Facebook Official and Personal Evangelism

 

Do you Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram? Millions of us do. And for many of us we don’t feel like something really happened until we post on one or more social networking sites. Thus terms like its now, “Facebook official”.

Often something doesn’t become real, is not genuine until we post it, tweet it, upload it, or share it.

Here is the BIG QUESTION – “What if we applied that same logic to personal evangelism?”

What if our faith was not considered real until we shared it? And I’m not talking about some low level Facebook lie like, “Click like on this meme if you really love Jesus”.

No what if your faith was not considered authentic until you shared it personally with someone who does not know Jesus?

Gee, I think that might even be in the Bible somewhere. Oh yeah I remember…

“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Matthew 10:32-33

“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” Romans 10:9-10

So find someone and make it official today!!!

Compound Interest

 

I’ve recently had the realization that life and ministry are a lot like compound interest.

“Compound interest is the addition of interest to the principal sum of a loan or deposit. Compound interest is interest on interest. It is the result of reinvesting interest, rather than paying it out, so that interest in the next period is then earned on the principal sum plus previously-accumulated interest.”

 So when you factor in compound interest to finances the long-term result can be staggering.

That is not only true of finances it is also true of fitness. I’ve recently started working out again and I have a long way to go. But when you compound workouts with diets the results can be amazing. Compound Interest!

Last night I talked to one of the young moms in our church who had visibly lost a lot of weight. She told me she had lost 50 pounds! When I asked her how she did it she told me it was a combination of diet and exercise. When I asked her how long it had taken her she said it took 11 months. Compound Interest!

Ministry and life are best viewed within the long lens of compound interest.

For a guy who has always wanted a fast, unrealistic return on my ministry this is a hard pill to swallow – but the potential is astronomical.

This past week has been a lesson for me in the realm of compound interest. This week the blessings of God were evident and I am so thankful. I had the privilege of ordaining not only my son-in-law but the also the son-in-law of my best friend from college. To think about having a friend for that many years and to in large part pass the torch of our combined ministries to our son-in-law’s was a moving moment. Compound Interest!

I also had the privilege of being selected to serve the Arizona Baptist Convention as their new President. I am honored to get to serve such an amazing group of Christ followers! Something that I never saw myself doing years ago. Compound Interest!

And then to make our weekend even better we were able to announce that my middle daughter is pregnant and will be bringing our 2^nd grandchild into this world in May. What a blessing it is to have all our children close to us and now have our home full of these amazing grandchildren. Compound Interest!

So if you have made it to the end of this blog you might be asking what in the world does this have to do with church planting and ministry? It has everything to do with it.

The return on your investments may not come quickly. The rewards for your sacrifices may come slowly. From time to time you may feel like you’re on a ministry treadmill going nowhere fast.

But remember the Kingdom is built on the theory of compound interest. It is best understood in terms of a seed, some soil, water, sunshine, and time, yes lots of time.

So, “Don’t grow weary in well doing, in due season you will reap if you faint not.” Compound Interest!

 

Dream Big and Pray Hard: A Prayer for Pastors and Church Planters

 

Recently I was giving my freshman daughter some advice as she was imparking on a new level of chasing her dream to one-day play college volleyball. It’s great to have dreams! So I shared with her as she steps up to the next level in the pursuit of her dream to always stay; humble, hungry, holy, and hopeful.

Pastor’s and church planters – that is some pretty good advice for us as well. As leaders we are all about fulfilling our dreams. We sometimes call that vision – but make no mistake it is a dream. Like a 4^th grade boy dreams of playing in the Major League as he hits rocks with his bat, we as spiritual leaders dream of leading a church that will one day make a huge difference for the kingdom of God.

So as you are busy chasing your dreams let me say a brief prayer for you, “May the Father who gave you this God-given dream to chase, may He keep you; humble, hungry, holy, and hopeful.”

• May He keep you humble!

Let’s face it guys – one of the things that comes with being the type of leader that can move others into action is the sin of pride. We are tempted to think of ourselves more highly than we ought. The terrible thing about success is that it can undermine success by causing us to become prideful. And we all know that famous verse that, “Pride comes before the fall.”

If God is using you in any way to fulfill that God-given dream of yours let me challenge you to keep your pride in check.

One of the best ways for me to do this is to simply pray. Every time I pray it is a reminder to me that I must depend on God. Prayer is our declaration of dependence on the only one who can use flawed vessels like us to make a difference in the world that we live.

Think about it – if you could do it on your own you would never need to pray. So stay humble and pray a lot.

• May He keep you hungry!

I pray He keeps you hungry to see God do great things in people’s lives.

Stay hungry my friend!

Stay hungry for the anointing of God on your life.

Stay hungry for lost people to be saved.

Stay hungry for the next level of spiritual growth in you and your people.

The moment you think you have arrived you will begin to die. That is true of you and your church.

Remember the future is your friend – keep leaning into it and asking God to do great and mighty things in the days to come.

• May He keep you holy!

Let’s be real, many ministries and ministers have been brought low by immorality.

Over the years I have grieved the loss of some of God’s most gifted leaders. It’s not that the leaders have died, it’s that they were disqualified.

And I’ll let you in on a little secret, most of us are disqualified not when things are going badly in our ministry but when things are going well.

When things are going well we get puffed up, prideful, arrogant and think we are bullet proof. So stay humble and that will help you stay holy.

• May He keep you hopeful!

Don’t give up on that dream! Don’t let the mundane activities of the week build up callouses on your dreams.

God will do what He wants to do in your life and your ministry at just the right time. Your dream will become your badge of courage and your reason for being. And dreams like that are contagious. As you cast vision and follow God-given dreams others will be infected by it and will follow.

So dream big and pray hard my friend because the best is yet to come!