciple”. In the book Roose describes his semester attending Liberty University and posing as an evangelical Christian. It is a story of someone from the “outside” invading the right-wing, Fox News watching, purity ring wearing, alcohol abstaining world of Jerry Falwell and the so called “Moral Majority”.

Kevin Roose is not an evangelical, in fact he attends Brown University, which is a liberal, ivy league school, where even talks of Liberty and Falwell bring about cringes and talk of in-toleration. Roose described his expectations of attending Liberty with thoughts of the stereotypical conservative Christian personas. What he found was unexpected.

Roose did find those who were very much against gay marriage and abortion. That much he expected. What he did not expect was to find a community of people who had struggles with faith and with living a life that was pursuing purity and was God honoring. Nor was he expecting to find a community who loved and cared for each other, who shared each others burdens and faced persecution and mocking on the beaches of Daytona as they talked to people about The Gospel.

Kevin Roose is a very talented writer and this book was very compelling and hard to put down. As an evangelical Christian who came from much of the same background as Kevin, minus the ivy league status, I understood a lot of what Kevin was experiencing. The Christian community at times is confusing, it is hard to understand why people would live like they do, struggle like they do, and even face mockers like they do, unless you see what it has as its’ foundation, Jesus Christ. At the end of the book Kevin does not become a Christian, he is not now on tour with Mercy Me, but he is praying, albeit to an unknown god. He did go back and confess his deceiving ways to his dorm-mates, only to find love and forgiveness... hmm they must have some sort of role model who is good at that.

I would recommend this book to Christians and urge the reader to try to put themselves in Kevin’s shoes. It is at times easy to get defensive about some of the things that Kevin writes, but overall this book is not a slam on Christianity at all. Kevin even talks about some of the unease he experienced when being questioned by his lesbian aunts, who were worried about him being brainwashed.

Kevin also shares a side of Jerry Falwell that many who only know him as a bigoted, intolerant man would be shocked at. Kevin actually got one of the last interviews before Falwell’s death. In the interview, Kevin saw a loving, caring and calmer side of Jerry that seemed to shock him and help tear down some stereotyping. That seemed to be the biggest theme throughout the book, tearing down stereotypes.

All in all the book is a great eye opening view of how the world views Christians, especially fundamental, conservative ones. I found myself praying for God to change Kevin’s heart and that Kevin would see that Christianity is not about morals, or intolerance, but about Jesus. About a God who does not demand sacrifices, but became one for us, took our punishment and died as a criminal the way we should have. Sadly I think that was what seemed to be missing most from his experience, a good explanation of some of the depths and beauty of the Gospel.

Below is a video excerpt to help further explain:
What is it like to be a liberally minded, ivy league student in the middle of one of America’s most conservative, evangelical colleges? That is the question Kevin Roose took on in his book “The Unlikely Disciple”. In the book Roose describes his semester attending Liberty University and posing as an evangelical Christian. It is a story of someone from the “outside” invading the right-wing, Fox News watching, purity ring wearing, alcohol abstaining world of Jerry Falwell and the so called “Moral Majority”.

Kevin Roose is not an evangelical, in fact he attends Brown University, which is a liberal, ivy league school, where even talks of Liberty and Falwell bring about cringes and talk of in-toleration. Roose described his expectations of attending Liberty with thoughts of the stereotypical conservative Christian personas. What he found was unexpected.

Roose did find those who were very much against gay marriage and abortion. That much he expected. What he did not expect was to find a community of people who had struggles with faith and with living a life that was pursuing purity and was God honoring. Nor was he expecting to find a community who loved and cared for each other, who shared each others burdens and faced persecution and mocking on the beaches of Daytona as they talked to people about The Gospel.

Kevin Roose is a very talented writer and this book was very compelling and hard to put down. As an evangelical Christian who came from much of the same background as Kevin, minus the ivy league status, I understood a lot of what Kevin was experiencing. The Christian community at times is confusing, it is hard to understand why people would live like they do, struggle like they do, and even face mockers like they do, unless you see what it has as its’ foundation, Jesus Christ. At the end of the book Kevin does not become a Christian, he is not now on tour with Mercy Me, but he is praying, albeit to an unknown god. He did go back and confess his deceiving ways to his dorm-mates, only to find love and forgiveness... hmm they must have some sort of role model who is good at that.

I would recommend this book to Christians and urge the reader to try to put themselves in Kevin’s shoes. It is at times easy to get defensive about some of the things that Kevin writes, but overall this book is not a slam on Christianity at all. Kevin even talks about some of the unease he experienced when being questioned by his lesbian aunts, who were worried about him being brainwashed.

