Anticipation . . .

Meeting New People - Part 2

Click here for Part 1.

“In order to lead souls to Jesus there must be a knowledge of human nature and a study of the human mind. Much careful thought and fervent prayer are required to know how to approach men and women upon the great subject of truth” (Ellen G. White, Christian Service, p. 226). 

I.                   A Quick Review

a.       Become a “People Person”

                                                  i.      Ask a lot of questions

                                                ii.      Listen to the answers

                                              iii.      Initial contact should be “agenda-less”

II.                Taking the first step

a.       Where to meet new people

                                                  i.      It is best to engage individuals in conversation that you have the chance of seeing repeatedly

1.      Quick “drive-by” witnessing may not be the most effective method

2.      Being friendly to everyone is important, but quick conversations with individuals probably shouldn’t be of the “are you saved” variety?

a.       There are exceptions, of course—but this should only happen when you know the Spirit is impressing you to do this

                                                ii.      Involve yourself in the community in which you live/work

1.      Use your hobbies/interests to meet new people

a.       Join clubs/groups that align with your interests

                                                                                                                          i.      Stamp collecting club

                                                                                                                        ii.      Book clubs

                                                                                                                      iii.      Photography clubs

                                                                                                                      iv.      Basketball leagues

b.      When you meet people this way, it is easier to converse with them because you naturally have a mutual interest to talk with them about

2.      Befriend co-workers

a.       Eat lunch with them

b.      Invite them over for supper

3.      “Use” your children (or grandchildren)—if you have any—to become acquainted with other kids and their parents

4.      Introduce yourself to your neighbor!

a.       This can be tricky, especially if you’ve had the same neighbors for 25 years and you have never taken much of an interest in them before

                                                                                                                          i.      Don’t knock on their doors and say, “Hello, friend, I am your Christian neighbor and I want to tell you about Jesus.”

b.      Here is an easy way to get to know your neighbors: ask them to do you a favor!

                                                                                                                          i.      Ask them if you can borrow a rake or shovel or some type of appliance that you don’t have but need for yard work

                                                                                                                        ii.      Ask them to keep an eye on your house while you are away for a few days

1.      You don’t necessarily want to give this information to someone who is “shady,” of course, but more people are trustworthy than we probably think

                                                                                                                      iii.      Ask them to pick up your mail for you while you’re gone

c.       Invite them over for a summer barbecue or pool party

                                              iii.      We need to be intentional about our relationships!

1.      Luke 15:1-3

a.       If we understand the Gospel correctly, we will naturally initiate relationship just as Jesus did and does

                                              iv.      Free time must be utilized to foster friendships

1.      We cannot by “shy”

2.      There is no such thing as a “silent Christian”

a.       The phrase is an oxymoron

                                                v.      When we form friendships with individuals, it opens up a “network” of others that we can meet as well

1.      Friends

2.      Family

3.      Co-workers

Food for Thought

I picked up a book called Peppermint-Filled Pinatas on Saturday night while waiting for my wife and sister-in-law to "primp" themselves up before a wedding reception. With nothing to do, I had committed a cardinal sin: I didn't have a book with me. Fortunately, my sister-in-law had brought this book with her and so I retreated to the car to retrieve it.

Not too enthused by the title (it seems a little gimmicky), I was still intrigued by its contents - and it was certainly better than the alternative (sitting around for 25 minutes, doing absolutely nothing). So I opened it up and started reading. I immediately became interested in the book and I plan on reading it in its entirey at some point in the future. Specifically, here is one quote that caught my attention:

We tend to judge people who do not know Christ by the same standards we have for ourselves. We should not be surprised when people who have not surrendered their lives to God live indifferently. If we struggle to measure up to our high standards with God’s help and intervention in our lives, how can we possibly have the same expectations for others who have not sought or received God’s forgiveness and strength? It’s like getting mad at Stevie Wonder for not waving at us when we walk past him.

Our personal relationships often betray our feelings for the world as well. Rather than befriending and loving those who do not yet follow Christ, it seems that the longer we follow Christ, the fewer people we actually know who believe differently from the way we believe. We have created our own world within a world, a bubble in which we live with everything we need: Christian books, Christian shirts, Christian music, Christian jewelry, Christian movies, Christian sports leagues, Christian stores, Christian video games, and even Christian mints. I’m all for entrepreneurial ventures, but I’m afraid we have (inadvertently or perhaps sometimes purposely) isolated ourselves from the world around us. Perhaps there are some who have been reached by reading a T-shirt with "God’s Gym" on the front, finding a gospel tract on a urinal, or attending events featuring Christian bands, but most of the time we forget the importance of reaching out to others through these experiences. Instead, we choose to enjoy these events as an alternate reality outside of the rest of culture (p. 21).

I think there is a lot of truth to what the author, Eric Michael Bryant, is saying. What are your thoughts? I am planning on sharing it tonight at Prayer Meeting as I continue my series on meeting new people and sharing our faith.

