"Were not going in there!"

Today, on my way back from lunch I was listening to the radio to a little old school preaching. This guy that was preaching said that "the world is a sewer". He said they have a sewer appetite. Then he boldly proclaimed "And we're not going in there!"

Would you agree? I'm sure you would that the world is a cesspool, but I'm asking about His last statement. Should we go into the sewer?

• Should the church go to a bar somehow to shine the light of Jesus?

• Should the church (well... the ladies) reach out to the girls at the strip clubs on San Juan?

• Should the church reach out to those in the porn industry?

• Should high school & college students go to parties for Jesus?

• Should the church build relationships & reach out to homosexuals?

Your thoughts...

Abraham... & Sarah

It's 1:30am, I have been home for almost a half hour. Just got back from the airport. It was a good cash in of our miles - had a great short trip with the kids! On the plane back I met a dude in a Jazz band named Abraham. For real, his girlfriends name is Sarah! There was another person in my row who teaches English on a military base in Germany. As I was talking to Abraham about Jesus' forgiving for our sin, she chimed in and said that the "born again" Christians need to stop "judging". Haven't you heard that before?

She's right you know. Why is it that Christians are known more for what they are against, than what they are for? I'm not saying we shouldn't preach about sin, I'm just saying that they will know we're for real by our love. Lost people act like... "lost people". We shouldn't be surprised by that. Jesus changes a persons life AFTER they come to Him, not before (that's not good theology). You don't clean a fish before you catch it do you? In the words of Mike Lewis, "It's not our job to judge, it's our job to love".

When lost people run into you, do they want to run away? Are they able to talk to you without getting a judgmental attitude from you (we can do it with our body language without saying a word). Many people are kicking the tires of Christianity, checking it out by checking you out. When lost people observe you talking with them, what kind of picture are you painting about God?

During our conversation, Abraham said something about Jesus. He said that Jesus was compassionate - he's right (Mt. 9:36). Sometimes lost people understand the core of who Jesus is more than we do. How much compassion do you have towards those who are lost?

Just a reminder.

Throwin' darts for Jesus

I read a blog by Dave Ferguson this morning that talked about a dude named Jeremy who has friends that like throwin' darts at a local bar. Since they aren't willing to come to Church, he saw this as an opportunity to reach out. He goes to the bar and throws darts with them, they like him so they listen to them as he intentionally brings up the things of God. It makes me think of Matthew 9, when Jesus went to hang out with sinners! People aren't busting down the doors of the church, we must go to them! Someone pretty famous said the same thing, "Go into all the world...". I'm glad he didn't say, "Open the church doors to all the world."

Who can you reach out to and pray for today that won't darken the doors of church? Be Jesus to them, take interest in them, show them the love of Christ! It's ok if they don't come to church, you are the church, go and BE it!

A guy named Pete

Click here to read highlights of an incredible story of a man named Pete. When I read it, all I could think was - The Power of God...AWESOME!!!

"For I am not ashamed of the

gospel, for it is the power of

God for salvation to everyone

who believes..." - Rom 1:16 (nas)

Evang-e-listen

This morning I read a blog that a guy up in South Carolina writes. His name is Clayton King, I try to read his blog regularly. What I read was about 4 teenage girls who did evangelism the right way. You can read it here. They did something that most of us Christians don't... they intentionally made friends with unbelievers. Moreover, these girls they reached out to were into Wicca. They were invited to an evangelistic event. They didn't respond and receive Christ in the service, but they did respond to these 4 teenage girls who intentionally befriended them. They gave their lives to Christ in the hotel room that night!


I went to Starbucks yesterday and got a cup that I have received three times now. Starbucks coffee cups have little sayings on them, this one particularly got my attention. Here's what it reads.

The Way I See It #280
"You can learn a lot more from listening than you can from talking. Find someone with whom you don’t agree in the slightest and ask them to explain themselves at length. Then take a seat, shut your mouth, and don’t argue back. It’s physically impossible to listen with your mouth open." - John Moe Radio host & author

After reading this 8 months ago, I thought to myself, "What a way to evangelize!" Why should they listen to us, if we won't listen to them. We're too afraid that we'll be indoctrinated with what's false. Valid point, but we do have a copy of the Bible! Take everything you come across everyday and filter it through the word of God. In the end you will have the truth.

Too many times all we are concerned about is the bottom line of whether or not we can convince a person to believe in "our" God (which I know is THE God. Track with me here for a second). Do we really care about the other person? We say we do, but do we really? When was the last time you intentionally tried to create some sort of friendship with a lost person. It's ok to do that, I know we've been conditioned to believe otherwise. How much time have you spent with them? A "hello" in the hallways, a "how are you" at work, or even a "I'd like to invite you to church". How much time did that take? Have you ever had them over to dinner at your house? I think that the world may be ringing Paula Abdul's words, "What have you done for me lately?" One of the complaints I sense from the lost is that Christians just don't listen. Let me encourage you to listen to the lost. If they feel like they have been heard, when it comes time for you to share the gospel, they'll listen and know that you are for real.

One of Promiseland's soon to be core focuses is to "engage the world". That 's what the Church in America needs to do. Fellowship with believers IS important don't get me wrong, but what about the person out there who may or may not be kicking the tires on Christianity, wondering if you really care? Take some time to intentionally invest in people that don't believe the same thing you do. I know it's a cliche, but people don't care how much you know (about the bible, Jesus, or Christianity) until they know how much you care (about them).