Kevin also shares a side of Jerry Falwell that many who only know him as a bigoted, intolerant man would be shocked at. Kevin actually got one of the last interviews before Falwell’s death. In the interview, Kevin saw a loving, caring and calmer side of Jerry that seemed to shock him and help tear down some stereotyping. That seemed to be the biggest theme throughout the book, tearing down stereotypes.

All in all the book is a great eye opening view of how the world views Christians, especially fundamental, conservative ones. I found myself praying for God to change Kevin’s heart and that Kevin would see that Christianity is not about morals, or intolerance, but about Jesus. About a God who does not demand sacrifices, but became one for us, took our punishment and died as a criminal the way we should have. Sadly I think that was what seemed to be missing most from his experience, a good explanation of some of the depths and beauty of the Gospel.

Click Here to order book.

Below is a video excerpt to help further explain:

Should You Talk About The Gospel In Every Sermon?

From John Piper and Matt Chandler:

Fear

Proverbs 29:25
The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

If someone were to ask me what I believe to be one of the biggest sins that we face as young adults I think the fear of man would top the list. I have found that many people live a life that is marked by an evident fear of how they are perceived or how their reputation is affected.

A good example of what I am talking about is this past Tuesday night at The Well. We spent the night at a local park where we had volleyball, soccer and basketball along with other various activities. We were all having a great time, then we gathered for a time of singing and listening to God’s Word. Here is where the atmosphere of the night changed. Instead of energy and smiles all around, now there was a sense of awkwardness that seemed to take over. We were scared to sing in public!

“What if someone heard how tone deaf I am? What if the neighbors over at the playground areas laughed at me? I better not be too loud or too expressive, that would be embarrassing.”

I am sure that went through peoples’ minds, I know it did mine. Why is that? Simple, we are afraid of what others think more than we are of what God thinks.

I mean we had the beautiful Sandia Mountains in front of us, an amazing sunset to the left of us. The Heavens were screaming “Glory!!! Glory!!!” and yet we were afraid for our friend to hear our voice. We were overcome by what others think more than what He thought and heard.

Our lives and culture are marked by this fear.

Why do we buy $40 T-Shirts with the name of the store we got it at on it?

Why do we shop at The Buckle for $100 jeans and not Wal-Mart?

Why are we afraid to tell our friends about a Holy God who they have offended, and how the ONLY way to salvation is through Jesus Christ??

We are petrified of others’ perception of us.

It is the same reason that the people of Israel wanted a king. They wanted to be like the nations around them, they wanted to fit in. They had a King, the King of Kings leading them and loving them, but they wanted something that made them blend in, something that made them fit in.

We do too.

By nature we are man-fearing creatures. This changes though in a beautiful way when we are saved. No longer are we enslaved to the views of this world or of those around us. We have had our eyes open to the beauty, Holiness and majesty of our Great God, the One, whose opinion of us really does matter. We begin to see how He sees. We see our sin and unworthiness and are brought low only to be lifted up by the news of His Son who has come.

We learn of a God who demands perfection from us, who demands us to fear Him above all else. We learn that we have failed at this miserably and deserve full punishment for this. We learn that God has taken our punishment on the cross in the person of Jesus Christ. That He rose 3 days after death and now to those who trust in His name and His work, He freely gives us His perfection and status. He puts His life on us because He took on our life and guilt on Himself.

This is grace that changes everything.

We are not perfect yet though. Like the night at The Park we will find moments that we fear man over God. Here we are called to repent (turn from that way of living and thinking) and trust in Jesus once again. We are called to fear God, love God and love each other in a way that is reckless, radical and sometimes embarrassing by the world’s standards.

I wish I could say that I have this fear of man thing whipped, I don’t. I do know though that “...he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:6). And I look forward to that day when my fear, my love, my mind and my life will be captivated fully and completely by Jesus and only Jesus, forever!

What If I Have Tried To Believe In Jesus, But Can't??

John Piper Answers:

How NOT to be Missional

Do I believe that ONLY through Jesus Christ can salvation come, yes! Do I believe that we must tell people the good news about Jesus Christ? Yes!

Is this the way to do it? Is this serving and dying for others so that they may taste and see how good the Lord is? NOPE!

From Cnn.Com

Being a Missional Young Family

Working at DSC that is full of young familes and having 2 (soon to be 3) kids under the age of 4 of my own, made this post good and convicting to read.

Being a young family with jobs, and kids to juggle does not mean we can hold off spreading the gospel until the kids are out of the house. The truth is if we do that, other things will become priority and we will never come back to that missional lifestyle.

Redeemer Lubbock is a great Acts 29 church in Lubbock and is wrestling with some of the same issues, here is an excerpt:
However, I must admit that there seems something that is a bit off with our cadence. That is whether or not we are really caring about the lost that are around us here in Lubbock. Without a question, we are witnessing pockets of people who are determined to be the salt and light that Jesus asks of us to be. This is most evident in some of the care being given to various international students. As well as ministry that is happening by people engaging their neighbors. Yet nearly across the board when I look at these bright spots of people living missonaly it is being done disproportionately by college students and singles. Our families, which are one of the fastest growing segments of our church, are really struggling when it comes to missional living.