How NOT to do Youth Ministry

The video below is making its rounds. It shows people how not to do Youth Ministry. It is quite humorous, so if you do not feel as though humor and God go together, please feel free not to watch it. Unfortunately, though it is humorous, there is a lot of truth to it. I just pray that when I work with youth I do not fall into the same trap.

Ignatius from travis hawkins on Vimeo.

More Than a Coincidence

When a word in Greek or Hebrew is used only a handful of times in the Bible, scholars take notice. This is especially true when there seems to be thematic links between the various passages. Such is the case with the subject of my sermon for this Sabbath (spoiler alert: please stop reading if you're one of my church members!).

I have made it my mission to study the Song of Songs for the past two or three years. I am convinced that this wonderful book typologically points to God and His relationship with His people. I want to make this connection on solid exigetical and intertextual grounds, though. I don't simply want to come to the Song of Songs and say, "Well, since Jesus said that all scripture testifies of Him, it must mean that this whole book is about Jesus. Thus, the Shulamites two breasts represent the Old and New Testaments, etc." There needs to be a solid foundation for such an understanding.

So last year, I decided to go through the whole book and trace the use of the Hebrew words throughout the Old Testament. I didn't get very far without realizing that there were incredible intertextual links to the temple/sanctuary. This was the case when the Shulamite would describe Solomon, for example. She would use Hebrew words that were used only to describe the temple. Thus, I was intrigued when I found one commentator make this connection as well, saying that "we resist using this fact to allegorize the text, but again we suggest that it associates her description with something exalted, even holy" (Tremper Longman III, Song of Solomon, NICOT, p. 174).

Well, imagine my surprise - long after I put my serious study of the Song to rest - when I discovered an amazing intertextual link in the Greek version of the book. While going over the story of Jesus' annointing at Bethany, both Mark and John say that the woman - identified as Mary in John - annointed Jesus with an "alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard" (see Mark 14:3; John 12:3). The Greek word for "spikenard" (nardos) is used in the New Testament in these two places alone. But, quite surprisingly, the word is used in the Septuagint version of the Old Testament three times - all in the same book. 

I'm sure you know the book: the Song of Songs. Notice, for example, how the Shulamite is described: "Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with pleasant fruits, fragrant henna with spikenard [nardos], spikenard [nardos] and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices" (Song 4:13, 14).

But the one other place the word is used in the Septuagint takes the cake. Notice the Shulamite's words in 1:12, "While the king is at his table, my spikenard [nardos] sends forth its fragrance." Does this scene ring a bell with you at all? Notice Mark's full description of Jesus' experience in Bethany: "And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head" (Mark 14:3).

Jesus, the King, is sitting at the table, when the fragrance of Mary's spikenard envelopes the house. And such is the experience that God desires to have. Solomon enjoyed it with the Shulamite. Jesus enjoyed it with Mary. And God wants to have it with us today.

Meeting New People

I have been very busy lately, so I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and share on my blog what has been keeping me busy in other parts of my ministry. I am doing a series at one of my churches for Prayer Meeting on how to meet new people and "witness" to them. I have never done this before and I certainly am no expert. 

Two weeks ago was the first part, and here is what I shared with them. It is in outline form, so sorry for the disjointedness. As always, your thoughts are solicited.

Meeting New People (Part 1)

“Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, ‘Follow Me’ ” (Ministry of Healing, p. 143)

 

I.                   Preliminary questions to ask yourself:

a.       Does this person have value only if he/she is a Seventh-day Adventist Christian, or does he/she have value for the simple fact that he/she is a child of God?

b.      If this person never became a Seventh-day Adventist, would I still be interested in him/her?

                                                  i.      When you enter into someone’s world and listen to them, you get every bit as much a blessing from them as they do from you

II.                Becoming a “People Person”

a.       Ask a lot of questions!

                                                  i.      As a general rule, people like talking about themselves

                                                ii.      Play a game of 20 questions with them!

1.      Where do you live?

2.      Where did you grow up?

3.      Tell me about your family. . . .

4.      What interests do you have?

5.      Note: Religious/spiritual questions should not be at the top of the list in this exercise

a.       Neither are we going through the rest of the preliminary questions simply so we can finally get to the religious stuff

b.      Religious/spiritual conversations should naturally come up in the course of a conversation, but it is best if the other person initiates that subject.

c.       And, usually, this will only come when the person has confidence in you and trusts you

b.      And then listen to the answers

                                                  i.      There is a reason we all have one mouth and two ears

1.      We are supposed to listen twice as much as we talk

                                                ii.      When we take a genuine interest in a person’s life, we are entering into that person’s world

1.      This indicates to the person that he/she has value to us—as well as to God

2.      Nobody is interested in being lectured on anything. Let them carry most of the conversation

                                              iii.      We are not necessarily trying to listen to their answers simply so we can force a religious “follow-up” question on them

1.      This doesn’t preclude a person from prayerfully looking for opportunities to talk about spirituality

c.       Initial contact with a person should be “agenda-less”

                                                  i.      You are not setting them up to invite them to church

                                                ii.      You are not trying to secure a Bible Study

                                              iii.      You are simply interested in who that person is as a person

1.      Recent experiences

a.       Nancy/Tim

b.      John