Airline Evangelism

I’ve heard many speakers at evangelism seminars talk about wonderful conversations about God and the Bible with passengers in neighboring seats on long flights. However, check out this story for tips on what not to do while discussing the Bible on a plane.

Here is my list:
1. Never get so engrossed in discussion that you refuse to let the other person go to the bathroom.
2. Rampant Bible quoting is not only viewed as overwhelming or condemning, but may also get you kicked off the plane.
3. Try to avoid discussing volatile topics (e.g., the Antichrist and the end of the world) while 30,000 feet above the ground.
4. Do not take rejection personally.
5. Biting is never an appropriate measure in spiritual warfare.
6. If airport police get involved, seriously reconsider your evangelism method of choice.
7. Always fly Southwest.

Mean What You Say

I always dreaded student council election time in high school. Everyone made such a big fuss over a relatively pointless institution. I know, I am being very negative and cynical. But, really, did your high school student council ever completely overhaul school policies and culture in such a way that they made a lasting, positive impact? I remember one presidential candidate who won on the platform of the promise of a new pop machine in the lunch room. It didn’t hurt that he was also a popular athlete.

We never saw the pop machine.

Seeing the Unseen

I just finished reading Seeing the Unseen by Joe Beam. It was an excellent book, and I would recommend it to anyone. If you would like to borrow it, let me know.

Beam spent many years traveling around and teaching about the subject-matter that became the book, and he provides a lot of insight into the invisible, spiritual forces, both good and evil, that are at work all around us. And while I agreed quite a bit, disagreed here and there, and found some of the information new and insightful, I was challenged the most by what seems to be the main premise of the book: that our battle against sin and the devil is better waged when we know it is going on–and when we know what is going on.

Satan works hard and is very good at what he does. He also has many soldiers to help him, human and otherwise. Yet, Christ works hard, and is even better at what He does. And He has a great army fighting with Him. The more I can learn about both sides, how one can harm me and the other help, sources of temptation and relief, how they interact with one another and with me, the better equipped I will be to serve God and win my battles.

A look into the unseen world revealed in the Bible educates and encourages me. I suggest you take a look as well.

Pacifist…or Sissy?

I have never considered myself a pacifist. I grew up in the 80s and 90s playing with toy guns and video games, watching the “heroes” in movies take out the bad guys…and like any boy in his right mind I wanted to be a “hero,” too.

But, lately I have been seriously reconsidering my boyhood position.

Stop Going to Church

No, that is not a typo. I mean every word of it. And, yes, I am still a preacher.

There are some mind-sets that we have simply because they are repeated over and over and are never questioned. I like chili, and I love chocolate, but I am not about to mix the two. I have never tried them together before, but I have a long-standing, unchallenged belief that it would be disgusting.

Going to church is a lot like chili and chocolate

Sideshow God

Have you ever thought about what it would feel like to be the Bearded Lady, or the Goat Boy? What would it be like for people to gawk at you and stare because you are to them a spectacle, and no more? To be valued based on your admittance price? I imagine it would feel pretty miserable to only be loved for your entertainment value. I imagine it would feel like God feels.

Don’t Do Nothing

Steve Sikes, a family life minister in Pitman, NJ, told an interesting story in a bulletin article recently. He wrote about an eleven-year-old boy who received three umbrellas for Christmas. The gift may seem odd, but the reason was that a couple months before he and his mother had been traveling down the highway in a heavy rain. The boy saw a man walking in the rain, and he asked his mom if they could stop and give the man a ride. The mother explained that it was not safe to pick up strangers, even if it was raining. Her son responded, “Well, then can’t we turn around and give him our umbrella?”  So, an eleven-year-old boy got what he wanted for Christmas: a service project.

Things Above

When the preacher stands up behind that fancy pulpit in his fancy suit and tie (I don’t normally wear a suit, so this obviously doesn’t apply to me) what goes through your mind?  Other than, “I wish he would hurry up…the Methodists are going to beat us to lunch.”  When you hear about Jesus, and holiness, and heaven, what do you picture?  What do you think of when you read this verse:

Taking Jesus Seriously 002

 Other articles in this series:
001       009  010

The kingdom was the message Jesus came to give the world. Some might be inclined to disagree, and to say that it was the gospel that Jesus brought to the world, but Matthew tells us that “Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (4:23, ESV; see also 9:35). The gospel of Jesus was defined by the kingdom, belonged to the kingdom, was “of the kingdom.” The good news that Jesus proclaimed was that the kingdom was at hand.

Taking Jesus Seriously 009

Other articles in this series:
001  002         010

Early in His ministry, Jesus stepped out of a boat into the country of a people He had not yet visited. As His sandal-sole touched gravel, two fiercely deranged men ran out of a nearby cemetery screaming and shrieking as they came. They were shouting at the top of their lungs, “What do You want with us, Son of God!?” But, they were not their own voices that exploded from their mouths; they were the demonic voices of the spirits who possessed them. “You know it is not time for You to torment us!” A chorus of angry, tortured voices spoke in eerie unison. “If You are here to cast us out then send us into those pigs.”