Randy will be speaking at Christ Church on Sunday, September 26, 10 a.m. service.  If you’re in that neck of the woods, come hang out!

Christ Church of Oakbrook

http://www.cc-ob.org/

It was a Friday morning several years ago, and I was leaving for the weekend to go to the airport and fly to Washington, DC, for a wedding. I planned on dropping my then nine-year-old son off at my parents’ house and that is why, at 7:30 am that morning, we stepped out into the sunshine of the morning air. Our moods were light, mine because I was nervous about my trip, his because he loved staying with his Grandma and Grandpa and had already spent four of his five days that week with them since school had been out that week.

Just as we stepped out into the light, my son’s exuberance overflowed from within him in the form of a long and fairly loud note in about the key of A or A flat. Before I could shush him as I normally would, I heard laughter erupt from across the street and I saw two women there, openly appreciating the impulsiveness of a young boy.

I had seen these women before. One was elderly and one younger. They both walked the neighborhood in which I live going through garbage cans to pick up the recyclables. Usually, people such as these two are homeless, but in this case, I didn’t know for sure if there were. For one thing, they were on the wrong side of town where most of the homeless reside, but they weren’t particularly poorly dressed and seemed quite cheerful doing what they were doing.  I wondered if maybe they were just down on their luck.

“I guess someone’s in a good mood,” I laughed out loud as I approached my car and started to load my baggage into my van.  Those words seemed to become the catalyst for them to feel comfortable enough to come over.

The younger woman laughed again, then both women moved to our side of the street and came forward and greeted me. They wore thick garden gloves and aprons over their shorts and t-shirts. Their eyes were kind and I felt no trepidation in speaking briefly with them.

“Do you mind if we go through your recycle and see if there is anything there we can take?”  the younger of the two asked me.  I invited her to help herself.  She looked inside and nothing was there, but she thanked me all the same. Then, she pulled off her dirty glove and stretched forth a hand, offering it to me along with a friendly smile. “I’m Rochelle,” she said.

I took her hand and shook it firmly. “I’ve seen you around this area,” I mentioned, “so, it is nice to meet you, Rochelle.” My eyes then turned then to the elderly woman next to Rochelle, and I stretched forth my hand to her as well. Rochelle gave me the name of her friend which I have now forgotten, but the older woman remained mostly silent. I wondered at first if she could speak and then she did. Her arms were filled with recycled goods, and she apologized that she couldn’t take my hand, so I stepped forward and patted her arm instead, feeling as though that would somehow bridge the gap between us.

It’s funny how a gap can exist and yet it can be so easily bridged. I could’ve remained the lady who lived in the big house on the corner, but now I had a name. Rochelle and her friend could’ve remained nameless people, if not for my young son’s vocal gymnastics. They could still have remained nameless if I had retreated back into my home. They might never have been seen, had we not been stepping out into the sunshine at that precise moment, on that precise day. But we did bridge the gap, and now when I see Rochelle and her friend in the street, I will remember the sincerity of a soiled glove being removed. Perhaps they will remember the lady on the corner with the big house, and they will know that they will again find kindness there and acceptance.

“God Bless, ” I said as they turned to continue down the street. I wondered how many people had chased them away from their garbages, how many people had been angry at the sight of them, how many people would simply avert their eyes. I took a moment and prayed for them and got into my car to go to the airport.

A few weeks later a neighbor of mine complained about people going through the trash cans on people’s streets.  I remembered  Rochelle and her friend and wondered if this woman would have felt the same had she met them as I had.  Perhaps, if Rochelle had a name and a smile to go with it, it might seem more acceptable for her allow the two women to delve into the contents of her trash. 

It’s been years since I have seen Rochelle and her friend.  Perhaps they were run off by police or do-gooders, perhaps she was able to make enough to move on, perhaps she just didn’t need the extra money anymore.  Whatever happened to them, I hope that my prayer made a difference, but more than that, I thank her for showing me how easy it is to bridge the gap.

“Being nice to people doesn’t get them saved. You need to present them with the bad news about their sin, tell them about Jesus and the cross, and bring them to a point of decision.That’s what Jesus called us to do, and anything short of that is just a cop out.”

I knew my fellow evangelist meant well, and I understood perfectly what she was saying in her critique of my Doable Evangelism presentation. I would have argued the same points myself just a few years ago.

“Pre-evangelism” is an insider term, used mostly by evangelists like me in recent decades to describe any effort to find an “opening” for the verbal presentation of the Gospel. This would include the building of relationships with people you don’t know, praying for the lost, various random, but strategic, acts of kindness, etc. These don’t qualify as evangelism. They just set you up for it.

