Facing the Facts about Mobilizing Ministry in a Media Age

The average Facebook user has 20+ "friends," according to Usama Nasir's "16 Social Media & Blogging Stats of 2012"

Digital Buzz Blog states that 55% of Twitter users access the platform via mobile devices.  Additionally, the site also states: Out of the 6 billion people on the planet 4.8 billion have a mobile and only 4.2 billion own a toothbrush.

Is it time for your ministry to go mobile?

Let's face the facts.  People are using all sorts of mobile devices.  It is a global trend.

But you are just getting your website revamped. Let's not to mention the fact that you have yet to update the pastor's blog or the photo gallery that have no new photos since 2010.

I am just saying.  Now you know I don't mean any harm.

Let's get mobilized with the times.  We are called to lead people in the world to Christ. Yet, if the world all are captivated by Miley Cyrus VMA video clips and TMZ news feeds on their iPhones and tablets, then we had better come up with some methods for entering the multimedia marketplace with an action plan and some real strategies that can deliver results without burning out our congregations or volunteers and that won't cost loads and loads of money.  After all, Jesus ministered in the marketplace.  Paul did so, too.  The other Apostles reached people by the methods of their times, too.  Imagine what they would have done with email, text messages, and YouTube.

Stay tuned as I launch several posts in a series on starting your own multimedia ministry.  The series will span several weeks and include some interesting pieces on mobile sites, video conferencing, and other methods.

Leaders Lead by the Light

Ye are the light of the world. 
A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 
- Matthew 5:14

Let's be honest.  Real Christian leadership cannot simply rely on charismatic personas or catchy buzz words and slogans.  Christian leadership must embody the True Light (John 1:9).  Christian leadership must reflect that same Light.  Christian leadership must lead others by living as "the light of the world."

We cannot hide that light.
We cannot dim that light.
We cannot deny that light.

We must let our light shine before others in order to lead others to the True Light.  

A Penetrating Gospel

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. - Matthew 24:14 (NIV)

The "gospel of the kingdom" is to preached.  It is to penetrate throughout "the whole world as a testimony to all nations." There is no end of times until this is done. 

The gospel is to be proclaimed by those of us who believe it and know it as truth.  We cannot expect the world to carry its message forth.  The news media will not do it.  Certainly, we cannot expect the educational system or institutions of higher learning to spread the word about it.  No, we must proclaim it and penetrate the entire world with it, spreading around the seed that must be sown upon this earth.

We must go far and wide with the "gospel of the kingdom." It cannot remain contained behind the stained glass of our sanctuaries.  It cannot simply rest in our hearts.  It must come forth through our active engagement of sharing it with others. 

Let us approach this task as our primary activity while alive on this earth.  We must approach it with faith and fervor, fueled by the Holy Spirit who sets us afire to speak boldly of His endless grace and eternal love.  Let this gospel go forth out of you for all that God has bestowed upon you as one of His own children.

"We may well be ashamed of our own personal imperfections, but we have no need to be ashamed of our doctrine." - J.C. Ryle

5 Things Christians can Learn from the 2012 Political Race

"Those who are too smart to engage in politics are punished

by being governed by those who are dumber."

-Plato

Read Plato's Republic or Walden by Henry David Thoreau and you can get a worldly view on politics and its citizenry.  That may not go well with the Bible.  In fact, it may not match at all.  However, there are some key things that Christians can learn by observing the current political race for presidency.