I have recently read some discouraging things about young families. In “Getting Things Done” by David Allen, he lists professionals with kids under the age of ten at home as the segment that are under the highest levels of stress and the group that struggles most to get things done. Second in Patrick Lai’s book “Tentmaking” he states that families with young children make some of the least effective missionaries. These two books are saying that a huge segment of our church is likely to be more stressed and less effective than any other demographic. This is where the lazy complacent side of me says lets just hold on and be happy with our success’. I refuse to accept this. I refuse to accept that when Christ commanded us to make disciples Matthew 28:17 and to be his witness in Acts 1:8 that it was actually a qualified statement depending on stage of life. Is it harder for the young families? No question, for a ton of different reasons, it is really difficult. However, young families are quickly becoming the core of this church and patterns we set now will shape who Redeemer is 20 years from now.

Now, a person without kids, or even someone who has grown kids and doesn’t remember the craziness of having little ones around might read this article with a resounding “Amen!” and think it’s about time, but a mom or dad that just put the kids to bed and is just sitting down for a minute of quite, will read this and their heart will sink. When, in the day is there time to add more stuff? My plea is not that you add more, but that you be more intentional with your time. I ask that you don’t give up sharing the gospel. Our culture will say that our kids are our ministry. Consider ministering to your kids by showing them your love for Christ by sharing Him with those that do not know him. Some simple ways to do this would be to talk to other parents at the park, invite a non-believing neighbor to a playgroup, make a playdate with some neighbors, eat dinner with a colleague and their family. Use the things you do everyday as tools to share and include people into your families life and share Christ’s love with them. Let’s not just tell our kids to share the gospel, but by God’s grace, let us live it out before them.

Click Here to Read the Whole Thing

False Dicotomies-Christopher J.H. Wright

Over at the Zondervan blog, Koinonia, Chris Wright shares an answer he had at a conference to this question:

In what way have we as evangelical Christians failed to grasp or live out the fullness of God’s missional intent? How (if at all) has our theology of evangelism been weak?

His multi-part answer shows that Christianity if full of false dichotomies.

Click here to Check It Out. Part 1 and Part 2.

They Saw A Need-And Met It

At the beginning of summer at The Well we discussed the need to not waste our lives on things of this world. We talked about how a wasted life is one that is spent chasing after comfort and safety, after the white picket fence, after the safe home and 401k plan. Through God's word we saw that life is meant to be "wasted" on glorifying God in all things, by making him look Glorious like He is in our words, actions and money.

Students from The Well have taken that call literally and are doing something they call Job 29 Ministries. It is a simple crew that takes food to the homeless and shares the gospel and love of Jesus. They did not need a committee to gather and plan or brainstorm, they just did it, cause Scripture said to do it. They did not wait for people to get behind it or others to see the need, they saw the need and they went. And God is being glorified and spread throughout Albuquerque.

Below is an excerpt on what they do and look forward to in the summer and fall:

We want this ministry to grow! Due to the irregularity of the summer, it is hard to set a specific and regular time to go out and help the poor and homeless of Albuquerque, NM. Many will be out of town frequently this summer, but our hope is to begin going on outreach trips to feed the homeless once a week when school starts. Kelsey and I (Leah) normally take care of all the preparations and then let everyone know where to be and when. However, Kelsey will be moving to Boston come fall and I will gladly accept any help. I will be having a sign-up sheet at The Well (Desert Springs Church) for those who are interested in coming on our outings, to put days and times that are regularly good for you. I will do my best to pick a day and time that will accommodate as many people as possible. Our outings take at the most 3 or 4 hours, but if you take your own transportation you are not required to stay the whole time. I can guarantee you that even though it is hard, it is definitely rewarding. We also want to expand this ministry come fall and winter. We not only want to feed those who are hungry, but we also want to provide blankets, jackets/coats/scarfs, and socks for the cold seasons. We are anticipating great things from our God who is mighty to save!

Click here to check out more from what they are calling Job 29 Ministries

If you are interested in helping email me at carlos@desertspringschurch.org

Job 29:12 "I delivered the poor who cried for help, And the orphan who had no helper."

Hispanics and Christianity

Very interesting report from Ed Stetzer, especially for a Hispanic in New Mexico as I am.