Real evangelism requires the pitch, much like my evangelist friend described above. Some sow, some water, some reap. It’s all good…but everyone knows that it’s the reapers who are doing the real evangelism. Those who sow and water are just helping them get the job done.

This modern evangelism paradigm is supported by a few lines from the verbal Apostle Paul: “…how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?” (Rom. 10:14b). And, “Faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ.” (Rom. 10:17). We have concluded from this that evangelism is primarily about telling, and without speaking the Gospel there is no conversion…right?

Maybe not. Follow me down a stretch of the “Romans Road” that I didn’t pay much attention to in the past.

Romans 10, verse 18: “But I ask, have the people of Israel actually heard the message? Yes they have: ‘The message has gone throughout the earth, and the words to all the world.’”

This Gospel we are so convinced we need to propositionally package and persuasively proclaim to every nation (which is how most of us have been taught to read and interpret Matt. 28:18-20) HAS ALREADY BEEN PROCLAIMED… EVERYWHERE. It is also worth noting that creation itself has been “proclaiming” to all mankind from the very beginning (see Rom. 1:16-20). This implies a compelling non-verbal proclamation.

Verbal proclamation is clearly one way the Good News gets spread about. It’s just not the ONLY way. It may not even be the most important way. Proclamation can be non-verbal, expressed in a variety of ways, like beauty, goodness, kindness and service to others. This is great news for the majority of Jesus followers who feel verbally handicapped when it comes to presentations. We all get to participate in proclamation… even those who cannot speak well (or at all).

Evangelism is the whole process by which people who are missing get found. It includes everything and anything that nudges someone in the direction of Jesus. It does include verbal proclamation, but also such small and invisible things as noticing someone, praying for people behind their backs, and listening to them. These things, which are simple and doable ways of paying attention to others, are like a cold cup of water in our culture (Matt. 10:42). They are not just some “pre-evangelism” tactic used to get to the real business of evangelism. They ARE evangelism. And ANYONE can do this.

Maybe that’s why it’s the FEET of the one who brings Good News that are so beautiful…rather than the mouth. (Rom. 10:15)

One more thing. Jesus asked us to “make disciples” rather than to simply “make converts” (Matt. 28:18-20). He wants us to honor and participate in the longer and richer process of disciple-making, rather than just a single moment of it. Conversion is not the ultimate purpose of evangelism, as we have been led to believe. Making disciples is.

Our modern conversion-centric paradigm of evangelism assumed that the “moment in time decision for Christ,” was the primary form of conversion by which people came to faith. Statistics have shown otherwise. A recent survey by Vision New England (2007) indicates that only about 14% of those who came to faith did so in this way. The rest of those interviewed (86%) said it took months and even years to “cross the line of faith.” Earlier surveys done in Scotland and England had nearly identical findings.

This hyper-conversionistic, presentational paradigm of evangelism has shaped our entire evangelistic methodology over the past 150 years or so, and has birthed the categorical (and somewhat patronizing) myth of pre-evangelism. It does not, however, align with the reality of how people typically come to faith, nor the larger Biblical view of proclamation. It’s time to grasp a new paradigm that is more respectful of the scriptures and reflective of reality, don’t you think?

The pre-evangelism myth is BUSTED. Let’s go make disciples!

Nicholas Fielder and Josh Brown were kind enough to record a podcast with Jim a couple of weeks ago.

You can download it from The Nick and Josh Podcast blog or directly from here.

Check out Nick and Josh’s other podcasts too: they’ve talked with lots of interesting people.

Here are the particulars

Family of Faith
975 Mount Vernon Rd.
Newark, Oh 43055
740-366-7931
www.family-faith.org

If that’s close to you and you’d like to attend an event with Randy and Jim, or see if they have time to meet you for coffee, please contact us at infoAToff-the-map.org (replace AT with @ to turn this into a real e-mail address).

Ephesians 4:11 tells us that some are called to be evangelists… to equip the saints for the work…. My experience in church taught me just the opposite. Evangelists DO the work. They’re typically way too busy to train anyone. It’s the rare evangelist who realizes that his/her real work is not preaching or being on a stage but rather to give their gift away to others.

If Jesus modeled anything it was “restraint”. Instead of doing everything better he invited others to do it poorly and in doing that ended up developing a movement where ordinary people got to play rather than watch.

I’m not an evangelist. I started Off The Map largely out of frustration with the fact that when it comes to helping others connect with Jesus (a.k.a evangelism) ordinary people don’t get to play. I decided to create a new category of evangelism called Doable Evangelism (which of course is an oxymoron).

