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evangelism

When reality falls through the cracks

Posted on January 25, 2012 by jon in culture, evangelism, random thoughts | Leave a comment

I was standing in line at a local store last week, and as I was waiting there, I noticed that this particular store had a shelf, probably 10 feet long, as you stood in line waiting to checkout. On this shelf was every piece of religious nonsense I’ve ever seen.

Have you ever seen any of these things?

For example – one of the most common things are the mints. I’ve seen them called different things. These were called “Spiritmints,” a play on the word “spearment.” I saw 4 or 5 different variations of these things. I also saw, and noted, the following:

  • Pencil toppers shaped like Jesus
  • Religious-themed tea. Yes, tea.
  • Several shirts with not-so-clever sayings.
  • Copper bracelets that were engraved with the name of Jesus. You know, those bracelets that are supposed to make us skinny, bring world peace, etc.
  • Virgin Mary air fresheners.
  • …and the list goes on and on.

Here’s the thing. It’s pretty evident that the folks who make these types of things are clearly economizing religious culture. And really, in our country, I’m not totally sure it’s all their fault for doing so. But…

Where has our reality gone? I understand that we are called to live outside the norm, to do uncommon things to reach people – hey, I’ll preach that all day long. But really? Is this it? Is this what we’ve decided as a culture to do? Is this the best way to reach people?

I may be wrong (and please correct me if you’re an exception here), but I don’t believe anyone has ever been saved by a Spiritmint. I don’t believe that a lost person has ever come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior because they found him on the bottom of their cereal bowl. Again, I may be wrong. But that’s because none of this stuff was ever intended for non-Christians. It was intended as dollar-generators for people of supposed faith.

Part of our culture seems to have transcended into this bizarre alter-reality where life with Jesus means we all live on clouds and baby kittens gently glide down from the sky while our kids dance on rainbows before getting their sparkly pony to go night-night. I mean, really. All you have to do is have a mint and your spirit will be renewed. When you make a mistake, your Jesus eraser will be there to remind you that your sins have been wiped away.

Here’s the truth in this. The best representation of Christ is nothing that can be bought. It’s you. Make no mistake about it. The spreading of the gospel needs you and I far more than air fresheners.

I’ve actually had a Spiritmint. And you know what? I’d prefer the ones from Sonic.

What’s some other Jesus Junk you’ve seen personally?

BOLD / Part One

Posted on January 6, 2012 by jon in culture, evangelism, life choices, mission, random thoughts | Leave a comment


God has been teaching me about boldness over the last few months. I just want to share with you today a few things I believe He has been teaching me about this character trait; some of the things I’m wrestling with right now.

As I see it, there are a number of areas of our lives where boldness is needed. Let’s look at three of them today. I’ll cover three more tomorrow.

I’ll go with a first-person perspective here:

  1. BOLD obedience. Obeying God is easy when God’s will lines up with my own plans. But when the voice of God points me in another direction, the decision to obey is bold. Take my decision to leave my former church in early 2011. My plan was to stay put. My plan was to do what made sense logically, financially, and responsibly in my life and the lives of my family. God called me out of that, however. Following that call took boldness. I’m not trying to toot my own horn here. In fact, I was literally terrified at the thought of what it would take to make all of this happen at that time. However, in retrospect, the decision to be obedient to the Lord was one that He blessed.
  2. BOLD communication. I used to be a very “beat around the bush” kind of person. I was pretty passive-agressive. I never really told people what was on my mind. There are still times when this creeps back in, but like I said, these are things I’m working through. I’ve had some conversations with some people recently that have required me to be very straightforwardly honest, regardless of the cost, and God has proven to honor those discussions. I’m learning that being as upfront as possible with people is a spiritual character trait. It carries over well to evangelism. Talking to someone about Jesus isn’t easy, and isn’t something we can dance around.
  3. BOLD love and compassion. The Lord has been completely changing how I view people. I’m not sure when exactly this started, but I know that at this point in my life I can honestly say that I am viewing every person alive and a child that is loved by a Heavenly Father unconditionally, and I am to love people in the same way. THIS IS HARD. But when I put my own life into perspective, I am incredibly thankful that my God loves me regardless of anything I’ve ever done because of who He is and what He has done.

I believe these three principles of boldness, if applied directly, can drastically improve our marriages, our parenting, our friendships, our churches, and our culture in major ways.

Be bold today. Have bold conversations. Be boldly obedient. Love people boldly.

Tomorrow I’ll share three other areas of boldness that can completely change our lives – if we’re willing.

How can you be bold right now?

Here’s how we make a difference.

Posted on January 5, 2012 by jon in evangelism, internet findings, mission | Leave a comment

Passion is an annual gathering of college students from around the world in Atlanta, GA.

It’s a few days full of worship and teaching, aimed at making the name of Jesus famous.

Do Something Now is an organization of Passion that is geared towards doing good in the world in Jesus’ name.

What happens when the annual gathering of students combines with the force of Do Something Now? Watch below.

THIS is how we make a difference in our world. NOW.

For more, visit Passion or Do Something Now.

Use words when necessary

Posted on November 8, 2011 by jon in evangelism, leadership, random thoughts | Leave a comment

The things you do carry much more weight than the things you say.

St. Francis of Assisi put it best when he said, “Preach the gospel at all times. Used words when necessary.”

What are the implications of that?

Did you know you can be preach without talking?

There’s nothing more evangelistic than a life that is obviously sold out to Jesus. All the teaching and preaching in the world won’t outweigh the actions of the faithful.

I’ve been preached to so many times by the generosity of people, the humility of people, the faithfulness of people, and the ways I’ve witnessed Jesus in people.

1Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2“The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. – Matthew 23:1-3 (NIV)

Do you want people to think that about you?

Or do you want people saying “Do what they do!”?

This isn’t just for preachers, folks. This is really for anyone who speaks with an intent to influence anyone else. This is for parents. This is for teachers. This is for anyone who’s trying to convince anyone of anything.

Here’s a quick challenge to you and me today: Live a life worth modeling.

People often say, “never underestimate the effect your words can have on someone.”

How about this, though… Never underestimate the effect your actions can have on your words.

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