Barna found many similarities with the general American public, but also points out the differences in the faith of American Hispanics. From the Barna report:

How did the two populations differ spiritually? Based on the questions asked, gaps were discovered in just a handful of areas, including:

• Hispanics remained somewhat more likely to believe that a good person can earn his or her way into Heaven
• Americans, overall, were significantly more likely to claim that they are "absolutely committed" to Christianity (58% vs. 46%, respectively)
• Hispanics are twice as likely as the aggregate adult base to be aligned with the Catholic church (44% vs. 22%, respectively)
• Americans at-large were slightly more likely to be born again Christians (46% vs. 40%), based on their theological views

There is much more at the Barna site. Read the full story here.

A Great Visual of Christian Safety From Francis Chan

What an amazing video from Francis Chan, of the look of those in the church that live for safe, comfortable lives. May this be humorous and embarrassing to watch, it was for me.



Chan's book "Crazy Love" is available on mp3 at Christian Audio for free this month. It is such a good book and well worth the price to go get it (it is well worth full price at Borders too if you want to read it).

Props: Holiday At The Sea

Mark Driscoll on The Facets of The Gospel

Mark Driscoll on the complexities and scope of the Gospel, from his phenomenal book “Death By Love”:

“Perhaps the most succinct summary of the gospel is found in 1 Corinthians 15: 1-4:

'Now I would remind you, brothers of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the world I preached to you-unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.'

Here we see that the gospel is continual, in that we must continually be reminded of it; proclamational, in that it must be preached to us often, including preaching it to ourselves; personal, in that we must personally receive it in faith; essential, in that we must continually cling to it alone for the assurance of our salvation; central, in that it is the most important truth in all the world; eternal, in that it is passed on from one generation to the next without modification by religion; Christological, in that it is about the person and work of Jesus Christ alone; penal, in that the wage for sin-death-was paid; substitutional, in that Jesus’ death on the cross was literally in our place for our sins; biblical, in that it is in agreement with and the fulfillment of all Scripture; and eschatological, in that the resurrection of Jesus reveals to us our future hope of resurrected eternal life with him.” (Mark Driscoll, “Death by Love”, pg. 91-92)

Death is Not Dying

Cancer has been on the radar in my family for over a decade as my mother has had many rounds with the disease. I can tell you from personal experience how amazing the Truth and Love of Jesus gives hope and comfort in the face of illness and even when thinking of death.

Rachel Barkey is another whose testimony is amazing and so God glorifying. If you are dealing with cancer or any type of terminal sickness (which we all are in some way or another when it comes to death) I encourage you to read this link from "Girl Talk" and then check out the site Death is Not Dying, and listen to Rachel's story.

From Girl Talk:

A friend of the family let us know that Rachel Barkey passed away yesterday morning. Please pray for her husband, Neil, and their two children and their extended families. If you have not yet watched Rachel’s video testimony of her battle with terminal cancer, we would strongly urge you to do so today.

We rejoice that Rachel is now in glory, free from pain and worshipping our Savior. For us here at girltalk, and we know, for many of you as well, she will always be a profound example of steadfast faith in Jesus Christ.

“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” Psalm 116:15

Click Here for Video Testimony

A Word Against Bubble Christianity by Martin Luther

I love this quote, it strikes right at the heart of safe, comfortable, fellowship-only Christianity. It is a quote from Martin Luther which is quoted by Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his brilliant book "Life Together".

"The Kingdom is to be in the midst of your enemies. And he who will not suffer this does not want to be of the Kingdom of Christ; he wants to be among friends, to sit among roses and lilies, not with the bad people but the devout people. O you blasphemers and betrayers of Christ! If Christ had done what you are doing who would ever have been spared?" (Martin Luther)

Greater Risk, Greater Reward

Zach shares some insights from Seth Godin about the relationship between risk and reward. He also offers a great way this does impact being a Christian and how we above all else can live reckless risky lives.

Marketing guru Seth Godin has an interesting post about what he calls risk/reward confusion. He writes:

It's easy to to adopt the policy of avoiding risk at all costs, that whenever possible, the products you launch or the engagements you have should be flawless and without downside.

Here's the problem: in most endeavors, a small increase in risk can double the reward. It's the second doubling of reward that brings serious risk with it. But the first leap is relatively painless.

In the chart above, notice that going from point A to point B brings almost no incremental risk. It might feel scary, but rationally, it's not. Doubling reward again from B to C, though, brings significant incremental risk. It's this second doubling that gets you through the Dip, that leads to a breakthrough, that makes you remarkable.

But I'm not even talking about that. I'm just hoping you'll warm up by making the tiny leap of avoiding all risk. Riskless is hardly worth your effort.

Though we probably don't need to take our cues from the business world, I think this all the more should be true of Christians who should be able to take huge risks for God because we believe in a sovereign God who doesn't.

Sobering Reflection by John Piper

Hell is a reality. Hell is eternal. Hell is conscious torment and punishment. Hell is a reality.

May John Piper's reflections make us see eternity as longer than we think, and Hell as worse than we can imagine.