A few years ago I was lucky enough to run into Randy Siever who unlike me is a gifted evangelist. Randy Siever can lead people to Christ just about whenever he sees fit. They fall into faith when they get too close to him. Most of us, hard as we try, are not like that.

Randy took to Doable Evangelism because he truly cares about ordinary Christians getting to play. He wants them to experience the joy he feels when someone asks him about life and God. He believes they have a God given right to stand in God’s place when people decide they might want to know more about Jesus.

Randy and I have been co presenting the principles and practices of Doable Evangelism for the past few months. He is a real leader. People like him. Often after we finish presenting, it is Randy people want to talk with more than me (for which I’m grateful ).

Our Board recently decided to invite Randy to take on the leadership of spreading Doable Evangelism to churches all over America and eventually around the world. We are receiving a continual stream of requests from pastors to bring Doable Evangelism Training events to their churches. We are grateful that Randy has accepted this invitation.

Randy is walking the talk of faith and stepping out at a time most people (including Christians) are planning their retirement. Frankly, churches not only need Randy’s gift of making evangelism doable they need his example of leadership, trust and sacrifice.

Want to learn more about Doable Evangelism Training events and consulting? Email Randy here: randy at offthemap.com

Reviewed by Jim Henderson

I don’t read much about the missional church, because apart from Shaping of Things to Come by Frost and Hirsch I find much of the writing/thinking to be overly theological/philosophical. I prefer stories of real people. Another thing is this; most books are too long and too fascinated with them self. They lack awareness of the reader. This may be because many are written by teachers who major in information rather than by practitioners who focus on formation. Fred Peatross crosses this divide and gives us the best handbook on missional church on the market.

This is probably due to the fact that Fred has a day job that thankfully limits the amount of time he can spend philosophizing. Fred has written about what he does and what he as observed. Unlike most missional practitioners Fred acknowledges the place for projects and drama but gratefully ends up where most of us ordinary types live in the day to day mix of encounters with our friends and colleagues. If you want someone to get an introduction to missional church give them Missio Dei by Fred Peatross

The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom

Reviewed by Eric Hansen

The Starfish and the Spider explores the power, promise, and sometimes threat of decentralized networks of people; That is, the leaderless organizations that function very well without having a centralized “command and control” structure or a recognized leader. Leaderless organizations are really more like movements, and are only loosely organized.

The authors use the starfish as a metaphor for leaderless organizations. If you try to kill a starfish by cutting it into pieces, you in reality only create more starfish because each limb has the capability of growing into a new starfish. This is the “unstoppable power” of a leaderless organization. A spider, on the other hand, creates a network web, but if you kill the spider (the head) the network dies.

The authors use various kinds of leaderless organizations as examples to build their case, including Alcoholics Anonymous, eBay, Wikipedia, craigslist, the Apache web server, Al Qaeda, and many more.

Five factors are keys to the success of leaderless organizations: (1) circles—groups of peers who share information and knowledge with no one person in a position of authority; (2) a catalyst—an individual who starts the movement, but steps aside in favor of the group; (3) ideology—a central belief in something that unites the participants (4) a pre-existing network—some sort of connected community that can serve as a platform for the ideology; (5) a champion—a person with the drive and will to promote the central ideology.

Leaderless organizations have been around for centuries. Thanks to the internet, peer-to-peer sharing and peer-based oversight are becoming more prevalent, making it much easier for starfish organizations to form and thrive. On the surface, decentralized, leaderless, organizations appear to be messy and chaotic. However, their impact, the authors state “turns out to be one of the most powerful forces that the world has seen.”

Why Good Things Happen to Good People by Stephen Post, PhD.

reviewed by Peter Walker

To be honest, when I initially picked up Dr. Stephen Post’s Why Good Things Happen to Good People, I was expecting another thinly-veiled prosperity read in the grand tradition of Osteen and Amway.

I’ve been down that road before: back in the ‘90s my brother jumped on the pyramid-bandwagon, distributing soap samples and copies of God Wants You To Be Rich to everyone he knew. When his finances flopped, so did his faith.

Call me a cynic, but that’s why I tend to be cautious about literature touting enlightened paths to success or affluence: Jesus said to die to myself and take up my cross. The Gospel is peace, transcendence, and total self-effacement; no mention of that six-car garage.

In Post’s book, I was pleasantly surprised to find a very different message than I expected. From the first chapter, he and journalist Jill Neimark introduce us to a paradigm we have seen before but rarely identified as “natural.” That paradigm is selflessness – goodness – lovingkindness. “If I could take one word with me into eternity, it would be ‘give,’” Post begins on page one. Typical prosperity-fare tells us, you deserve much, you can have much, then you can give… and be justified.

