What Do We Do Now?

Note: What I'm writing about today concerns a specific set of people. This set of people includes many who read this blog, but it may not include you. If it doesn't include you, what I have to say won't apply and may not even make sense.

Both from my own observations and from conversations with friends, I believe many conservative Christian families are facing a generational dead end. What I mean is that young people who have grown up "in the faith" are not translating that faith to adulthood. Either they don't know how, they don't see the point of making the effort, or they simply don't realize there's something missing.

There are several reasons I see for this situation. First, there is a set of expectations - a status quo - that exists in some Christian circles quite independent of any spiritual reality. This is dangerous. As long as you do the right things and look a certain way and speak a certain vernacular, you can fit in. The name of the game is conformity and good behavior, and it's not that hard to catch on to the charade and the accompanying lingo. What this means is a lot of chaff in the wheat, a dilution of the Gospel, and a general lukewarmedness.

Second, I think our conservative Christian circles have become altogether too isolated and clique-ish. The practical effect of this is to blur the picture of what constitutes "mere" Christianity. The Gospel is no longer stark and stunning; it begins to have all sorts of things attached to it. Certain trivial externals like wearing dresses or reading the King James or not drinking alcohol or not listening to rock music are integrated into Christianity as de facto doctrines. They don't belong there. Those are subjective personal convictions, and if you preach them as Gospel, you're working against the kingdom in two ways:

1) You're giving nonbelievers the impression that the Gospel is primarily about morality.
2) You're giving nominal Christians the impression that they are saved as long as they abide by "the list."

Both are grave distortions of what Jesus is really about.

So, we have this sub-culture that we thought was a good thing that is turning out to have some rather disturbing repercussions.

What do we do now?

I presume it's an unnecessary disclaimer to say that I don't know the answers. At most I may have some useful thoughts to contribute to the discussion. In the end, this takes all of us.

To begin remedying the first problem, it's imperative that we create in our communities the sort of atmosphere where the real thing can't be faked. What would a community like this look like? I submit it would consist of people who see the difference between trees bearing spiritual fruit and trees that merely look nice. Lots of trees look nice, but there's nothing to eat on them. "Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, whatever is born of the spirit is spirit." You can't fake that.

To address the second problem, we need a less complicated understanding of the Gospel, a broader experience of Church, and a bigger context for God. We need to see firsthand how God works in other believers of other nations and cultures and backgrounds who are very different from us. We need to rediscover a sense of the Gospel being especially for people who don't have it all together, and to recognize that that includes us. We need to acknowledge that we aren't in any way better or more holy than Christians who have tattoos and watch R-rated movies and read The Message. We're all the same. To those who think themselves superior, Jesus has this to say: "The tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you." As this realization of our common plight soaks in, we may just become more like Christ and less like little Pharisees.

For us young people, we have our own uncomfortable confessions to make. We need to repent of a spirit of apathy. We need to acknowledge that we say a lot of things that have no real meaning to us. We need to recognize that we haven't taken responsibility and instead have freeloaded on our parents' spiritual initiative. We need to admit that we really aren't any better than the so-called "worldly Church" or "institutional Church." We're messed up. We need Jesus. And we need to start at the same place as everyone else: completely bankrupt, totally dependent on the cross and the blood and the reality of the empty tomb.

This is a tough transition, and there's no formula or guide book for negotiating it. We need to strip down our rhetoric and start rebuilding a meaningful phraseology on solid and simple foundations. We need to take ownership of our own "pursuit of God" and take seriously our commission of communicating Life to the world, not to some vague group of people who are "the lost", but to our generation, right here, right now. Keith Green said each generation of Christians is responsible for that generation of people. Have we realized this task is ours? What are we doing about it?

Make no mistake: I'm asking these same questions of myself, and many days I don't know exactly where I stand. But I'm learning to rely on Him who is able to make me stand (Romans 14:4) and keep me from falling (Jude 24).

I conclude with this admonition from Galatians, and I pray that we have ears to hear.

For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.

-Galatians 6:3-5

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Kiva.org: The Ultimate "Building Fund"

Kiva.org is a perfect example of an active response to poverty that is creative, smart, and personal. Technology has many drawbacks, but it has made it possible to work together as the body of Christ as never before, and we ought to take advantage of it. There's a time to pray and there's a time to roll up our sleeves.

Check it out.