1. You have to announce that you are running in the race.  Christians should not act like they have the best-kept secret in town.  The gospel is translated as "good news." You share good news.  You don't keep it to yourself.  We have to announce it to the world that we are in the race.
2. You have to make an effort to reach people one way or another.  The Obama Campaign of 2008 incorporated all sorts of means and mediums to involve every type of potential voter around the country.  We have to reach people with our message with the same fervor that candidates push their agendas and campaign slogans online and in print, even through the media and public appearances.
3. You have to let people know where you stand on the issues that matter to them.  Politicians will constantly talk about taxes, public assistance programs, business development and employment, even education and health care.  They may step into controversial areas like birth control, abortion and same sex marriage, even illegal immigration.  We have to know what matters to people and share where we stand with people.  We lose any opportunity to win souls like we should when we fail to share what the Good Book says about this life and eternity.  Look at Luis Palau, James Dobson and Chuck Colson for examples of how to evangelize with hope and a firm standing on the issues of today.
4. You have to keep your cool and your composure in the heat of the debate.  Political jousting is nothing new.  It is as old as politics itself.  However, as Christians, we have to be able to maintain our cool when our beliefs are attacked.  We cannot get on the defensive, taking it personal, and become arrogant or abusive with our attackers.  The Bible tells us that our spiritual warfare is not fought against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:10-18).  After all, even as Jesus hung on the cross, He did not call upon the armies of angels to rescue Him as He endured the fatal punishment of the storied execution style of the Romans and the cruel mistreatment of His own people.  We, too, must endure the attacks of slander and assumptions regarding our beliefs.
5. You have to carry yourself as a winner.  No candidate enters the race with the hopes of being a loser.  No, political candidates go for broke with a winning attitude.  They are confident in their own abilities.  We do not have to get conceited or cocky.  We just have to go forward in faith, with full belief in the Lord's ability to provide for us and protect us.  We have to take Paul's words to heart, believing: "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."

Witness to the World

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria,
and to the ends of the earth.
- Acts 1:8 (NIV)

Jesus shared that the Holy Spirit would come and empower His followers.  He pointed out that His disciples would serve as witnesses of Him all over, even "to the ends of the earth."



He spoke of specific places where they would witness, but He also shared of how the message would transcend their locale "to the ends of the earth." Their witness was so powerful that others caught on fire with the Good News and took hold of it.  They shared the gospel message and it spread throughout the world as God's people were dispersed under persecution.



You should be a witness of God's gospel of grace and forgiveness.  Let your testimony speak of God's lovingkindess towards all men.  Let your witness spread throughout the world.  Speak of God's goodness and grace by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Speak of it and spread it "to the ends of the earth."

Holy Spirit Work

For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say. - Luke 12:12 (KJV)

The Holy Spirit has a serious job to do.  Jesus explained that to His disciples right before He departed this earth.  Many theologians have studied and researched about the Spirit.  Yet, we still have some trouble with the whole concept of the Holy Spirit.

Realize the Holy Spirit's power and work.  The Holy Spirit teaches and takes us to task.  He is the Comforter.  He is the Helper.  He reminds us of what the Father has commanded of us and what Jesus has provided for us.


Let the Holy Spirit:

• Work on you like the power He has to exhibit as part of the Godhead.
• Work in you through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit baptized within you at the point of belief.
• Work through you in a powerful way that allows others to see God at work through your good works.

Analyzing the Church's Commitment to the Its Calling

“Don’t ask what the world needs.

Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.

Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."

- Howard Thurman (Christian clergyman, author, and activist)

Analyze where the Christian church stands today.  Take an honest look at the standing of one of the most treasured institutions of society.  Make an earnest appraisal of the modern church.  See where the church stands today.

For far too long, in the eyes of many, the church has remained in isolation.  In the opinion of some, the church has appeared inactive, almost docile, dormant and dulled, if not deadened.  Others have said that the church has simply dwindled into a state of sheer ineffectiveness.

George Barna has studied and evaluated the church for years.  Henry Blackaby has shared some insights and findings as well.  John Maxwell has offered multiple volumes on Christian leadership.  Rick Warren weighed in with The Purpose Driven Church.  There is no shortage of Christian perspectives of what the church is not and where the church has fallen short.

Don't disregard the Reformation or the Great Awakening.  Don't toss aside the Progressives or the Abolitionists.  Do not forsake the social activism of Prohibition and the Salvation Army, YMCA, and YWCA.  Don't forget how Christians fought Darwinism and the teaching of evolutionism in the U.S. school system.  Forget not Azusa Street and the likes of Oral Roberts or Billy Graham.  Do not frown upon the church's role in the Civil Rights Movement, the anti-war protests, and the pro-life debates.  Consider all of the church's storied past.