Nowhere in Good Things does Post posit a “get-then-give” dynamic. Throughout the book we are exhorted to be giving, loving, respectful and kind. This is not just a kinder, gentler way of living – according to Post’s extensive research, it’s a healthier, natural way of living.

In 2000, Post launched the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love (IRUL) through Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine. It’s a mouthful that may sound a little fluffy at first, but their methods are pragmatic and scientific with a focus unique enough to be quite riveting. The purpose: study love and its impact on physical and mental health and overall well-being.

Some findings on the power of loving behavior:

• Giving reduces mortality. Out of 2,000 individuals, those who actively volunteered had a 44% lower likelihood of dying.
• Giving reduces adolescent depression and suicide risk.
• Fostering personal gratitude has profound health benefits. For example, the more gratitude a recipient of an organ feels, the faster that person’s recovery.
• Generous giving is linked directly to deeper spirituality, especially among teens.
• Forgiveness alleviates depression and lowers stress hormones.
• Loyalty is a buffer against stress. The security of loyal, steadfast caring is one of the greatest inhibitors of anxiety.
• When we listen to others in pain, their stress response quiets down and their body has a better chance to heal.

Good Things is not an overtly religious book (though it regularly references Buddhist and Christian teachings) but throughout the read I could not avoid comparisons to Mother Teresa or Jesus himself. The loving, selfless lives they exemplified have too-often seemed unnatural to me – somehow other than human. After all, human nature is dark, selfish and survivalist…

Post makes a compelling case in these pages for the goodness inherently wired into creation. That is not to say that we always choose goodness, but when we do, we are biologically, psychologically and spiritually healthier. One might dare to argue that Jesus is the most purely natural being to have ever walked the earth: the most perfect man, with perfect love in a perfect life. Here I tread dangerously near an old Christological debate, but when we step in line with the goodness of Jesus (conveniently outlined in the Gospels and neatly supported by Stephen Post, PhD.) we align ourselves with an abundant life intended from the beginning.

Despite my accolade for Post’s thesis, I still cringe a little at the tone from the book’s title that occasionally echoes throughout. “Good things… good people.” Am I hypersensitive? Maybe. But something about advertising “good things” strikes me as potentially dangerous – even if the intentions are pure. There will always be people seeking their “best life.” They look for a yoke that’s easy and a burden that’s light and ignore the parable of the rich young ruler.

On page 15, Post writes, “You don’t have to leap from bed at dawn or dole out sandwiches at the soup kitchen in the middle of an icy winter, or take up the torch of social activism and march in the streets, in order to reap the lifelong benefits of giving. You will find the style that’s right for you.” I’m reminded of Kierkegaard calling Christians a bunch of “swindlers” for contextualizing and deemphasizing aspects of the Gospel to fit our comforts. What if we do have to leap from bed at dawn, dole out sandwiches and march in the streets? What if that’s exactly what God is calling us to? Then this westernized Gospel of Convenience placates us and reorients us back on ourselves. Reap those lifelong benefits!

Why Good Things Happen to Good People is a fast and uplifting read. When I finished, I was inspired to do more for my community, my church, and the people I interact with each day. That’s a very good thing. The added benefit is knowing that by doing those things, I’m becoming a healthier person and contributing to a healthier world. But I pray that I never lose sight of the importance of goodness for goodness’ sake. If forgiveness brought us cancer or kindness risked our sight, could we still model love? Let the Gospel Mission lead us through the hardships of life, not around them, so that any blessings are merely an afterthought.

Phil Wyman is one of the most courageous followers of Jesus I know.

Phil led his church to connect with a group whose address for Christians seems to be 667 (neighbor of the beast).

I’m talking Witches, Neo Pagans and Wiccans.

In fact Phil and his family moved from California to Salem Massachusetts so he could get closer to them.

Sounds suspiciously similar to God so loved the world kind of thinking to me – how about you?

Apparently he got a little too close for his denomination’s comfort –so they asked him to leave.

This story was so provocative that it made the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Earlier this year Phil and I made the cover of the Christian Science Monitor as well. Apparently he and I have something in common.

Phil needs a break (a.k.a. sabbatical). His friends of his are trying to raise some money to send him and his wife to France for a few weeks in August. We’re going to put in $100 and I’m asking many of you to match that or give what you can.

You can do this online right here and right now.  

P.S. Phil and his colleague John Smulo recently launched Missional Concepts Consulting and will be presenting at Off The Map Live later this year in Seattle.