WorldVenture Archives - Page 16 of 17

Studying: Steps @Indigitous

“Indigitous STEPS is an eight-week, virtual program designed to provide pathways and community to the digital specialist who desires to use his/her unique digital skills (code, craft, design, draw, strategize) for the Great Commission.”

I love learning from others already in the field. Education is important in what I do. Learn techniques on a foundation of Bible truth and put them to work. So I am in week one in an eight-week program. I’ll be blogging about it as I learn.

Meanwhile, please enjoy a bit of humor from Francis Chan. I have to agree with him: We like to talk about discipleship, but do we actually do it? How can you make your social media more about engagement and discipleship?

How to Have Quality Time With God

Aside from the fact that what I posted online was bordering on a vent, that thought soon attached itself to another thought: What does quality time with God look like?

Is it opening my Bible on the hour of six a.m. every morning, reading a few lines of scripture, saying some prayers, and going on with the day? What does it matter if you spend seven days every morning reading the Bible or three, if seven days becomes a rut where you forget what God was teaching you in those moments?

People feel shamed and humbled when they encounter one of those deep prayer warriors. They are wonderful people whose seven day a week prayers are truly the quiet, deep waters of thought that we all seek. They are different than most people. They make you want to be different.

So rather than stress over not delving into the Bible seven days a week like them, why not just spend a deep hour studying the Word on your schedule? With your phone Bible app, you can snack on the Bible verses throughout the day.

It’s about quality, not quantity.

Socks For Christmas

My mother-in-law asked over the phone, “What do you want for Christmas?”

“Socks.” My husband replied.

How can we get excited about socks?

If we don’t have to buy socks during the year, we can go on adventures or pay for extra expenses in ministry.

That’s why we love socks for Christmas, and that’ s what we received–great big boxes of socks.

Don’t Scoff at What You Don’t Know

A month or two ago, J.D. Payne shared an article from NPR how women in Saudi Arabia had their first gaming convention. He did more than share an opportunity for gamers to befriend and share the Gospel; he taught me that news of missional opportunities don’t just lie in Christian publications, but exist in secular places.

Like this one,

“Many people will probably wonder why I’ve decided to do this,” read the beginning of the suicide note that Eris had scheduled to appear on his Tumblr on 27 April 2015, two days after his death. “I was sexually abused as a child … and have dealt with the consequences of that my entire life. Imagine going through life with an ever-present shadow hanging over you, worrying if you too might be like the people who destroyed your childhood and life.” (READ MORE)

A man on an online game, known for being a horrible person, committed suicide, or appeared to, until you realize he faked the whole thing. A brilliant person who went to great coding lengths to figure out his life. What surprised him was how much people cared about him and tried to follow up on his suicidal attempts and the ones who grieved his, “death.”

The writer ended the article with,

“As for Eris, he is feeling better – a change he credits to a new regime of antidepressants and returning to church. Not so much for the God-worshipping part, but because it’s nice to “sit and listen to a sermon and maybe talk to people afterwards”

The lesson here? Video games are awesome opportunities to reach out. This man was a computer programmer. He could be like the man you work with at your job or the guy that makes your coffee every morning. What if you reached out at work to your troubled co-worker while someone playing video games with him does the same? I think, before we scoff at these opportunities, we ought to really SEE.

READ this great article.

A Caution to Conspiracy Theorists

Once again, I “unliked” a questionable, conservative publication. I find that conspiracy theories aren’t linked to just one political party. They are like the weeds in our front yard, popping up everywhere in so many different forms. They can also be used to divide and conquer a land, with one half of one political party strongly favoring one side and the other half, like me, saying, what’s the other side of the story? Where’s the proof?

It’s often best to ask yourself:

What message do I want to be known for?
What message will I die for?

These days I am staying clear of conspiracy theories, rationing politics to controllable amounts so I know what’s going on, and focusing instead on discipleship, learning, and spreading the Gospel as fast as possible.

The New Yorker: I Laughed!

The Useless Agony of Going Offline humorously talked about a guy and his wife who chose to follow someone’s advice and go offline for a few days. I read about this all the time.

Some people take fasts, lents, or don’t go on at all. We seem to make technology the bad guy when it is a tool; a very effective tool. People often make comments to me about technology.

“I don’t have a smart phone.”

“I don’t use email.”

“I am not on Facebook.”

“I call people.”

The guy said in reference to his experiment, “What I’m learning may not always be of great social value, but I’m at least gaining some new knowledge—by using devices in ways that, sure, also distract me from maintaining a singular focus on any one thing. I still read deeply, and study things closely, and get lost for hours at a time in sprawling, complicated pieces of literature.”

He also said, “If getting outside and taking walks, or sitting in silence, or walking dogs, or talking with loved ones on the phone got me to that same place, I’d be more than happy to change things up.” In his three days, he discovered that technology didn’t take away from his life; it added to it.

I know people who have text conversations with others about Jesus, people who use email to talk to Muslims, and people who take short term mission trips, bringing SD cards filled with Bible translations, to a people in need of the Word. This is technology, and it comes in all kinds of forms from social media to dumb phones. My husband and I are often on Facebook or youtube at the same time in the same room. Sometimes, we flirt with each other via Facebook even as we sit across from each other. This makes us laugh.

Preference is subjective in how we choose to communicate with each other, and there are negatives to social media, but don’t close the door to the possibilities of technology. People need to hear what God has been doing in your life. They can benefit from your Christian walk.

Being a believer is not a safe calling.

J.D. Payne said,

“VISION FOSTERS RISK TAKING Just because someone postulates a vision to be realized does not mean that success is guaranteed. Mission strategy is often about going against the status quo. Strategy involves change and requires vision to move beyond the comfort zone. A vision requires taking risks, and working toward a vision requires faith.” ― from “Developing a Strategy for Missions (Encountering Mission): A Biblical, Historical, and Cultural Introduction

TRC Magazine Publishes: Will You Pray?

Please click here to read our latest issue of TRC Magazine. We have twelve articles by wonderful volunteer writers. Will you pray for someone to come to know Christ or that seeds will be planted via our issue that a believer will water and harvest?

Getting Into Their Hearts and Heads

“In the eighteenth century, the Enlightenment spread across Europe…the skeptics of the Enlightenment questioned every aspect of thought and practice in life, including philosophy and religion. (10%, Kindle)”

When considering the mission field (i.e. online ministry), it’s important to get into the head and heart of the unbeliever.

The Ten Most Common Objections to Christianity by Alex McFarland briefly goes over the ten most common objections, like Jesus’ resurrection. What struck me was how many theories existed to disprove Jesus’ empty tomb. In order not to believe, people really stretched their imaginations.

Once again, I am convinced the reason to not believe is buried beneath pride or the scar tissue of the battered heart. A great book to read whether you are a believer or not.

Being a Successful Servant

“Successful servants of the Lord have relied on the work of the spirit and intuitively understood how to frame their message to influence people to want to transform their lives and communities.”

– Intercultural Communication for Christian Ministry, 6% (kindle)

In this section, the book cautions us not to use knowledge for shallow and temporarily transformed communities, but reminds us that change is always the work of the Holy Spirit. For long-term change, a missionary must have a good prayer life.

I’m reminded of all the great books out there from self-help to strategies to elevate your online platform. We first must pray, then listen.

The book reminds us, “Christians who are committed to ministry are prone to be too quick to speak and too slow to listen. We rush in to answer the questions (assuming them to be the same as ours) before we know what questions our audience is asking. (5%, kindle)”

Before communities online can be transformed, we need to listen to their questions, know which ones to answer, and which ones can wait. Be their friend first. Let the Holy Spirit do His work via prayer.