What are You Afraid Of?

When we encounter fears in our lives, including anxieties that can distract and even paralyze us, we can rely on the strength and the perspective of the Lord, who is our deliverer.  Consider these words from Isaiah 41:
10Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'11"Behold, all those who were incensed against you Shall be ashamed and disgraced; They shall be as nothing, And those who strive with you shall perish.12You shall seek them and not find them-- Those who contended with you. Those who war against you Shall be as nothing, As a nonexistent thing.13For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, 'Fear not, I will help you.'

Here, the prophet is relating how God will stand beside you, including those times when you are facing other people of whom you may be afraid.  We can know intimately the God who stands beside us, who is with us to strengthen and encourage us, even in those fear-producing moments involving others.

Fear is a tool that the enemy uses to hold us back in our spiritual walk with the Lord.  But, God has given us the measure of faith and powerful resources in order to confront and overcome our fears.  He has promised us victory through His mighty power.

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In Psalm 56, the psalmist admits his fear, and also relates His trust in the Lord when he is afraid:
3Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.4In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?

I was thinking about how some elements of this day, known as Halloween, which I refuse to call a holiday, prey on and even glorify our fears.   So on this last day of October, I want to turn your attention to a pre-Christmas classic, "A Charlie Brown Christmas."  Charlie Brown believes himself to be depressed, you see, and so amateur, 5-cent, "real in" psychiatrist Lucy Van Pelt begins to ask some probing questions.

I went to quotes.net for the transcript:

Lucy Van Pelt:
Are you afraid of responsibility? If you are, then you have hypengyophobia.

Charlie Brown:
I don't think that's quite it.

Lucy Van Pelt:
How about cats? If you're afraid of cats, you have ailurophasia.

Charlie Brown:
Well, sort of, but I'm not sure.

Lucy Van Pelt:
Are you afraid of staircases? If you are, then you have climacaphobia. Maybe you have thalassophobia. This is fear of the ocean, or gephyrobia, which is the fear of crossing bridges. Or maybe you have pantophobia. Do you think you have pantophobia?

Charlie Brown:
What's pantophobia?

Lucy Van Pelt:
The fear of everything.

Charlie Brown:
THAT'S IT.

Well, add another one to your list of fears: Samhainophobia.  What's that?  It's the fear of...HALLOWEEN!.  According to a piece on the Forbes.com website, samhainophobia is "a persistent, abnormal, and unwarranted fear of halloween, despite conscious understanding by the phobic individual and reassurance by others that there is no danger."   The writer references the website, FearofStuff.com, which relates that:

The root word takes us back to the ancient Celts who held a ceremony called Samhain in order to honor the harvest cycle. Each October 31, the harvest would end, and the Irish would gather to kill livestock. Often, they would throw the animal’s bones onto a roaring bonfire. The people who attended Samhain believed that the dead made their presence known during the festival, and that they must be appeased or else they would cause trouble and hardship for the townspeople. They began to wear masks and other disguises to please the spirits.

Kinda creepy, right?  It doesn't get better.  According to History.com, in later years: 

...banquet tables were prepared and edible offerings were left out to placate unwelcome spirits. In later centuries, people began dressing as ghosts, demons and other malevolent creatures, performing antics in exchange for food and drink.

This custom was known as mumming, thought to be a forerunner to what became "trick-or-treating,"

Samhainophobia.  A fear of Halloween.

I don't know what you're afraid of, but the Bible is certainly relevant to help you deal with your fears. Consider this with me:  we have not been given the spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.  Those three components can be very useful as we seek to deal with those fears that can work in a detrimental manner to our spiritual life.

So, what are you afraid of?  Is it a fear of death?  The Bible promises us that we have eternal life in heaven with Jesus, if He is our Lord and Savior.  Are you beset by anxiety or worry?  Jesus tells us to seek the Kingdom first, and we can rely on Him as our provider.  Do you have concern about circumstances you can't control?   We can cast our cares on Him, knowing that He cares for us.  I would contend most of what we worry about doesn't come true, after all.

When we are afraid, we can go to the Lord and find the strength and resources to overcome.    When we fear, we can access the mighty power of God and apply it to that area of concern, recognizing that greater is He who is in us than He who is in the world.   The Bible says that perfect love casts out fear - we can know the love of Christ and recognize that He is with us when we fear. And, when fear enters our mind, we can meditate on and even speak out the Scriptures to reprogram our thinking, taking every thought captive.

Election Prep & The Power of a Voice

In the first two verses of the 3rd chapter of Titus, we get some insight into our posture as citizens of heaven, as well as good citizens of our nation:
1Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work,2to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.

What is very special in America is that we get the opportunity to participate in the selection process for those who will be our governmental leaders.  And, as 1st Timothy 2 reminds us, we also have that responsibility to pray for those who have been selected and who serve in leadership.  And, while there is a human tendency to complain about our leaders and the fruit of their decisions, we have to be mindful that our prayers and participation can be powerful tools in order to shape the influence of God and His word upon our society.

In seemingly small or large ways, we are called to take intentional action to walk in God's ways and uphold His truth, with the possibility of playing a part in impacting our culture.  Galatians 6 says:
8For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.9And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Election Day is coming up next Tuesday, and I trust that you are making plans to cast your ballot and make your voice heard.  What an incredible privilege we have to participate in the process of the selection of our governmental leaders.