A Fistful Of Dollars: The Story of a Kiva.org Loan from Kieran Ball on Vimeo.

Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Galatians 2:10

There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.

Mohandas Gandhi

The Battle and The Baggage

When you read the book of Acts, it's easy to get the impression that Christianity is all about aggressive evangelism and itinerant ministry, and this is true, in part. However, we need to recognize that the book of Acts describes the exploits of the most active 1% of Christians in the Early Church. The great majority of believers were simple, workaday people, quietly minding their own business, living as salt and light amongst their families, neighbors, and communities.

A lot of people (including, incidentally, Paul himself,) are fond of comparing Christianity to warfare, but what conscientious military commander would send his entire army into the heat of the battle with no reserves, no medical support, no communication relays, and no management infrastructure? Obviously, such a policy would be tactical suicide. We need a sounder strategy.

Many of you know I volunteer for Search & Rescue work with the local Sheriff's Office. My position is affectionately referred to as "Ground-pounder" - I'm a foot-searcher, and it's my job to get out there and do the looking. However, on a given search, the number of people who are actually out looking is usually smaller than the number of people who are working behind the scenes just to keep the operation running. There's radios to run, maps to print, meals to coordinate, and volunteers to transport, not to mention prioritizing the search and strategizing about the most effective allocation of resources. It's a lot of work.

It is plain that we need courageous soldiers on the frontlines, but it ought to be equally plain that there is much more to Christianity than merely the frontlines. The body has many members, and all members do not share the same function. What about the saints who stay behind and labor quietly in prayer or study to protect the faith from being ambushed in an ideological coup? What about the thousands of workaday believers who are living simply and consistently giving to and supporting the "real work" of God? Being an overseas missionary is wonderful, but the Christian who answers that call is in no sense more spiritual than the Christian who stays at home and faithfully goes about the specific work God has set before them.

In 1 Samuel 30, we have the story of David's men undergoing a mission to recover their kidnapped wives and children from the Amalekites. After hearing an affirmative from the Lord in regards to whether they should follow the raiders, they set out in hot pursuit. When they reach the brook Besor, 200 of David's 600 men are simply too exhausted to continue, so they stay behind. The other 400 continue on and successfully recover their wives and families - a bit frightened, perhaps, but alive and well.

When they return to the Besor, the 400 men who had gone with David argued that the men who had stayed behind should merely have their wives and children returned to them and have no share in the other loot. David disagreed.

“You shall not do so, my brothers, with what the Lord has given us. He has preserved us and given into our hand the band that came against us. Who would listen to you in this matter? For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.”¹

I believe that we as a Church would do well to emulate this spirit of generosity and brotherhood. Some are called to fight on the frontlines, others to wait by the baggage. We're all brothers and sisters, and we must get over our carnal tendency to be constantly trying to outdo one another spiritually. (Mark 9:33-35, 2 Cor. 10:12)

Thomas Merton was a Trappist Monk who lived at the Abbey of Gethsemani in Kentucky in the mid-1900's. He was deeply concerned about social justice and the effective diffusion of the Faith, but he also understood that this was not the whole story - that there is a very real place within the Church for behind-the-scenes service and active solitude.

Solitude has its own special work: a deepening of awareness that the world needs. A struggle against alienation. True solitude is deeply aware of the world's needs. It does not hold the world at arm's length.²

Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called (1 Cor. 7:20), and let us learn to recognize, respect, and enjoy the vastness and variety of the body. Onward Christian soldiers, and a resounding "Thank You" to the cooks, nurses, munitions suppliers, strategists, and loyal hardworking citizens that no one ever sees. None of this would be possible without you.

(1) 1 Samuel 30:23-24, ESV
(2) Thomas Merton, Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander, (Doubleday, 1989), 19

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Thinking About Friendship

When I am most sincerely honest with myself about life, it is then I am most sincerely grateful for my friends. Friendship (and I mean friendship, not mere acquaintance or association) chafes our independence. It checks our ego and qualifies our self-confidence. It shows us the connectedness of life and teaches us about the challenges and rewards of investing in other people. In short, it is awfully healthy.

When we learn to live in friendship, we learn to be ourselves. We may dream with our friends, or fight, or play cards, or all three - that is not the point. True friendship is built on an attitude, not an activity. Specifically, true friendship exists when we reveal - when we are the real us with another person.

