Soap, Poison and Popular Food, All in One Fruit!

My family and I were in Jamaica a few months ago. We wanted to see the “real Jamaica,” not the glitzy tourist part. So we hired a taxi driver to show us around the island. We saw typical neighborhoods where the residents actually live and the beaches where Jamaicans relax away from the tourists. Our driver showed us an Ackee tree, which bears the Ackee fruit. This fruit is the national fruit of  Jamaica. Though the fruit is not actually native to the island, it has been on the island so long that many people think it is. 

What I found fascinating about this fruit is that at a certain time during the year it can only be used to make soap. At another time during the year it is edible, but only if you cook it, as it is poisonous when raw. What a bizarre fruit that can be poison, soap and a popular food, all depending on the season of the year and how the fruit is prepared.

People are a lot like the Ackee fruit. I can think of some people who have been a real blessing in my life. Like a popular national dish, I enjoy being around them. Sometimes those same people have had to call me out on mistakes I've made, serving as the "soap" that helps me clean up my act. Regretfully, there have even been times when those very same people have been like poison, impacting my relationships with others in negative ways. Like the Ackee fruit, I've seen the same person be all three things at different points in my relationship with them.

But the difference between people and fruit is that people get to decide what role they will play. Whereas fruit is stuck with whatever role someone else has chosen, people can choose to be a blessing, or a poison, or a cleansing agent in someones life. People can choose to be high maintenance or low maintenance friends. They can choose to impact our lives in positive or negative ways. Let us remember the truth of Proverbs 27:9, "A sweet friendship refreshes the soul." We should determine to be the friend that refreshes others instead of poisoning them. When we choose to be a blessing, our own lives are more fulfilling. So better to be a blessing, or at least soap, than to be poison!

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett serves at the Executive Director of the Baptist Convention of New England. He has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Balancing Maturity and Authenticity

1 Corinthians 13:11 - When I was a child, I spoke like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.

Technology allows us to share our thoughts with the world. We can tweet, Facebook, instant message and blog our opinions about anything to anyone with the touch of a button. In an instant the whole world can know what we think.

Though there are some positive aspects about being able to share our thoughts with the world, there are also negatives. One negative is that sometimes we let our emotions speak before our brain thinks through what we are going to say. That usually results in us saying something we should not have said. Another negative is that sometimes we do not really know what we are talking about, but we keep talking anyway. Though people may not say anything to us, they think less of us when we go on and on about something we obviously do not really know much about. All of this miscommunication creates a mass of data available to anyone with a computer even though a lot of it should never have been expressed anyway.

What is the result of all of this miscommunication? Politicians who spin opinion stories in order keep their poll numbers up, even when facts say something different. Celebrities who hire press agents to project personas that do not really exist. Teenagers who get mad at someone and start a rumor about them that goes viral in an afternoon and ruins relationships. We are surrounded by half-truths and falsehoods. It has become difficult to know who or what to believe.

The prevalence of incorrect information has caused many people in our nation to value transparency. We are tired of all the fake stuff and the spin zone. We just want people to look us in the eye and be honest with us, even if we do not agree with what they are saying. We want genuine authenticity from our leaders and from those around us with whom we interact with on a regular basis.

A lack of authenticity keeps tension levels between individuals higher than what is healthy. It makes explosions of anger and public temper tantrums more common. While our society may accept public temper tantrums from preschoolers in a grocery store because their parents will not buy them a candy bar, do we really want it from 35 year olds in the office, or the fitness center, or the church?

It is time for us to grow up emotionally. I am reminded of what the Apostle Paul write in First Corinthians 13:11, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child; I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put aside childish things.” Paul reminds us that as we mature emotionally, we should be able to act more mature. That includes learning how to have transparent relationships without acting like children. It is possible to be authentic and still leave certain words or comments unsaid. The whole world does not need to know what we think about everything in life. Our culture needs Christians to lead the way in this area.

Lord, help us be authentic with those around us but also help us to learn when to share our thoughts and when to keep them to ourselves. Amen.

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This devotional is from the book “Heavenly Mundane” by Dr. Terry W. Dorsett. Dr. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He writes extensively and you can find all of his books at: http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

We Need to be In Relationship With Others

My wife and I once watched a movie about a young man who decided to move to Alaska and live all by himself in an old bus in the middle of nowhere. The movie portrayed a number of relationships that others tried to build with the young man but in each case he walked away from those relationships. He walked away because he had been hurt by a close relationship he had in his childhood. That made him afraid to allow other people inside his walls. The movie ended rather sadly. He made a mistake in reading a book on plant life and accidentally ate a poisonous plant. Regretfully, that led to his death a few days later. He died as he had lived, isolated and alone. The movie was based on a true story that was portrayed in a popular book written by the young man’s family after his body was found several weeks later by hunters.