According to a recent Gallup analysis, there are many voters that don't believe their vote will make much difference. Frank Newport, Gallup's Editor-in-Chief (referring to an earlier Gallup piece by Jeff Jones), states that, "Americans' collective thought given to this election is lower than has been the case in the two most recent midterm elections in 2010 and 2006. Likewise, enthusiasm and self-reported motivation to vote are also down..."

He points out that:

Americans have extraordinarily negative views of Congress across a variety of measures. Thus, we can say that this negativity is apparently being transmuted by voters into apathy rather than action. One might hypothesize that voters would be energized to vote in an effort to get rid of members of Congress and effect change. Instead, we find that Americans, on a relative basis, are in fact not displaying any unusual signs of heightened interest in the election - despite their high level of disdain for Congress.

Other reasons for voters' seeming lack of motivation to be involved in things electoral that he puts forth include the thought that voters may have that their vote will not really change things, due to a divided Congress, a point made in the Jones article.

Newport also says that there is no overarching problem that is driving voters, and that Gallup's October update provides quite a variety of areas of concern.  Those include: the economy, dysfunctional government, healthcare, immigration, the federal deficit, declining ethics, education and more recently Ebola and the situation relating to Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq.  The economy, in general, though, only gets 17% of mentions, with economic problems combined mentioned by 38% of respondents.

There is quite a paradox here:  if Americans observe a dysfunctional, divided, and ineffective government, then you think that they would be highly motivated by and large to try to change that by selecting new leaders.  But, the opposite seems to be the case, based on this data.

So, how does this information affect our lives and practices?  First of all, I think we as Christians should be motivated to get involved in the simple act of voting.   We do not live in a totalitarian state or in a country where people's lives are on the line when they go to the polls - so while there is relatively little impedance, there is considerably little risk.  But, the impact can be significant - if we want to change the direction of our government and its practices, then one small and important step we can take is to vote.

And, we have to recognize that changing our government is only one component of changing our culture.   So often, we get duped into thinking that a new elected representative here, a skilled orator there might work to help alter the course of our nation.  I think that there are other actions in which we can be involved - prayer is certainly a key, plus our willingness to share God's principles rooted in the message of salvation through Christ.   I think we can be released from the shackles of discouragement and its frequent companions of complaining and complacency.  We can develop a determined attitude to follow God's purpose for our lives and to be active in influencing the culture as His ambassadors.

Glory Where Glory is Due

1st Chronicles 16 contains a psalm of praise that can be useful to us as we reflect on God's presence expressed through our lives.  I want to pick up with verse 24:
24Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.25For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods.26For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens.27Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place.28Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples, Give to the Lord glory and strength.29Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!

We can recognize that God has created us and called us into a love relationship with Himself through Jesus Christ.  As we humble ourselves before Him and commit to walk in obedience to Him, He will manifest His nature through us.  No matter what position we may attain in life, vocationally or otherwise, we can believe that if we are submitted to Him, He will bring honor to Himself - we will be instruments through which He can point people to Jesus.

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In 1st Corinthians 10, Paul gives a direct reminder concerning a chief purpose for our lives - to bring glory to God, to call attention to His name:
31Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.32Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God,33just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.

In Major League Baseball, it all comes down to this - Game 7 of the World Series.  The San Francisco Giants, attempting to win their third championship in five years, squaring off against the up-and-coming Kansas City Royals.

Bobby Evans and Dayton Moore have known baseball success, but they also have experienced the abundant life through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Evans is the assistant general manager of the Giants.  He is quoted on the Baptist Press website as saying, "You want your life to point people to Christ...It starts for me with my own relationship with Christ. That's going to direct and dictate what influence I have for Christ in my family, in my marriage and in the workplace."   He was saved as a 7-year-old living in Massachusetts. After attending college at the University of North Carolina, he went to work for MLB commissioner Fay Vincent in New York in 1991. Two and a half years later, he joined the Giants in a minor league administration role.

He has served in his current role since 2006, though his title has changed multiple times. Among his duties are negotiating all major league player contracts, helping acquire free agents and signing minor league talent. In the contract process, he is committed to being honest. He said, "It's really about integrity and about being able to be trusted by a given agent or for players to feel like you're going to be honest with them."

Evans has served on his church's leadership board for 18 of his 21 years as a member, and he makes worship attendance a priority. During the season he arranges his travel schedule so that he only has to miss six to eight Sundays. During the six weeks of spring training, he travels back to San Francisco for church two or three times. He says that some keys to a healthy marriage amid the rigors of baseball are "surrounding ourselves with other couples that are pursuing Christ" and not "compartmentalizing" life between Christian and secular activities, he said.

The Giants' chaplain is Golden Gate Theological Seminary president Jeff Iorg, who leads chapel services before Sunday home games. Evans says of Iorg's ministry: "We certainly have seen players come to Christ, seen marriages saved, seen people rededicate themselves to following Christ...We've seen people grow in their walk."

It was also 2006, when an assistant general manager for the Atlanta Braves received a call that certainly would change the course of his life.  The team had won 14 straight division titles, and Dayton Moore and his family were in a great situation, according to a piece on the FCA's Sharing the Victory website: "great town, great job, great family environment, great church. And his reputation as a savvy front office man was on the rise. Undoubtedly, that’s why he got the call." The call came from the lowly Kansas City Royals.   After praying about the decision, he took the position.  Through the experience, Moore said that God taught him:

Just to really depend on and sell out to Him, and know that He has a perfect plan for your life. As long as you are seeking His wisdom and His will, you are always going to be in His will no matter where He puts you, whether it is Kansas City, Atlanta, Boston, Arizona, Cincinnati, wherever. Truly, I don’t believe God cares as much that Dayton Moore is the General Manager of the Kansas City Royals. I think what He is most concerned about is how I use this platform to honor Him and how I use the gifts that I have been given.