Recall that the church has been called to be more than a building.  The church has a calling as the body of Christ.  Look at Luis Palau, Chuck Colson and Prison Fellowship, and the countless missionaries and ministries that exist today.  See how many are fed, clothed, sheltered and ministered to through street ministries and storefronts alike.  See the church playing an active role in society.

Do not grapple with public opinion.  Do not spend hour upon hour debating with the church's critics.  Stand proudly and boldly to be counted among the many who diligently serve the Lord by doing all that they can with what little they have for "the least of these."



Develop Difference Makers

 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen. - Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV)

The Great Commission gives us the disciple-making formula.  We have been referencing it for years.  We have used it for our mantra in evangelizing the entire world, putting much of our focus on the going and baptizing with regards to all nations and unto the end of the world. 

What about the teaching part?

. . . and teach all nations. . .
. . . Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. . .

Our discipleship process should make a difference.  It should make a difference in the people who are discipled by us.  It should make a difference in them as they become fishers of men.  It should make a difference in them to the point where they make a difference in the world around them.  We, as the body of Christ, are to develop difference makers.

Get ideas and insights on how to develop difference makers:

• Outreach Magazine
• Urban Ministry
• Life Church
• Relevant  Magazine

We need today's Christian to be able to sort through the muck and the mire.  We need Christians who will know what is truth and what is false, calling out the false prophets and standing for the truth.  We need Christians who are not blinded by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, MTV and other fantasies.  We need people who will stand upright as the world goes astray, working in this ministry of reconciliation.  We need Christians to serve as Christ's army.

Read the likes of J.C. Ryle, Francis Chan, Oswald Chambers, Watchman Nee, William Wilberforce, and William Carey.  Try to get a hold of the works of Hudson Taylor, Richard Allen, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Al Sharpton.  Look into men like William Tyndale, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and John Bunyan.  Let the words of these men sink into your heart, mind and soul.  See how they made a difference.  See how others taught and trained them.  See how you can develop others to make a difference.

Encourage as You Evangelize

How is it then, brethren? when ye come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

- 1 Corinthians 14:26 (KJV)

Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. - Romans 15:2 (NIV)

Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, - Ephesians 5:19 (NIV)
But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry. - 2 Timothy 4:5 (KJV)
Our work is to dispense the Word into the world.  That sounds simple.  However, that is only the main thrust of what we are called to do as God's people.  We have to have some tactics to go along with our teaching.  We need some methods to go along with our message.
 
Paul's instructions to Timothy in one of his pastoral epistles states that Timothy should do the work of an evangelist as well as fulfill his ministry.  It didn't mean that Timothy was to simply evangelize in any manner or method that he saw fit.  The directive exemplifies the teaching and training necessary for a newly-established pastor in maintaining his station as spiritual leader.  If no one else can lead someone to Christ in that local church, the pastor better be able to walk someone down the Romans Road to salvation as part of the work of an evangelist(my understanding of the Holy Spirit leaves doubting that He would leave any of His churches so barren and fruitless, though).  Additionally, he should be able to teach and train others in biblical methods in reaching others for Christ.
 
Encourage others along the way.  If you simply leave it at we all have sinned and fallen short or that the wages of sin is death, you just left someone dangling in suspense and plagued with wonder until worship service on Sunday.  That's not evangelism.  It surely isn't encouraging either.  That's a scare tactic.  Some of our people have mastered such techniques.  Rather than seeking what the Lord has to offer, people are turning to Jesus as the way to avoid going to hell.  Some of our brothers and sisters are persuasive in literally scaring the hell out of some folks rather than sharing the unsearchable riches of Christ.
 
We need to spend some time encouraging folks in the Word.  We need to use methods and mannerisms that build up people rather than manipulating them into a twisted-arm decision about what to do to gain eternal life.  Jesus didn't use that methodology.  That wasn't how John the Baptist did his evangelistic work.  Paul surely did not force anyone to accept Christ in such a way.  There is a way to reach someone for Christ and encourage them by your words and other things.
 