As I have reflected on that movie it occurs to me that it is a picture of the lives of far too many people in our broken society. Many have been hurt in various relationships and that hurt has caused them to emotionally isolate themselves from those around them. They think they can make it all on their own without other people. This is flawed thinking. We need relationships with others. Even though we can be hurt by relationships, we really cannot live without them. Knowing this, God designed us to desire friends, look for a mate, enjoy family, and seek out a faith community. When we ignore those urges, we are less happy than we could be.

Had that young man in the movie had some other people with him, they might have noticed when he mistook a poisonous plant for an edible one. Or perhaps they would have been able to help him hike back to town and seek medical help. Even if he felt he really needed some time alone, had he been willing to share his life with others, they would have known where he was and could have come looking for him when he did not return. Unfortunately since he told no one where he had gone, no one could come rescue him. The story had a sad ending, but what made it even sadder was that it did not have to end that way. He did not have to die alone and isolated far from home in an abandoned school bus. But he was not willing to open himself up to other people and trust them. His determination to do break off all relationships with other people ultimately resulted in his untimely and tragic death.

We must do all that we can so that others do not follow the same depressing path with its sad ending. We must learn to trust again. We must encourage others to trust again. We be willing to open ourselves up to having deep and meaningful relationships. Even though we may have been hurt in the past, and there is a chance we may be hurt in the future, the reality is, we cannot live happy productive lives without relationships. Relationships are a risk, but we must realize that relationships are a risk worth taking.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He has written a book about the spirit of offense that prevails in our current society. You can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

Stop Being Offended

Some time ago a friend of mine was highly offended by a joke someone told which they were convinced was aimed at them. The joke was made by a person leading a meeting. There were dozens of people in the room, but the person who was offended was 100% positive that the joke was pointed specifically at them. I was a bit confused because I did not see any connection between the joke and the offended person. Clearly the joker had not intended the joke to be aimed at anyone. But to the person who was upset, it was obviously all about them.

Then there was the time that someone in the youth group put a movie quote on Facebook as their status, and half a dozen people were sure it was some kind of veiled jab at them. It wasn't. It was just a really cool quote from a movie the person had seen earlier in the day. But to those half dozen people, it was obviously all about them.

It seems that people are more easily offended now than ever before. Our culture has somehow created a hyper-sensitive emotional state where everyone is convinced that the world is out to get them.

Perhaps it is a result of low self-esteem. We feel bad about ourselves; therefore we think others feel bad about us too. Since we think that everything feels bad about us, then we interpret anything they say or do as a "bad" intention toward us. Or perhaps it is a result of arrogance. We think the entire world revolves around us, so therefore everything everyone does or says must be about us too. In reality, most people are not paying attention to most of what we say or do, and the world does not revolve around us, but in our arrogance we often think it does.

Whether from low self-esteem or from high levels of arrogance, someone how our culture has convinced us everything is about us. Once we get angry and upset about one "offense" that someone did to us, we transfer that anger over into other relational experiences as well. Instead of finding joy in our relationships, we just find pain and hurt. This causes us to end friendships that are really important to us, which just brings more pain and hurt. Or keeps us from allowing our friendships to become as deep as they need to be, which also bring pain and hurt. The end result is that we spend a lot of time angry and upset about stuff that often only exists in our own mind and engaging in relational sabotage that only starts the cycle all over again.

News flash, the world does not revolve around any particular one of us! People do not really sit around dreaming up ways to hurt us. People are too busy trying to make a living, trying to pass math class, trying to find a job or be a better parent to spend time being obsessed with offending us. The only person obsessed with us, is US. It is time we learn to relax a little and stop creating drama that does not exist. We will all be a lot happier if we stop taking everything everyone says or does personally.

It's not all about us. And that's a good thing.

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Dr. Terry W. Dorsett has been a pastor, church planter, denominational leader and author in New England for more than 20 years. He is a happy husband, a proud father and adoring grandfather. He is a cancer survivor and believes that God works powerfully through times of suffering. He has written a book about the spirit of offense that prevails in our current society. You can find all of his books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY

The Throw Away Church - Guest Post by Bill Davis

In a culture of polarization, when we strongly disagree with someone, we often just end the relationship instead of trying to work through our differences and fix the relationship. This has created a lot of "throw away" relationships. Regretfully, we often treat our relationship with our church the same way. If we do not like the message they are preaching or if that message steps on our toes or makes us feel uncomfortable, we just want to throw away that church.