He emphasized the importance of Baseball Chapel leaders who minister to the players. He said, "This game beats you up terribly. It is a game of failure, and if you don’t learn to manage failure, you won’t be successful. And the only way to manage failure, in my opinion, is to have a relationship with Christ."

There are all sorts of lessons that we can take away from these two prominent baseball leaders.  I believe that they recognize that they have been placed in their positions to make an impact for Christ.  And, that's a good word for each of us - we can regard our vocations as opportunities to serve the Lord, no matter what the position.   We can be sensitive to the Spirit and look for ways for Him to be glorified through us.

And, remember, worldly success, whatever the definition may be, pales in comparison to faithfulness to God.   We can make our decisions based on God's will for our lives.   If we attain worldly achievement, we can recognize that as a platform through which we can testify to the presence of Christ in our lives.   No matter who wins tonight, you get the sense that Bobby Evans and Dayton Moore might just have a sense of the Lord's higher purpose for them, and that they both may be giving God the praise.

Toward a Marriage Culture

There is a trend in this culture to either de-emphasize sin or to accept and tolerate behavior that the Bible calls sinful.  The Bible is clear in 1st John 3 that:
4Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.5And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.6Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.7Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.

The Scriptures present to us a picture of God's desire to redeem humanity that had departed from His ways.  Throughout its pages, we see a God who was and is reaching out toward people who did not follow in His ways.   Through Jesus, He offered a way to overcome sin.  But, we cannot experience the powerful redemption of our Savior unless we recognize our need for Him:  to acknowledge that we are sinners, to align our view of sin with God's view, and to accept the sacrifice Jesus made for our sins.   We cannot presume to call a behavior right when the Bible does not.

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Marriage is an expression of the relationship between Christ and His bride, the church.  Ephesians 5 lays this out very well:

25Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her,26that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,27that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.

Day 1 of the conference called, “The Gospel, Homosexuality, and the Future of Marriage,” presented by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and held in Nashville, is now in the books.  ERLC President Dr. Russell Moore is quoted by The Tennessean in an article written prior to the conference as saying, “We do have to do a better job of articulating a biblical version of marriage and sexuality.”

Moore said that “every single church, every single family” needs to equip the next generation on how to think through these questions and articulate a Christian perspective with civility and kindness.

“Often these conversations degenerate into shouting matches that don’t respect the humanity of the individuals,” he said.

Well, if you'd like an online equivalent of a "shouting match," you could have searched the #ERLC2014 hashtag yesterday.  I referred to it on The Meeting House yesterday and began to read the long line of tweets that caused the hashtag to become a trending topic.  And, while proponents of traditional marriage consistent with God's plan were gathered in a ballroom at the massive Gaylord Opryland complex, the culture was fighting back in 140 characters with mean-spirited and misguided vitriol from people sympathetic to or participants in the gay lifestyle, who were apparently watching online.

The @ERLC Twitter feed featured some pertinent quotes from the conference, including Carmen Laberge, who said, "I am far less afraid of being on the wrong side of history, than I am of being on the wrong side of a holy God."  

Sherif Gergis, who has been a guest on my radio show, said, "Every aspect of the common good depends on a strong marriage culture. This is Matthew 25 stuff."

And, how about this strong statement from seminary president Danny Akin: "I've always found it fascinating that Paul grounds his theology of marriage in the atonement."

Jennifer Marshall of the Heritage Foundation said, "A marriage culture is hard work, too. And all of us need to be working on that, whether we are married or not."

Others who helped to articulate the message of a marriage culture included Dennis Rainey, Jim Daly, and John Stonestreet.

And, so on Twitter yesterday afternoon, and I would project that today will be more of the same, we see a microcosm of some of the cultural debate that is taking place.  Unfortunately, there are those who proclaim Biblical truth, no matter how conciliatory and compassionate the tone, who will be ridiculed for taking a position consistent with God's Word.   There is an element who would want to force Christians to retreat into our church enclaves and hold to our antiquated views, to disappear while our Scriptural positions are branded as irrelevant.  Some debate...we are expected to validate their views while our views are summarily dismissed as old-fashioned and intolerant. 

I do believe that our tone toward homosexuals could improve, but we have to be careful that we are not granting special rights toward the sin of homosexuality.  It's a sin - one among many - and should be treated as such.  Jesus was accused of fraternizing with the sinners of His day, and He did so not to legitimize their sin, but so that He could proclaim His truth toward them.   

We are all sinners.   Each of us has our own sin areas with which we struggle.  But, to take one large culturally-debated sin off the table is an affront to the gospel.   Christ died to bring complete redemption, and He will redeem all sin.   We have to recognize the Biblical prescription for sexuality - it's designed to be within the context of marriage.

And, I believe that's where this impressive speaker lineup is headed at the ERLC conference - to encourage pastors, church leaders, and Christians to create a marriage culture.  Those of us who are married recognize that God has provided us an awesome mate whom we are called to love and cherish - a gift from the Father.  And, if we love our spouses in the way God intended, it sends a message to our children, to our friends, our churches, and hopefully to the culture that marriage is incredible.   That contributes to creating a marriage culture.  That kind of love is compelling, and I think will even fill a void that many are seeking to fill by engaging in improper, non-Biblical relationships.