Friendship is the comfort, the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weight thoughts nor measure words, but pouring all right out just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful friendly hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of comfort, blow the rest away.*

When we take that step and accept the risk of vulnerability, it opens the way to some amazing relational adventures - a whole new world to explore and experience. We feel the way a chick does when it pecks out of its shell - exhausted, yes, but also exhilarated. Our friends become valuable, even indispensable, as fellow explorers - measuring and mapping this dramatic landscape of life.

To every man alive, one must hope, it has in some manner happened that he has talked with his more fascinating friends round a table on some night when all the numerous personalities unfolded themselves like great tropical flowers. All fell into their parts as in some delightful impromptu play. Every man was more himself than he had ever been in this vale of tears. Every man was a beautiful caricature of himself.**

I am grateful to have experienced this on several occasions, and it is indeed beautiful (or rather transcendent, to use a more daring word). There are few pleasures that are as rich and wholesome as the pure interaction of personality, and deep friendships offer an ideal platform for this holy communion.

But alas, it does not last. Life rolls along on great blind, unfeeling wheels, time and circumstance, and friends find themselves scattered and disconnected, groping for that vital contact that seemed so permanent, so sure, so invincible. Relationships cannot be freeze-dried, they will grow and change and die - like the seasons and the patterns of the stars.

And really, this is best. If relationships did not grow and change and die, they would not be alive. When they do, we know they are, and even in separation and loss there are memories that sparkle and glow. Do not spoil the treasures of yesterday by fretting about the trials of today.

Proverbs 18:24 says that he who has friends must be friendly. This may seem self-evident, but I am astounded at how often I go around looking for friends instead of looking for people I can be a friend to. True friendships may often surpass means and serve as ends, but pursuing them as ends will only result in frustration. As C. S. Lewis says, "That is why those pathetic people who simply 'want friends' can never make any. The very condition of having Friends is that we should want something else besides Friends. Friendship must be about something... those who are going nowhere can have no fellow-travellers."

Let's keep our eyes on the goal, and thank God for the friends He gives us to share the journey with.

*Arab Proverb, quoted in H. L. Roush, Jesus Loves Me, (Roush, 1978), 56

**G. K. Chesterton, Charles Dickens, (Wordsworth, 2007), 45

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Jacques Ellul on The Church

No doubt some will say that God is not a God of disorder, incoherence, or arbitrariness, but a God of order. Of course he is. Unfortunately the whole of the Old Testament shows us that God's order is not organization and institution (cf. the difference between judges and kings). It is not the same in every time and place. It is not a matter of repetition and habit. On the contrary, it resides in the fact that it constantly posits something new, a new beginning.

Our God is a God of beginnings. There is in him no redundancy or circularity. Thus, if his church wants to be faithful to his revelation, it will be completely mobile, fluid, renascent, bubbling, creative, inventive, adventurous, and imaginative. It will never be perennial, and can never be organized or institutionalized. If the gates of death are not going to prevail against it, this is not because it is a good, solid, well-organized fortress, but because it is alive; it is Life - that is, as mobile, changing, and surprising as life. If it becomes a powerful fortified organization, it is because death has prevailed.

Thus even on the humble level of the church, revelation cannot be organized or experienced socially. How much less so when Christians suddenly find themselves in charge of "society"!

-Jacques Ellul, The Subversion of Christianity, (Eerdmans, 1984), 157

Image "Changing Paradigms of Church" courtesy of mosaicnw.com

The Cost of Community

Long ago in a distant land, a prince dreamed of creating more than a geographical or political kingdom. He dreamed of establishing a community in which all persons were committed to each other in loyalty and equality, where every person sought the welfare of the neighbor even at a cost to the self. So the prince called a great meeting of all the heads of clans, all the wise and trusted people of the land, and dared to tell his dream. Each chieftain and his clan were invited to join in the foundation of a new society. As part of the community's inauguration, each was requested to search his cellar for the best wine produced from his ancestral vines. These treasured bottles would be uncorked, poured into a great communal vat, and blended, as the true community it represented, into a common vintage.

"How can I mix my exquisite wine with that of my neighbors?" asked one of the winegrowers invited to this covenanting. "I would sacrifice the unique variety of grape, the special climate of the year, the sweetness of a late harvest, the indefinable magic of bouquet, and I would violate my art as a winemaker. Impossible! Give up my distinct variety? Lose my separate self? I will not be adulterated in such a common cup."