Timothy 4:3 (NIV); "For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."

I have had a number of people say that they had been attending a particular church for a number of years and felt they really were not living that strong a Christian life. They chose to change churches rather than lifestyles and now feel they are living just fine as a "Christian".

I am afraid we often look for a church that fits our lifestyle rather than being willing to change our lifestyle.

Romans 12:2 (NIV); "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will."

Another issue I often hear is when people are visiting various churches. They frequently say they are looking for the church that has the most to offer them and where they feel comfortable. In itself, this is not necessarily bad. They want a good choir, an outstanding youth program or senior’s curriculum. They want the Pastor to preach long enough but not too long, loud enough but not too loud, etc. Perhaps as we look for a church home, we should take the lead from Scripture and find a church home where we can contribute and not just receive. Don’t merely take but give as well. Look for a church home where you can impact other’s lives and the outreach of that particular church.

1 Peter 4:10 (NIV); “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

We need to realize, the church or Church does not owe us anything. Jesus Christ already gave the ultimate gift of His blood. It is time for us to give back.

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Bill Davis lives in Anderson County, SC, where he speaks at churches and encourages evangelism and discipleship efforts across the region. He is the author of “The Revelation of Jesus.”

The Nice Things Christians Say

Luke 11:42- 46 - ⁴² But woe to you Pharisees! You give a tenth of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass justice and love for God. These things you should have done without neglecting the others. ⁴³ Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. ⁴⁴ Woe to you! You are like unmarked graves; the people who walk over them don’t know it. ⁴⁵ One of the experts in the law answered Him, Teacher, when You say these things You insult us too. ⁴⁶ Then He said: Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens that are hard to carry, yet you yourselves don’t touch these burdens with one of your fingers.

We have all known Christians who used nice words to say mean things. I lived in the South for a few years and would often hear people say “Well, bless your heart.” At first, I thought people were speaking a blessing over whomever they were talking to. I eventually realized that phrase means “I think you are a complete idiot, but I am too nice to be honest with you.” Once I realized the real meaning of this phrase, it did not seem very nice at all.

Then there are those Christians who find a scripture, usually out of context, and use it as a weapon against people they disagree with. They often start the conversation with a very sweet tone of voice and deceptive smile as they say, “The Bible says,” and then offer their out-of-context verse. Though their charm and use of Bible verses can be disarming, just try disagreeing with them. Suddenly the charm disappears and they make us feel like we are going against God Himself.  The fact that they have often ignored the full teaching of scripture on whatever the subject is does not matter to them.

Then there are the Christians who say they are “praying for you.” But the context of the conversation, the tone of their voice, or their body language indicates that they are actually judging us and are not likely to be praying for us at all. Thankfully, many are genuinely praying and since most of us can use all the prayer we can get, we are encouraged when someone says they are praying for us. But when Christians use “I am praying for you” as a nice way to tell us they think we are bad people, it takes away whatever encouragement we might have gained from genuine prayer.

I am not suggesting that Christians should stop trying to be nice. Our world has become a pretty harsh and rude place. We need more niceness in our society, not less. I am simply observing that sometimes we Christians like to hide behind nice words to say mean things. Most people can see right through this as thinly disguised arrogance. They know it is not an example of true spirituality. More importantly, God sees through it because He knows our hearts. He will hold us accountable for using His Word, prayer and Christian phrases in mean ways to hurt others.

Lord, help our kindness towards others be genuine and from the heart. Keep us from using nice words as a screen for being mean to those around us. Amen.

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This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: Daily Devotions from Ordinary Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E

I Don’t Mean to be Rude But . . . .

Colossians 3:17 - And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

I confess I was eavesdropping on a conversation that a group of teenagers were having. No, I am not a stalker. But I realized a long time ago that I could learn a lot about what young people are thinking if I stand a few feet away and just listen.

This particular conversation was between some girls. They did not appear to be getting along very well. The conversation became tense. One of the girls said “I’m not trying to be rude but . . .” and then went on to say some things that were extremely rude. Her tone of voice, her body language, and the words she used, were all very rude. She knew she was being rude. Saying, “I’m not trying to be rude...” was merely a ploy for her to be able to say whatever mean thing she wanted while pretending to be nice.