• Encourage with your words
• Encourage through your works
• Encourage by your ways

As I have shared before, people may need to see more Christ in you before they hear anything about Christ from you.  Live it out and let it be known.

Size Matters in Ministry

²⁵ Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, ²⁶ and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught great numbers of people. The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch. - Acts 11:25-26 (NIV)

Paul (Saul) and Barnabas went to Antioch on a mission.  Earlier, in verses 20-21, men from Cyprus and Cyrene went to Antioch and shared the "good news" and "a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord." Word of this reached Jerusalem and Barnabas, who was "a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith", was sent to Antioch where he encouraged the believers (vv. 22-24).  That's when he went for reinforcements, seeking out Paul (Saul) in Tarsus.

The Book of Acts gives the Bible reader an account of the missionary journeys of Paul.  Barnabas, also known as "Son of Encouragement," went to Tarsus and brought his partner to Antioch.  They spent a year there, teaching and discipling a diverse population of believers.  Obviously, they did some good works because the people were called "Christians," followers of Christ.  At some point, their teaching and fellowship must have hit home with those with whom they shared the Word of God.

Think it through.  There were those who brought the Good News that sparked the movement among the people.  Barnabas stepped in and offered some support to the new converts.  After that experience, Paul (Saul) was brought in to assist Barnabas in discipling the people at Antioch.  That was teamwork.  The teamwork occurred in phases or stages.

We need to examine the example of these men further.  Our ministries need to do something similar.  There needs to be a team who can go into uncharted territory and break new ground with the Gospel.  They need to be able to share the Good News with fervor, winning hearts and souls along the way.  They need to return to the house of God, sharing what they discovered as fertile ground, so that others like Barnabas can come in and edify the new believers with words of comfort, gladness and encouragement.  From there, those encouragers can leverage their relationship with the believers and other evangelists and workers who can support and strengthen the believers.  That's teamwork.

We need prayer warriors who can intercede on behalf of lost souls and those evangelists and missionaries.  We need workers within the ministry who are taught and trained, equipped to do good works beyond the confines of the house of God.  We need those who have the spiritual gift of exhortation, comfort, and other special gifts to serve in a variety of capacities in order to reach a dying world.

It takes a team who can work together to bring a community together in the name of Jesus.

5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.
- 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 (NKJV)



Lead Them to Christ

And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.- 1 Corinthians 2:4 (NLT)

People need to hear the gospel, not gimmicks.  Paul shared the message was about the Master.  He didn't get into clever wordplay and double talk that confused people and complicated salvation.  He made his message very plain.  He just preached about Christ and relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit.  Paul kept it simple and direct.

We should be more concerned with leading someone to Christ more than inviting them to church.  Simply inviting them to church has more to do with the various selling points of what our church has to offer as opposed to the multitudes of blessings that Jesus Christ our Savior has to offer those who will hear and come to Him.

Gospel means "good news." When we share the gospel with others, we engage in the delivery of the message of the Messiah and his mighty work of salvation.  People need to know that Jesus is the root and foundation of the Good News, the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Share the good news of Jesus, not simply the good things about your church.  Your church should help disciple new believers, but it is Jesus Christ who converts them by faith upon belief in Him.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer put it in real simple terms: "Up with Christ, down with church."



Download the latest Evangelism Tip Sheet: Reaching Out to Others http://tinyurl.com/3j24vpf

Share Christ

40 One of the two who heard John speak, and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. - John 1:40-42 (NIV)



Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, demonstrates the urgency of sharing Christ with others, especially friends and family.  He heard John the Baptist speak of the Lamb of God and immediately found his own brother.  He told him about Christ and he took him to Christ.  He did not leave it at simply sharing Christ as a conversation.  He led his brother to where he could meet Christ himself.
 
We need to understand how to share Christ and show people the way to Christ.  We can still introduce people to Christ.  We can still lead people to Christ.  We must be sure of our relationship with Christ and sure to share that relationship with others.
 
Make sure that you make an effort to share Christ with those whom you love.  Don't delay.  Be sure to share Him honestly and openly with others.