A Tent As a Tool

In 2nd Corinthians 4, the Bible speaks of the display, or manifestation, of the truth of God through our lives:

1Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.2But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
In verse 7, we read that God will work through people who have the Spirit of God on the inside:7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Because we know the Lord, we have access to His power.  And, we can be confident that He will live through us and speak through us according to His will.  He will direct us by His Spirit, even to the extent of giving us creative ideas through which He can make His Word and presence known.  It's important that we adopt an attitude of willingness to be yielded vessels through which He operates, so that He might be glorified through our obedience.
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In Exodus 40, we read about the presence of the Spirit of God resting upon the Tent of Meeting, or the Tabernacle, a structure fashioned by human hands for supernatural purposes:

34Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.35And Moses was not able to enter the tabernacle of meeting, because the cloud rested above it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.36Whenever the cloud was taken up from above the tabernacle, the children of Israel would go onward in all their journeys.37But if the cloud was not taken up, then they did not journey till the day that it was taken up.38For the cloud of the Lord was above the tabernacle by day, and fire was over it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.
The men of Centennial Baptist in Rutledge, Georgia used to gather at one of their members' farms for a deer supper. As the church grew and crowds swelled, the church began to rent tents to host the hundreds who attended. According to a report on the Baptist Press website from Georgia's publication, The Christian Index, this year, they partnered with the Georgia Baptist Convention, which had begun to purchase tents in the 1990's. The convention has three now: seating 500, 750, and 1250 people, and which are available for Georgia Baptist church-ministry initiatives including Vacation Bible School, revivals, block parties, harvest festivals, and wild game dinners.

Centennial's annual 2014 Sportsman's Dinner drew 610 to hear Southwestern Seminary President Paige Patterson tell about his African safaris as he presented an evangelistic invitation.  Thirty-five attendees made professions of faith.

Phil Burgess, who volunteers as the tent ministry coordinator, says, "A tent signals something special is happening...They are a tremendous evangelistic tool."  Burgess related about the north Georgia church that pitched a tent outside their sanctuary for a revival. A man walking by wandered into the tent.  Something had turned this man off to church when he was young, and he had vowed never to attend again.  Burgess said, "If the revival had been in the church, he wouldn't have stepped foot inside...But because it was in a tent, he found Jesus."

And, the article does point out that the children of Israel used a tent, a tabernacle, in the wilderness, where the Spirit of God resided.  Burgess and other volunteers across the state who are part of the tent ministry regularly see God at work, particularly in the host church. The GBC contract requires the host church to provide volunteers who will set up or break down. He says there's a twofold benefit: The church saves money to do other mission work and, "When you get a group of guys together, the fellowship is unreal."

Last year, only about one-half of churches that utilized this GBC resource filed reports with the state convention. Of those reporting, about 21,000 attended events that resulted in 667 professions of faith, 93 rededications, and 31 baptisms.

There's nothing magical about a canvas structure, but when that structure is used to proclaim God's Word, it becomes infused with the Spirit of God, who will do His work because it is dedicated to Him.  Think about the tools that God will use for His glory:

First of all, He uses people.  While there may be sovereign instances where God will proclaim His message in a unique way without a human presence.  But, more often than not, ordinary people who are dedicated to being used in an extraordinary fashion are key in the proclamation of His truth.

And, then, people, utilizing God's creativity, can be vessels through which the Spirit of God will operate.  

Last week, I talked about the simple ministry that is challenging college students to share their faith. 

Today on The Meeting House, you'll find out about a nationwide ministry with an Alabama outreach called SOS Events that is using a creative tool consisting of a provocative question to enable volunteers to minister to the hearts of people with whom they come in contact at public events.

Already, the River Region Judgment House, in just over half of its scheduled nights, has seen almost 1450 people, with just over 275 recorded commitments, including 165 people accepting Christ as their Savior.

And, churches are using the outreach of Fall Festivals, alternatives to the secular celebration of Halloween, to provide opportunities for the gospel to be shared.

So, I think about those tents being used over in Georgia for the purpose of pointing to our Savior. They are tools through which God will draw people to Himself and work in their lives. Remember, we can depend on the Lord to use what is committed to Him.

A Challenge to Share

Jesus spoke of the winning of souls to Himself as a harvest, and His disciples as those who are sent in order to share his message.  In Matthew 9, we read:
37Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.38Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest."

We have been brought into salvation with Jesus Christ, and we are not called to keep that to ourselves.  We have a purpose here on this earth, to be used of Him to share the good news of the gospel: that God has provided a way through His Son, who died for us, to have a love relationship with Himself, to walk in His eternal and abundant life.   He calls us to share how that message is a reality in our lives, to testify to what He has done in us through Jesus.   He has given us the story of redemption and we can depend on Him to give us the boldness and opportunity to share it.

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In Matthew 28, we see the passage of Scripture that we know as the Great Commission:
18And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.19Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,20teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen.

Just last week, college students across the nation were challenged to participate in an evangelistic effort called, Engage24, which challenged them to share their faith with someone over a 24-hour period.  Baptist Press reported on the effort, which began in 2011, quoting Brian Frye, the national collegiate strategist for the North American Mission Board, who said that he and his team believed that encouraging college students to share their faith required a creative approach.