Though this particular incident involved teens, I have heard similar things among adults. Far too often starting a sentence with “I’m not trying to be rude but . . .” is just a thinly disguised way of being rude. Such rudeness, thinly disguised as politeness, fools no one and does not accomplish anything positive.

The world may treat one another that way, but Christians should aspire to higher standards. Christians should aspire to treat each other with dignity and respect as brothers and sisters in the family of God. If we do not mean to be rude, then we should not be rude. If we realize we are being rude, we should stop mid-sentence and apologize. We cannot continue to be rude thinking that we are fooling others into believing that we are polite. No one is fooled.

As Christians, everything we say and do should honor Christ. Rudeness does not honor to the name of our Savior Jesus Christ, especially rudeness poorly disguised as niceness.

Lord, help us to treat people the way You would treat them. Amen.

This post is an excerpt from the book, The Heavenly Mundane: DailyDevotions from Ordinary Experiences. Filled with stories of how God spoke in big ways through small events, the book will encourage people to look for God in the mundane things of life. Great for both personal use and to give as a gift to friend, either the print version or the e-book version may be purchased at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MJ2UE4E

How Should We Treat Immigrants?

One of the joys of living in a more urban area is the cultural diversity. Connecticut is a particularly diverse state, with 12.9% of the population being foreign born. That does not include the 2.4% of Connecticut’s population that was born in Puerto Rico, because that is a United States territory and therefore not considered a foreign country. Connecticut’s foreign born population has grown by 61% since 1990, one of the highest growth rates in the nation. Though people have moved to Connecticut from all over the world, the three most common nations of origin are Poland, India and Jamaica. What an interesting mix of cultures this gives our state!

How should Christians deal with all these people from other places moving into homes down the street or apartments next door? Leviticus 19:33-34 reminds us that “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” That seems pretty clear. Christians are to treat people from other nations as if they are natives to our own land. But are Christians following this Biblical principle?

Sunday morning remains one of the most segregated hours of the week across the land. Part of that is due to language barriers, and that is totally understandable. But since many immigrants from other countries have excellent English skills, the language barrier does not explain everything. Perhaps our Sunday morning worship remains segregated because in our hearts we are still not treating the foreign born as we would treat the person who has lived here all their lives.

Why is it important for Christians to treat those from other places like natives? When people go through hard times, they often turn to extended family or long-time friends for support. In times of sickness, childbirth, death, financial hardship, and other personal tragedies, families and long term friends become a safety net that sustains us until things get better. People who move from other countries have no such safety net. If we do not stand with them in troubling times, how will they survive? Their legal status often also means they are excluded almost entirely from the social welfare system (despite popular claims to the contrary on social media). I was recently blessed to be with a friend who purchased multiple baskets of groceries for an immigrant who cannot work because he only has a student visa. But the immigrant’s family was in need, and as a Christian, my friend could not just walk away from that need without taking action. It is what Christ would have done.

But helping a person from another country in their time of need is not the only reason to treat them as equals. We must remember that God loves everyone, regardless of their country of origin or the color of their skin or the language of their heart. Acts 10:34-35 reminds us that “Peter opened his mouth and said: Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” If God has accepted those from other nations into His family, how can we do any less?

Think about the scene prophesied in Revelation 7:9-10. John’s vision of the future records that “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” One day we will all stand before the Lord together, regardless of our nationality, and give praise to Him together. We might as well get used to the neighbors down the street looking a little different than us, because eventually we will live together for eternity in service to our King. Celebrate a little of heaven now, and reach out to a person from another country. Invite them to into your home. Invite them to worship at your church. Open your heart to being a true friend. Celebrate the diversity God has given us and practice for what eternity will be like.

Dr. Terry W. Dorsett is a church planter in New England. He is a happy husband, proud father, thankful cancer survivor, and the author of numerous books aimed at helping small churches become healthier and individual Christians grow in their faith. You can find his books at:          http://www.amazon.com/Dr.-Terry-W.-Dorsett/e/B00405U4NY/

Where is the Love? A Study of Love – Part One - Guest Post by Logan Loveday

Introduction:

Have you ever heard the popular song by Black Eyed Peas called “Where is the Love?” The question that song asks is one that many people ask. One reason we struggle to understand what love is, is that people often think that all love is the same. But to really understand what love is we have to realize that there are four different kinds of love. The New Testament reveals those different kinds of love through the use of four different Greek words.