So he corked a bottle of tap water, affixed his most beautiful label to the bottle, and at the time of the ritual poured the water ceremoniously into the vat. When the covenanting was solemnized, all filled their glasses for the communal draft, the toast that would seal commitment to community. As the cups touched their lips, all knew the truth. It was not wine. It was water. No one had been willing to pay the cost of community.

-David Augsburger, Dissident Discipleship,
(Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2006), 60-61

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Why I Read (And Love) The ESV

The Bible is the most important book we read. In light of this, it is crucially important that we choose an accurate, understandable translation that preserves the beauty and character of the text and keeps the story of Christianity faithful to yesterday and fresh for today. This is a high standard, and while it may be impossible to meet it perfectly, the English Standard Version comes awfully close.

First, a little disclaimer for those of you who don't know me particularly well. As far as I'm concerned, everyone is free to read any Bible translation they like - even if it's (God forbid) The Message. Each of us has a different journey, history, and personality, and we have no right to impose our own cookie-cutter spirituality on others. For many people, the question of what Bible version to use is intensely personal, as it should be. It is the right and responsibility of every Christian to look at the issues and make a decision for themselves. So relax. This post is just me talking about a version I happen to like; in no way am I attacking or denigrating other versions.

My first Bible - a gift for my 7th birthday - was a New King James. After a couple years, my Dad dropped the "New" and went to the old standby, commissioned by the venerable King James himself, way back in 1611 when books were written with blood.

Along with Dad and the rest of the family, I read the KJV for upwards of 10 years. During that time I became intimately familiar with the way the text was structured and worded and realized that it would be difficult to switch to another version. (I even went through a period of KJV-Onlyism, which was abruptly cut short when I read this book.)

Still, while I loved the King James for its dignified, larger-than-life style, I was growing frustrated with the archaic diction and syntax, and would often paraphrase the text when reading aloud. Eventually it became clear to me that I needed something else. But what?

I tried reading modern translations such as the NIV, NASB, or RSV. I wasn't satisfied. To me, the NIV read colloquially, almost irreverently. It just didn't sound like the Bible. Other versions lacked the rhythm, balance, and poise that I had come to expect from the King James. Of course, this is not to suggest that any of these other versions are inferior in any way: only that they - for one reason or another - did not connect with my story or agree with my spiritual palate. (Strictly speaking, there's nothing wrong with zucchini. It's just, well... never mind.)

Meanwhile, a dedicated team of scholars and translation specialists was hard at work on the ESV. In 2001, the fruit of their labor was published - the first Bible ever to be published simultaneously in print and electronic media. It took a few years for the translation to start percolating into the public, but before long I began to notice copies here and there, and decided to purchase my own and see for myself. I haven't looked back.

The ESV is reverent, understandable, easy-to-read, strong, natural, rhythmic. It is clear, careful, colorful - like stained glass. It is refreshingly modern without being crude or dumbed down. In short, it is a delight to read.

Possibly the single most distinctive thing about the ESV is that the translation team went beyond mere technical accuracy and placed a strong emphasis on literary considerations, even going so far as to include Dr. Leland Ryken, an English Professor at Wheaton College, as part of the translation committee.

When Lane Dennis asked me to serve on the translation committee of the ESV, I was very hesitant to do so because I do not know Greek and Hebrew. And I didn't think that my lifelong interest in the Bible as literature represented something worthwhile to bring to the table. I quickly turned out to be a very important member of the committee, and I don't think that my chief contribution lay in what my official title indicated -- English Stylist. All the translators on the committee were good stylists.

I served the committee best in two roles. One, with my knowledge of the Bible as literature, and it turns out that has a lot of ramifications for how we understand and translate the text. And totally unbeknown, I served best as a general reader, and I asked the questions that the expert overlooks to ask or doesn't think important.

...the ESV is maybe unique in granting a full-fledged place on the committee to a literary scholar. And that turned out to be very far-reaching in its effect. So, I really respect Lane Dennis for having that foresight, and it ensured that the literary interests were always represented. I lost some votes - I think that Ecclesiastes 1:2 should be translated "vapors of vapors." I've been walking around as though missing an arm or a leg ever since losing that vote. But nonetheless, my presence as someone who was adept at the literary dimension of the Bible was often a factor in how the translation proceeded.*

The result is a work of literature, not just a work of scholarship.