He said, "Instead of focusing on the end result, we decided to, first, focus on the process...Instead of only concentrating on how many people came to Christ on one particular day, we wanted to see how many college students would share their faith on that particular day. And if we did that first, then we could ultimately accomplish the goal of seeing people come to Christ."

Kevin Stacy, collegiate projects specialist for NAMB, noted it can be difficult to track the results of Engage24, but said they rely heavily on Twitter to track results and read reports from students who had the opportunity to share the Gospel during the day.

Students from schools including the University of Texas at Arlington, the University of South Florida, the University of Arkansas, the University of Georgia, Texas Christian University, participated, as well as seminary students from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, partnering with their Baptist Campus Ministry groups and accepting the Engage24 challenge.

Frye said, "We are just telling people to make it what you want. This movement will look different depending on the context you're in. It doesn't matter if you share the Gospel on Oct. 14, or any other day. We just want every college student and every church member to share the Gospel with another person."

Also, some pastors challenged their church members to share the Gospel for Engage24.  Churches involved in college ministry in Ohio as well as Cross Church in Springdale, AR are two examples of churches that chose to participate in the movement.

Closer to home, Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Birmingham designated this past Tuesday as its Engage21 day.  Its website reads:

In the Experiencing God series we are constantly being reminded of watching where God is working and then joining Him in that invitation. We want to put some application to this knowledge and so we are setting aside Tuesday, October 21 as Engage 24, a 24 hour day to engage at least one person with the Gospel. Begin praying and seeking God’s face and ask Him to show you where He is working and then be prepared to share the Good News of the Gospel.

That church is using the "3 Circles" strategy to help members share their faith.    

There are several aspects to which I'd like to call attention:

First of all, it is a very intentional effort to encourage students and others to be involved in following Christ's Great Commission.  Before you take a step of obedience to Christ, you have to make a decision.  This provides an opportunity to set a goal - a simple, attainable goal - and depend on the Holy Spirit to reach it.  

It is also a simple effort - one person with whom you will share Christ.  

To help facilitate the intentionality, there is a framework that has been put into place.  The concept is communicated, a date is set, the encouragement is given.

And, this is done in community.  When you know there are others who have set their sights on the same goal, the commonality can provide some extra motivation and energy.

Sometimes our application of truth is boiled down to a step-by-step process.   When we depend on God and take the first step, then the next step is unveiled, and we become more accustomed to walking in God's ways.  

We Are the Church

As Christians, we are all part of the body of Christ - and He has appointed us specific ways in which we are to function.  We each have a role to play, a mission to fulfill, so that His kingdom might advance in the earth. Here are some words from 1st Corinthians 12:
12For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.13For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.14For in fact the body is not one member but many.
We are the church, and our lives are on display as representatives ultimately of Jesus Himself, the head of the body of Christ, the Lord of the church.  In our actions, we have to keep in mind that we are called to reflect His nature, which has been placed in us by the Holy Spirit.  We can depend on Him to lead us in His ways, and to behave in a manner consistent with His truth.  As we do that, we can send a compelling message to the world about His love and life-changing ability - a message of hope in discouraging times.
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In Colossians 1, we read the declaration of the lordship of Jesus over His church.  And we recognize that because He is the head, because He is in charge, we can rely on Him to direct us in our work as the church:
18And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.19For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,20and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

On this edition of "Survey Thursday" here in The Front Room, I wanted to highlight a new Barna survey which coincides with the release of a new book.  The summary of the survey opens up this way:

Since 1990, the percentage of unchurched adults in America has risen from 30% to 43% of the population. Even as this segment has grown, has their profile changed?

Barna Group has identified five trends in its research that are contributing to the increase in the churchless of America.  The big picture is this:  Today's unchurched are much less likely to come from a church background than ever before.  Furthermore, unchurched people today have different expectations of church involvement from those of previous decades.  The summary notes that, "These changes are the result of shifting personal attitudes as well as significant changes in the broader cultural landscape."

This study comes in conjunction with the release of Churchless, a new book from veteran researchers George Barna and David Kinnaman, which draws on more than two decades of tracking research and more than 20 nationwide studies of the unchurched.

Here are 5 trends that the research has identified:

1. Secularization Is on the Rise

38% of the nation's adult population now qualifies as post-Christian (measured by 15 different variables related to people's identity, beliefs and behaviors).  Another 28% is moderately post-Christian. The research shows that the proportion of highly secularized individuals is growing slowly but steadily.

2. People Are Less Open to the Idea of Church

Twenty years ago, 65% of churchless Americans were open to being invited to church by a friend. Today, that percentage has slipped to 47%.  But, an invitation from a friend is the top-rated way churches can establish connections with the unchurched.   The trend data does raise questions about the long-term durability of this approach.

3. Churchgoing Is No Longer Mainstream

The Barna Group survey notes that, "churchgoing is slowly but incontrovertibly losing its role as a normative part of American life. In the 1990s, roughly one out of every seven unchurched adults had never experienced regular church attendance. Today, that percentage has increased to nearly one-quarter."  But, there is some news that could be regarded as encouraging:  Even though the cultural trend is toward less church-friendliness overall, the vast majority of unchurched adults still have at least some level of personal experience in a church.

4. There Are Different Expectations of Church Involvement

Only 57% of churchless adults say they would be interested in Sunday worship as their starting point for church attendance, a decline from nearly 7 in 10 in the early 90's.  And, brand loyalty is declining - two decades ago, 85% said they would expect to attend just one congregation. The recent study reflects a slight loosening of this potential loyalty.