The four kinds of love found in the New Testament:

•                           στοργή – storgē

•                           φιλία – phileo

•                           ἔρως – érōs

•                           ἀγάπη – agape

I just want to talk about the first two types of love in this post.

1.     στοργή – storgē love

•                           This love is a “familial love” and is characterized by affection and the ability to transcend discriminating factors.

•                           It is the love of parents toward their offspring and vice versa. Ephesians 6:1-4, Proverbs 22:6, Colossians 3:20-21, 1 Timothy 5:8

•                           Many examples of family love are found in scripture: such as the love and mutual protection among Noah and his wife, their sons and daughters-in-law in Genesis, the love of Jacob for his sons, and the strong love of the sisters, Mary and Martha in the gospels, had for their brother Lazarus.

•                           Family was a vital part of ancient Jewish culture.

•                           In the 10 Commandments God charges his people to: “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12

•                           One great example of this type of love is found in the relationship of the prodigal son and his father.

•                           Healthy families always love each other no matter what. They may disagree with each other and have different opinions, but they must continue to love each other.

•                           Parents may not always like their children’s behavior, but they are always to love and care for their children. Parents may have to punish their children in order to teach them right from wrong, but they must never stop loving them. When children do not have this type of love, it influences all the other relationships in a negative way.

2.     φιλία – phileo love

·        This love is typically what you would find between friends and includes the strong bond and commitment of deep friendship.

·        Jesus had a lot to say about Friendship

·        John 15:12-15 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”

·        God gives us this advice when it comes to choosing Friends

·        Proverbs 12:26 “One who is righteous is a guide to his neighbor, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”

·        Proverbs 13:20 “Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

·        Proverbs 14:6-7 “A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain, but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding. Leave the presence of a fool, for there you do not meet words of knowledge.”

·        Proverbs 22:24-25 “Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.”

·        1 Corinthians 15:33 “Do not be deceived: Bad company ruins good morals.”

·        If we have Phileo love, it will impact how we treat our friends

·        Luke 6:31 “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

·        Romans 12:10 “Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor.”

·        Ephesians 4:29-32 “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

·        Colossians 3:12-14 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

·        Proverbs 11:14 “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

·        Proverbs 17:17 “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

·        Proverbs 19:20 “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.”

·        Proverbs 27:17 “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”

·        This kind of love does not happen overnight. It takes both a commitment of time and work for it to develop. But as a friendship grows stronger, we develop bonds that last a lifetime. Once we have this type of love for our friends, we are often loyal to them even when they don’t deserve it.

·        Sadly, some people never develop this type of friendship and therefore they will never know phileo love.

Conclusion:

Experiencing these two types of love is one of the reasons why it is important to be part of a local church. The body of Christ should be a healthy incubator for both of these types of love. Family love and friendship love should naturally spring forth in the “family” of Christ in which we have “brothers,” “sisters,” and eternal friends.

Points to Use When Sharing Christ With the Non-Religious

 I have written several posts in the last few weeks about viewing evangelism as a process instead of an event. We can read those posts again here:

http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com/2012/10/evangelism-as-process.html

http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com/2012/10/the-importance-of-relationships-in.html

http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com/2012/10/using-our-stories-of-failure-for.html

http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com/2012/11/avoiding-i-versus-you-syndrome.html

http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com/2012/11/using-jesus-focused-statements-in.html

http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com/2012/11/using-supernatural-experiences-in.html

http://thoughtsfromdrt.blogspot.com/2012/11/using-supernatural-experiences-in_10.html

As we read those posts, it becomes obvious that evangelism is going to take quite a bit of time. It is not something that will be done in a 5 minute chat at the front door like it might have been in past generations. During the long process of evangelism, and especially as we finally arrive at the culminating moment of our witnessing efforts, we need to remember several practical items to be effective in our witnessing.

First, we may want to consider using a version of the Bible people can actually understand. Because many postmodern people have a minimal understanding of the Bible, using a version they cannot understand only complicates the situation. Because of this, it can be beneficial to let go of our own personal preferences and use a version of the Bible the next generation can understand.

 

Second, we should ask open-ended questions instead of making declarative statements. Open-ended questions are ones that cannot be answered with a yes or a no. Open-ended questions invite discussion. When we ask questions that have a yes or no answer, we tend to lapse into presentation mode, which is often perceived as unauthentic. Presentation mode tends to answer questions people are not asking and miss the issues they really want to discuss. When our friends are finally ready to have the big talk about salvation with us, it will be a two-way discussion, not a one-way lecture. Asking open-ended questions helps us keep the conversation going.