Of course, the most exciting thing about the Bible is simply that it is the Bible. But any tool works better when it's new and sharp; "If the iron is blunt, and one does not sharpen the edge, he must use more strength." (Eccl 10:10) As Steve Brown said, “I am so impressed with the clarity, beauty, and power of the ESV that I feel that I am reading the Bible again for the first time." And that is exciting.

Still, my own biases aside, I believe we should celebrate the variety of effort that has been put forth by various ones to preserve God's Word. I've come to appreciate it when an author unapologetically quotes from multiple translations - it's more generous and less narcissistic. The Word of God is living and active - let's keep it that way.

*From an interview by Tony Reinke with Leland Ryken regarding the ESV Literary Study Bible.

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Pray for Myanmar

While in Georgia I had the opportunity to meet Ram Khaw Lian, a brother from Myanmar (formerly Burma) who was visiting the church in Atlanta. It was his first visit to the States, and as he shared about what God is doing in his home country, you could see the fire of purpose burning in his eyes. The Church needs more men like this, going about their work with imperturbable simplicity, hearty zeal, and raw faith.

According to this brother, the political situation in Myanmar is just as oppressive as North Korea. However, because Myanmar does not pose a nuclear threat, the country does not receive nearly as much international attention. Too often, we think about the world in terms of politics instead of people. We think of places as abstract points on a map, and people as abstract statistics.

For shame.

On May 2nd, cyclone Nargis smashed into southern Myanmar, claiming the lives of tens of thousands of Burmese. You can get the full story on Wikipedia or from the American Red Cross. Obviously, the entire country is very much in need of our prayer and support. Here's the report from Voice of the Martyrs:

Thousands of people have died as a result of the recent cyclone in Burma. According to media reports, the military government has been resisting assistance from countries around the world. On May 12, the United States government was finally able to deliver its first relief supplies to Burma, as the United Nations urged the reclusive nation to open its doors to foreign experts who can help up to 2 million cyclone victims facing disease and starvation.

Christians in Burma are working to assist survivors of the cyclone. A believer told The Voice of the Martyrs, "I believe that as we bring relief assets to the orphanages and churches with whom we are partners, we will not only be helping them, but also providing them with the necessary resources to impact their immediate communities with the tangible love of Jesus. In the end, I believe that the church will shine in this dark hour and that the Kingdom of God will be advanced in this nation."

In Burma Christian persecution exists in every province. Believers risk arrest, detention, corrupt court proceedings, jail, fines, confiscations, threats, destruction of property, and occasional martyrdom. Persecution comes predominately from the military junta, and also from the majority Theravada Buddhists. Family persecution is also a reality, as it is in many countries. Tribal groups who are strong in their various ethnic spirit beliefs persecute converts to Christ, as well. The Karen group is probably the most severely persecuted group in Myanmar today, and they are in hiding along the Thai-Burma border.

To learn more about Ram and the work in Myanmar, visit their Church website. Let us pray that the light of the Gospel will shine forth in the midst of this tragedy, and may we learn to identify - spiritually and actually - with the trials and sufferings of these our brothers and sisters.

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Beloved

Beloved, these are dangerous times
'Cause you are weightless like a leaf from the vine
And the wind has blown you all over town
'Cause there is nothing holding you to the ground

So now you would rather be
A slave again than free
From the law

Beloved, listen to me
Don’t believe all that you see
And don’t you ever let anyone tell you
That there’s anything that you need
But me

Beloved, these are perilous days
When your culture is so set in it’s ways
That you will listen to salesmen and thieves
Preaching other than the truth you’ve received

Because they are telling lies
For they cannot circumcise
Your hearts

Beloved, listen to me
Don’t believe all that you see
And don’t you ever let anyone tell you
That there’s anything that you need
But me

Beloved, there is nothing more
No more blessings and no more rewards
Than the treasure of my body and blood
Given freely to all daughters and sons

-Derek Webb, She Must And Shall Go Free, "Beloved"

A Drop of Compassion in a World of Hate

For several months now I have sponsored two children through Compassion International, an organization focused on providing health-care, food, shelter, and education for under-privileged children. Doing this has served as a means to anchor the plight of the poor in my heart; poverty is a human problem, and it should have a human face.