5. There Is Skepticism about Churches' Contributions to Society

When the unchurched were asked to describe what they believe are the positive and negative contributions of Christianity in America, 49% could not identify a single favorable impact of the Christian community, while nearly 37% were unable to identify a negative impact.

David Kinnaman, president of Barna Group and co-editor, with George Barna, of the new book, Churchless, from which this data is taken, says, "The gap between the churched and the churchless is growing, and it appears that Christian communities of faith will struggle more than ever to engage church outsiders in their neighborhood, town or city."

He poses the question, "How can we recapture an urgency to fulfill the Great Commission while treating our churchless friends with respect?"  He adds, "Wrestling with answers to this question will help prepare a faith community to engage more meaningfully with unchurched people."

I had some thoughts about the nature of the church - first of all, while one could associate "the church" with a building and even regard it as a valid institution in our society (which it is), first and foremost, the church is the body of Christ, comprised by real people serving a real Savior who invites people to experience His reality.  The degree of effectiveness of the church is determined by the degree in which its people reflect the love of Christ.  

I think this research can really cause us to think about the way that we "do church."  And, while there can be an expectation that people will continue to come to church locales, especially when invited, I believe that we can look for ways to engage with people outside the church physical property.  I think of Jesus and how He went from city to city and began to teach.  It is true that He did set up at the synagogues, but the majority of His recorded ministry seems to be out in the community, sort of speak.

The church has a wonderful opportunity to be on display so that people see Jesus, and our primary mission has not changed - to go into the world and make disciples.  While that mission and the gospel message are timeless, our ways of communicating His truth can change. That's the challenge that we can each approach prayerfully, to ask God to show us ways in which He can use us to live out His love.

God's Rescuing Agents

In Galatians 1, we read a passage that reminds us that Jesus has come to rescue us from the power of sin, who has extended grace to us so that we might come to know Him: 
3Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,4who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,5to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

We serve a God who loved us so much that, even though humanity departed from His ways, He sent His only son so that in Him fallen human beings might have a right relationship with Himself.  In our sinful state, apart from God, He has made it possible for our lives to be transformed and our hearts renewed by His power and grace.  Jesus is our rescuer, delivering us from the forces of evil so that we might lead lives that are pleasing to God and that we might walk in victory through Him.

In Isaiah 43, we see verses that testify to the faithfulness of God, who is with us, and wants to express His love to us...and through us:

1But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.

There was a daring rescue caught on video in Fresno, California recently. A two-unit apartment building was ablaze.  An article on The Christian Post website described the scene: 73-year-old Robert Wells "couldn't make it out of this life-threatening situation on his own. But, several minutes into this house fire, a man came out of nowhere to grab Robert and carry him out to safety." The article stated that "...everyone watching witnessed a big explosion in the house, but saw a man running through the smoke with a man on his back."  It says that, "The man then took Robert to a safe place and takes off. He was a guardian angel for the man stuck in the building! God bless this man and his family!"

The man was later identified, according to ABC30.com, as Thomas Artiaga, who was caught on camera running with Wells on his shoulder as flames tore through the building this past Saturday morning.  A slow-moving Wells was stuck in his backyard. Flames and smoke surrounded his escape, at least until Artiaga and three other men rushed in to help.

Later, after his identity was revealed, Artiaga reunited with Wells at the hotel where their family was staying, Wells said to Artiaga, "I guess I wasn't going fast enough for you." Artiaga replied, "No, I seen you by the fence and seen you couldn't walk that good...My first reaction was grab you and pick you up."

He remains humble about the experience, saying he wasn't acting bravely or even courageously. He just acted. "It was just an instinct, you know," he said. "Instinct, you see someone and help out people."

"He's one of those Good Samaritans that's hard to find anymore," Wells said.

The television report says that, "Artiaga is still offering the Wells family help. And they need it since they say they lost everything in this fire."

This story can certainly help inspire us, and it is interesting that several Biblical references have come into play here.  Let's think together about God's rescuing agents:

First of all, The Christian Post had described Thomas Artiaga as a "guardian angel."  Of course, he was later identified, but think for a moment - if it had never been revealed who Thomas was, could you have concluded it was an angel?  If you examine the Biblical accounts of angelic encounters, I think we have to open ourselves up to believe that angels are working in our world today, and may even take upon themselves physical form.  I do believe that we have angels among us, doing the work of God, and we can acknowledge their presence.

Then, the man who was rescued described Thomas as a "Good Samaritan."  That could certainly be applied here.  Artiaga was willing to step in to help.  He even took a risk in order to help save this man who was trapped.   And, he continues to want to assist.  When you read the parable of the Good Samaritan, you see that the person who helped not only rescued the man by the side of the road, but he went further and continued to help take care of him, including making sure he had a place to stay. 

Finally, let's think together about our ultimate rescuer, the One who has come to rescue us from eternal flames, to offer us eternity not in punishment, but in glory.  Jesus came to intervene in our lives - to save us and to give us a right relationship with God, which has enormous implications here on earth as we experience His transformation.  And, He gives us a new home in eternity.  We give God the praise for rescuing us and bringing us salvation!