Third, we should be prepared to admit that we do not know all the answers. The person with whom we are sharing our faith may ask complex questions. These questions will often be based on negative experiences they have had or some evil they have seen in the world around them. We may not know the answers, and there may not be any answers. It is fine to admit that we are still looking for answers to those questions ourselves. Admitting that we trust Christ even when we do not know the answers is a powerful testimony about the depth of our faith.

Fourth, we must realize that the results of our witnessing will depend on the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we push too hard when we witness because we think we are the ones responsible for other people’s souls. We are only responsible for sharing the gospel. God is responsible for the results.

Though sharing our faith with non-religious people is a challenge, Christ commands us to share His love with others, and people need the comfort and hope that faith in Christ gives. The next generation should not have to face an eternity of separation from God simply because witnessing to them is a challenge. We can overcome the challenges of witnessing to the next generation when we realize that it is more a process than an event. Part of that process involves building healthy relationships with the next generation. Part of the process includes retraining ourselves to use we and us statements instead of I versus you statements when we tell the story of our own struggles toward faith. Part of that process includes focusing on Jesus and how He changed us during our struggles instead of pretending we did it all on our own. Another part of the process includes talking about the supernatural experiences we have had in our lives. Finally, the process concludes with leading our friends to new faith in Christ. If we stumble on that last point, the whole process will have been in vain.

Adapted from Dr. Dorsett’s book, Mission Possible: Reaching the Next Generation through the Small Church, published by CrossBooks, a division of Lifeway Christian Resources.

Love the Wounded

Last year I became friends with Lynn Dove, a Christian author in Canada. She has written a three book fictional series to help Christian young people who are being bullied. At the time we connected, I was trying to help several teens in our youth group that had been bullied. I purchased some copies of her books to give to those young people. I highly recommend the books to parents, teachers and church youth workers who are looking for ways to encourage young people experiencing bullying.

Lynn's latest book, Love the Wounded, is the final and dramatic conclusion to her brilliant Wounded Trilogy  series that has followed the lives of teenagers Jake, Leigh, Mike, Dylan and Tim as they come to terms with a series of tragedies and events that have made each of them question why God allows “bad things to happen to good people.”

About the book:

Leigh does not know who to choose...her heart tells her she will always love Jake, but he has changed so much since the death of their friend, Ronnie, and with his mother going through breast cancer; he has totally closed himself off from her emotionally. Now she is dating Dylan and try as she might to accept him for who he is, she can't stop thinking about Jake! Dylan has never gotten over the loss of his father and little sister, killed by a drunk driver when he was just a young boy.

After a horrific accident that has put both Tim and his little brother, Evan in the hospital, everyone knows that not only is he being bullied at school; he cuts himself to cope with it all. But meeting Cassidy has given him the courage to stand up to the bullies and at the same time give her what she so desperately needs...a life-giving bone marrow transplant. Jake's mother keeps telling him that "God works all things out for good" but with all the things going on in his life and with his friends, he's just not sure anymore. It is only after Mike is paralyzed in a car accident that Jake was partially responsible for that all the families and friends will be brought back together, not by coincidence, but by God's design and then Jake will finally believe that God truly does "Love the Wounded".

What others are saying about the book:

"A life of working with youth has inspired Lynn Dove, a Cochrane mother to turn her experiences into a book trilogy...(the Wounded Trilogy) series that parallels the struggles of students...(and) covers the angst of some of the real serious issues that teenagers face today, particularly with bullying and gossip. " -Rocky View Weekly-

“I couldn’t put the book down…(A) dramatic ending to a wonderful series about five teenagers and their families who are struggling through life,…Lynn Dove has created a cast of teenage characters we grow to love over this three book series,…It is a wonderful, good, clean book with twists and turns about issues on a young adult level that they will enjoy reading.”  - Readers Favorite–

“A personal story of honest truth – offer(s) an uplifting spiritual message” – Cochrane Times –

About the Author:

Lynn Dove is a wife, mother, grandmother, teacher and writer. Winner of a Canadian Christian Writing Award in 2011, Lynn Dove's debut novel, Shoot the Wounded, written for teens and young adults was a finalist in the 2010 Readers Favorite Book Awards. Heal the Wounded, released in 2010, the second book in this series won the Bronze Medal in the 2011 Readers Favorite Book Awards in the Young Adult - Coming of Age category. Love the Wounded is the final book in the "Wounded Trilogy."