ChurchApplied

Common Ground

How do we share Jesus with those who don't feel they need Him? Should we even try? Recently a friend contacted me who is heading an effort to share God's message with his community. After spending 2 or 3 Sabbath afternoons knocking on doors to try and engage people in spiritual dialog, he was kind of frustrated. He said, "the people are nice and considerate, but they don't have an interest in studying the Bible."

Trail Runner - Stockxpert

I say, If that's true, then we know Bible study isn't common ground. We may feel like we have something to say, but clearly this is not the appropriate way to reach their hearts.

The question begs to be asked, what do people need or want that we can give? Here's an idea that was recently suggested by a couple of friends who live in the Riverside, San Bernardino area.

Everyone wants to be healthy! Nobody likes to be sick. This is common ground. That doesn't mean everyone wants to talk about disease prevention. Unfortunately, most don't want to talk about it until they are sick. But what if we developed a set of on-line study guides (brief and easy to follow) that helped people better their physical and spiritual lives? And what if they could be linked to a local church that wanted to offer classes on weight loss, time management, finances, or other topics. Yes, finances. I believe finance is a health topic because it directly affects our sense of well-being and level of stress. If you've lost your job and can't pay your rent or mortgage you're health is going to suffer.

What do you think about this? Do you think more people would respond positively to this than to an invitation to study the Bible? It's not a new idea. For years, Seventh-day Adventists have helped people improve their lives through health education. But in many places this has not been done for years. For whatever reason, we've gotten away from doing it.

1). Might it work in your community, if done right?

2). Could the Internet be pivotal in helping it to succeed?

The AnswersForMe website was designed with kind of outreach in mind. Maybe now we need to make the package complete with a set of on-line, self-correcting lessons, and 4-color flyers that can be passed out in communities for local classes and one-day events. 

What do you think? I would love to hear your feedback on this.

What If?

On the whole we are too accepting of ourselves and our plight. We reason that we cannot effect change, or that the people around us don't really want to change. So the status quo becomes the accepted norm. We say, "this is just the way things are."

Open Door - Photo by Dreamstime

Over the last two years I have become acquainted with the young woman who cuts my hair. She's told me quite a bit about her parents and siblings and personal aspirations. She went to a beauty college straight out of high school and has been cutting hair for several years. I'm guessing she is is probably in her late twenties. Recently she realized she didn't like the future she was creating for herself. So she decided to ask the "what if" question. She asked, "What if I was a nurse, instead of a hair dresser?"

The more she thought about it and talked about it with others, the more she liked it. Finally one day she went to the local community college and filled out an application to enter the nursing program. She reached that critical point where she began to act on her dream. She has now completed her first three quarters and is loving it. Asking the "what if" question allowed her to view life in a whole new way. She realized she had the power to think and act differently.

What if we applied the "what if" question to our lives? What if we applied it to our church and to our God-given mission?

What if we prayed every day for our neighbors?
What if we watched for opportunities to encourage others?
What if we asked Jesus to use us as He sees fit?
What if went out of our way to speak positive words to our children every day?
What if we spent 30 minutes to an hour each day in God's word?
What if we started walking 2 miles a day and cut back on our calorie intake by 10%?
What if we decided to change the course of our lives and start pursuing our dreams? 

We may like where we are and may have the assurance that we are on the right track. If so, we can praise God for that. But it's comforting to know that nothing is set in concrete. Every day opens up new possibilities. The only limiting factor is our inattention to God's leading and our failure to ask, "what if?"

Rich DuBose is director of Church Support Services for the Pacific Union Conference.

God-On-the-Internet

The idea that there is a God is not universally accepted. Such a belief requires a source of knowledge that explains who God is, what He is like and how He relates to our world. Some view the Bible as the supreme authority of truth, therefore whatever it says about God they consider it fact. Others are either skeptical or believe there is no single authority that we can look to for faith. They tend to put more weight on experience and personal knowledge.

Surfing the Web - Photo by Dreamstime

The knowledge we have about God is limited to what we have been taught, witnessed or experienced. If we were in a court of law trying to prove a point, we would introduce all the evidence we could find to support our case. We would not limit ourselves to only one source of evidence.

The fact is, we cannot prove (beyond all doubt) there is a God. At least not in a legal, scientific way. But there is abundant evidence that strongly suggests that God is alive and well. 

God-On-the-Internet is a project that uses the Internet as its primary source to substantiate a belief in God. You can help build the case for God's existence with your contributions.

God-On-the-Internet consists of a series of statements that readers are invited to respond to with Internet-based answers (meaning the content was found on the Internet). Anything can be used as long as it supports the premise and is Internet-based. Please provide your selected quote and the website where you found it.

1) There is such a thing as authoritative truth.

Sowing and Reaping

What goes around comes around. Every farmer knows that if you plant cabbage, you're going to harvest cabbage. The same principle applies to our personal lives. If we violate laws, we're going to reap the consequences.

Camarillo Cabbage Field - By Rich DuBose

Research clearly shows that physical inactivity leads to an increase in mortality rates. People who are sedentary have more heart disease, more strokes and more cancers than people who are physically active. Diet also plays into this. The point is, the choices we make have a direct impact on the longevity and quality of our lives.

People who violate civil laws typically end up reaping a harvest. Either they spend their lives looking over their shoulders while running from the law, or they reap the consequence of forced compliance (either through fines or incarceration). According to the U.S Justice Department, by midyear 2002, over 2 million Americans found themselves in jail. I'll venture to guess that most of these people never dreamed their actions or in-actions would result in such a harvest.

The Bible says, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap." (Galatians 6:7)

What kind of harvest are you expecting? What kind of seeds are you planting?

Living Waters

A few months ago I had the privilege of visiting Daryl and Mary Jo Oft in Payson, Arizona, where they operate a nursing service to Payson and several nearby communities. But that's only how they make a living. Their real mission is to share God's message of hope, to alleviate suffering, and to do what they can to make the world a better place.

Several years ago God lead them to a little island community, Kaswanga, Kenya, to assist the people there with some of their urgent needs. This has developed into their working with Kaswanga and Wanyama (both fishing villages on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria).

 
Bread Making - Mary Jo Oft with a local resident

In addition to holding evangelistic meetings, the Oft's have helped locals stabilize their water supply, plant gardens and establish a feeding center to feed the many area orphans who have lost their parents to HIV. Read more about their ministry at Living Waters International.