The Stolen Bell and a Silent Voice

We are called to be proclaimers of the Word of God, recognizing the power that His truth has.  In Isaiah 55, we read this about God's Word:
10"For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,11So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.12"For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

We can examine our hearts and lives to make sure that we have confidence in the Word of God.  If we're allowing the Word to shape our lives and we have developed an enthusiasm to live out God's truth, then our lives will reflect His presence and the effectiveness of His truth.  We can communicate to the world that we serve a God Who loves us, walks with us, directs our lives, and Who offers a way of salvation through which people can know unlimited love and perfect peace.  God is calling us into a love relationship with Himself, and He will make Himself known to us as we seek Him diligently.

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We have been given the responsibility to be representatives of Christ in this world, and He desires to use us to speak words of life for Him.  This passage in 2nd Corinthians 5 is a reminder:
18Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,19that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.20Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

When First Baptist Church in Gloversville, New York was demolished back in 2011, its church bell, dating back to the 1800's, was given to the city.  Now it's missing...

According to a report on the Time Warner Cable News website for the Albany/Capital Region, the 5-foot, 2500-pound brass bell had been placed into a storage site, which was apparently no easy task. It was noticed that the bell was missing several weeks ago when workers went to move it to its new home at the Fulton County Museum. Gloversville police chief Donald Van Deusen says, "I find it hard to believe one person would be able to go in there and remove it." He added, "I'm assuming somebody would have to have some large equipment and several individuals involved in this."

Mayor Dayton King says, "Right now we're looking at all the scrap yards, all the antique places, anybody that might have any interest in this value." He says the biggest challenge is figuring out when the bell was actually stolen. He says, "We're not ruling anything out, we're turning over every stone that we can."

OK, this is quite the mystery.  It seems something this large would have turned up at some point, and you just have to wonder how this relic may have been damaged in the process.

And, I was curious about what happened to First Baptist Church.  A Google search does not yield a listing, but I did come across a "Lost Landmarks" site, which had a page called "The Leaning Tower of Gloversville." The author writes, "The steeple of the First Baptist Church remained Gloversville New York’s compass pole even after the sanctuary fell vacant and cracks zig-zagged across its brownstone façade. In its absence, the view down South Main Street will seem flat and featureless."

A closed church, now a stolen bell.  It must have been grand many years ago as the church bell chimed out a glorious sound, beckoning people to come to attend.  The bell was the church's voice, physically speaking, but we do know that the people were really the ones who ultimately made up the church and would be the ambassadors for the church and for the Lord.

But, I do think about the concept of the stolen bell and relate it to how the church's voice to our culture is in danger of being stolen away.  If we're not careful, we can allow the enemy to steal our voice away.  We have to make sure that he is not inhabiting our minds, inhibiting our witness, and intimidating us into silence.  If we accommodate sin, that prevents our light from shining as brightly. Our love for the Lord grows cold, and the practice of our faith, instead of providing a call to the culture to follow Jesus, becomes less vibrant and perhaps even hidden, stolen away by a relentless enemy.

Who knows why First Baptist Church closed - before the building fell into disrepair and was eventually demolished, there must have been some sort of decline in the congregation.  We have to be so sure that we are allowing God to work through us, that we are devoted to growing in our faith individually and collectively and patterning our lives after God's Word.  

Supernatural Strength and Wings Like Eagles

We serve a strong and reliable God, who has given to us wonderful promises that can be incredibly beneficial as we follow Him.  Here are the words of Ephesians 3:
20Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,21to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

The Bible teaches that in our weakness, we can encounter the incredible strength of the Lord - as we are willing to turn aside from self-reliance and depend on the presence of God, Who is near to us, then we can experience what He has to give us.  He has provided unlimited spiritual resources and wants to accomplish in our lives what only He can.  Our human effort can yield a certain level of achievement, but the Lord wants to show us what He can and is willing to do, so that He receives all the glory!

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Here are some great words of encouragement that underscore the promise of God's strength to the weak, from Isaiah 40:
28Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.29He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength.30Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,31But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

Customers have made the amazing discovery that the energy drink Red Bull does not "give you wings," as the manufacturer had claimed nor can it increase athletic performance.

A piece on the International Business Times website quoted a report that said certain purchasers of Red Bull filed a lawsuit against the parent company because they said they were misled by the “Red Bull gives you wings” slogan into believing that the energy drink could increase consumers’ speed and athletic performance, quoting beverage industry news source BevNET.  “Such deceptive conduct and practices mean that [Red Bull’s] advertising and marketing is not just ‘puffery,’ but is instead deceptive and fraudulent and is therefore actionable,” the lawsuit states.

The company agreed in August to pay more than $13 million to settle the false-advertising suit. Customers could choose between $10 cash or $15 in Red Bull products IF they could prove that they purchased a product since January 1, 2002.  But there is a cap, according to the IB Times, the settlement fund will contain $6.5 million to be doled out to consumers who purchased Red Bull over the past 12 years - so if there are more than 650,000 claimants who choose the cash, then the amount goes down.

Red Bull denies misleading consumers.  The company told BevNET in a statement, "Red Bull settled the lawsuit to avoid the cost and distraction of litigation...However, Red Bull maintains that its marketing and labeling have always been truthful and accurate, and denies any and all wrongdoing or liability."  

So, Red Bull did not provide the increased athletic acumen, as some perceived that it had promised. But, its promises to pay off have a limit.  But, isn't that the nature of human promises sometimes?   This story can give us several spiritual reminders.  

First of all, we have to make sure that we are not promising people that we will do something for them and then not follow through.   If we are exhibiting the character of Christ, then I believe that reliability and integrity will be traits that we would want to display.