Beyond all the statistics, politics, and media distortions there are a child's pleading eyes, silently asking if we will show them some simple love in this dark and unfriendly world of complicated hate. The modern Church has been relying on Government to accomplish this task for too long, and it seems we could use a good old-fashioned slap upside the face to wake us up and remind us that poverty is our job, not Washington's. Consider what Julian the Apostate said of the Early Church in Rome: "[They] not only feed their own poor, but ours also,"* and compare that with what the average American church-goer gives to his church today: a whopping 2.66%, of which 2.26% goes towards congregational expenses.** (We should automatically know something is wrong if we're measuring our giving to two decimal places.)

Compassion has a remarkably well-organized international infrastructure, and they've done a good job of making it easy for you and me to participate in serving the poor. Compassion also knows that children need more than just shoes, toothbrushes, and money for school; they need love - desperately and constantly. Unlike most American children, children in other countries often struggle with maintaining even a basic sense of self-worth. Through letters, pictures, and small birthday gifts, sponsors can do a lot towards helping these children understand that they are loved - genuinely and unconditionally, simply for who they are.

This post is not intended to showcase my generosity - I'm much too proud for that. Rather, I simply desire to provoke you to jealousy and encourage you to get involved with the cause of Christ in the greater world. Even the smallest gift can make a profound, eternal difference in the life of a child: "whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward."*** To get started, go here.

*Alvin J. Schmidt, Social Results of Early Christianity, 328
**Ronald J. Sider, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, 199-200
***Matthew 10:42

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Thinking About Evangelism, Again

When I shared a few thoughts about evangelism last year, I thrashed about, made a ruckus, and pretty much left everyone generally confused as to what I was really saying. I have since come to the conclusion that I just don't understand the subject very well. Accordingly, this post is more about exploration than experience.

Having the opportunity to participate in an evening of witnessing at the Bible School I attended recently set me to thinking about the subject once again, and on a more practical level. My thinking is currently geared more towards street evangelism than white-collar apologetics, so my comments will reflect that.

The central thing I keep coming back to is this: underneath all the stereotypes and sarcasm and sin, we need to see a person. For me, a large part of evangelism consists in establishing that human connection. This is why I prefer to actually talk to people one-on-one, without any predetermined programme, instead of holding signs or passing out literature. Unless a person is directly under the conviction of the Spirit, someone holding a strongly worded sign may just as well be an alien from outer space to the average streetwalker. Their worlds just do not overlap.*

When I'm talking to someone, I want to communicate that I am very much a person, and not a very good one at that. That is something people can relate to. (Most can also relate to ice cream, and we should not be above taking advantage of these simple expressions of good will.) People are much more willing to talk if you avoid giving the impression that you have all the answers. Worldly people are sinful, but they are not stupid. They know perfectly well that nobody has all the answers.

The saturation of our society in postmodernism has had the positive side-effect of making most people willing to talk and open to new ideas. However, like the men of Athens, they are often a bit too willing to talk and open to a preposterous overabundance of new ideas. The challenge, then, is not acquiring a hearing: the challenge is awaking the shapeless mush that is the modern mind. Postmodernism and Christianity may overlap on certain points, but they are fundamentally incompatible because of their polarized opinions on the question of objective truth.

One of the disturbing complications we face in our time is the problem of drugs. When someone's mind is full of nonsense and butterflies, it's very difficult to carry on a meaningful conversation. But if God can get past demons, He can surely get past drugs. Sometimes we may need to be content to be Balaam's donkey, faithfully sharing the truth and preparing the way for the Angel of God and the Sword of the Spirit.

Because evangelism can be so difficult, I tend to indulge in a little sub-conscious self-congratulation following a witnessing stint. I swap war stories with friends, and make myself out to be manning the front lines of the faith. This is dangerous. Evangelism ought to excite us, but it ought to excite us about the power of God, not about our own supposed spirituality. It is a weighty responsibility, and we must not be satisfied to merely check a box.

But it doesn't need to be complicated. (As an old sage has said, “It is easy to those who do it.”) The logical thing to do with Good News is to tell somebody.


*This is not to deny that such signs could themselves produce conviction. They can and they do. I am merely observing that on the whole, they seem to provoke more anger, confusion, and defensiveness in people. Of course, this in itself does not unilaterally invalidate the method. But it deserves to be thought about.

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Church-in-a-Truck

Instant Church:

1 Canopy
1 Guitar
2 Folding Tables
3 Water Coolers
17 Folding Chairs

Just add people!