But, we do serve a God who has provided for us what the Bible terms are exceedingly great and precious promises.   We can depend on God's Word, recognize that we have enormous resources available to us, and call on Him in order to activate and appropriate those resources in our lives.

One of those promises is spiritual strength!   He does not promise that we will sprout wings, but the Word does say that if we wait upon Him, if we minister unto Him and spend time abiding in His presence, then we can renew our strength - figuratively speaking, the phrase tells us that we will "mount up with wings like eagles."  So, if we want to truly soar spiritually, then we respond to God's invitation to come into His presence and connect to Him.

Bring on the Purple Penguins - NOT!

The Bible provides a clear delineation about what is of God and what is not, what is of the Lord and what is of the world.  Here are words found in 1st John 2:
15Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.16For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.17And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

There is confusion in our world today.  We become disoriented when we depart from the absolute principles that are found in God's Word.  We attempt to accommodate sin and end up in a dangerous position in our spirits.  We have to recognize that alignment with God's ways is the way of peace and the path of clarity.  He desires for us to embrace His truth, to understand and apply His principles, and to activate His Spirit as He teaches and empowers us to follow Christ in a world that has a propensity to compromise or reject that truth.

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Jesus taught in Matthew chapter 19 about God's design for gender and for marriage.  He said:

4And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'5and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'?6So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

The Lincoln Public Schools district in Nebraska is concerned about gender confusion and thinks it has taken some steps to address it.  According to ChristianNews.net, the district's teacher and administrative training urges faculty to stop using gender-specific terms such as “boys and girls,” in favor of more inclusive language so as to accommodate transgender students or those who don’t think they fit into any gender.

One of the documents issued to teachers to promote the use of more gender-neutral terms is produced by the organization Gender Spectrum and outlines “12 Easy Steps On the Way to Gender Inclusiveness.”  It gives these directions: “Don’t use phrases such as ‘boys and girls,’ ‘you guys,’ ‘ladies and gentlemen,’ and similarly gendered expressions to get kids’ attention,” It goes on to say, “Instead say things like ‘calling all readers,’ or ‘hey campers’ or ‘could all of the athletes come here.’ Create classroom names and then ask all of the ‘purple penguins’ to meet at the rug.”

National Review reports that the teachers were also given a handout created by the Center for Gender Sanity, which explains to them that “Gender identity . . . can’t be observed or measured, only reported by the individual,” and an infographic called “The Genderbred Person,” which was produced by www.ItsPronouncedMetroSexual.com.

Despite controversy, Lincoln Superintendent Steve Joel has declared that he is “happy” and “pleased” with the training documents.

ChristianNews.net refers to a report from The Lincoln Journal-Star about handouts that discuss the
that discuss the “continuum of sex and gender, and that the human condition doesn’t operate on a strict binary system of male and female.”

Joel additionally outlined that although the training is in place, teachers are not required to eliminate gender-specific terms.

“Never once has anyone inside our system mandated that a teacher take [the words] ‘boys’ and ‘girls’ or ‘ladies’ and ‘gentlemen’ out of their interactions with children or interaction with adults,” he said.

No doubt, when the school board met this past Tuesday, there was, according to The Lincoln Journal-Star, an overflow crowd that weighed in on gender inclusiveness training for teachers, with some admonishing the district for promoting a political agenda and others commending it for its efforts.

More than 40 people spent more than 2½ hours taking turns at the podium to offer their views on the issue.  The school board website quotes Board President Richard Meginnis, who said, “It is a testament to our community that we all came together and had a calm and civil conversation.” The website quotes the Superintendent, who thanked “all the parents and patrons who took the time to come out and share their thoughts…It’s heartening to hear so many of our trusted, loyal LPS supporters…hopefully have an understanding of what we’re trying to do… is always going to be about creating relationships with individual students…so that those students can be successful.”

I think you have to read these news accounts with a certain amount of dismay.  If a person is confused about his or her gender, despite the biological evidence, that person is in need of understanding and compassion - absolutely.  I would recommend a re-emphasis on God's design. But, to accommodate the misguided rejection of that design is definitely not the correct plan of action.  

While the Superintendent attempts to couch the training materials as "optional," the very fact that they are even being made available in the first place should lead to concern.  System leaders, while touting the citizens' civil behavior, show no signs of backing down from this outrageous policy - purple penguins?  Really?  Don't use references to boys and girls?  

The truth is that the Bible teaches that God created us male and female.  Period.  When one departs from the Biblical and biological model of a so-called "binary"system and moves to a view of a "gender spectrum," then you are opening the door for all sorts of confusion.  The confusion is the by-product of the accommodation - if you plant thoughts that somehow verify misguided ideas about gender, then impressionable young minds perhaps would seize on those, which then causes public officials to think that they somehow need to accommodate the confusion.   It's a vicious and destructive cycle.  

This is another indication of the re-definition of societal norms in our society.  Christians necessarily need to speak with clarity on this and a variety of other issues - the Bible teaches in terms of absolutes; modern culture has crafted shades of gray.  And, when you depart from the black-and-white, tried-and-true principles that teach us how to live and even how to understand scientific facts, then you open the door to all sorts of errant ideas.  I think it's important that we appreciate who God has made us to be. 

I would dare say that the confusion doesn't go away just because you would try to accommodate it. In the name of tolerance, our society has a greater acceptance level of departure from the Scriptures. We can be challenged to be people of clarity, who stand against the dangerous decline of morality, but who are dedicated to helping people who are experiencing confusion in their own minds, regarding this and a host of other issues.