If you look for it you'll notice it. Relevant Magazine seems to push this kind of mindset pretty hard. Some crossover bands are into it as well like Mutemath. The thought is, Christians need to influence (some say "reach") our culture.

It's pretty vague language, and language that needs definition.

I don't necessarily disagree with the idea. Christians are supposed to be in the world, yes. We're supposed to be "salt and light," yes. I have questions though when it comes down to what exactly people mean when they say we need to influence culture.

Do you mean we should make such good music and movies and art and books that unbelievers will say, "Wow, that's really good. I need to do better"? Or maybe we want them to consider some deep truth they might not have realized before. Or maybe we want them to know there is a God by how well we do things.

"Influencing culture" is not the same as telling people about the gospel so they can repent and have faith in Jesus. No one can have faith in Jesus by looking at a painting. I doubt anyone can come to Jesus by listening to music (unless the song is filled with Scripture). No one can come to Jesus by watching Lord of the Rings. As I was reminded last night, faith comes through hearing, and hearing comes through someone telling another the message that a holy God will pour out His wrath on sinners unless they repent and put faith in Jesus and His payment for sins. It happens through people hearing and responding to the Word of God. Not art. Not music. Not movies. The Spirit moves through the Word.

Frankly, who cares if Christians make good art if all the while they refuse to tell their lost artist friends about the gospel!

A good movie or a good song is not worth the whole world. But a person's soul is.

The only way we can truly "influence" culture is when the message of Jesus is shared. Then, lost artists become redeemed artists. Lost musicians become redeemed musicians. Lost movie-makers and actors become redeemed movie-makers and actors. Then, I guarantee you, by the power of God, the culture of those people will be vastly different.

Jacob

You're out of college and you've been offered two jobs. They're both similar and you could see yourself enjoying both. You're not sure where the Lord is leading.

Not sure why but it seems the decisions I labor the most over are the ones related to vocation. Maybe it has something to do with men being called to work. Adam was called to tend the Garden of Eden. Working was his main purpose in life. Not that it's my number 1 priority, but I do find fulfillment in what I'm doing. Maybe I'm alone on that, but I would guess other men feel the same way. Do any of you ladies feel similar in relation to work?

Anyway, there are a few things I do when I'm faced with a decision.

1. Consider whether I'm right with God and am in communion with Him. If there is major sin in my life, then how could I expect God to give me clear direction?
2. Consider a desire. Could I find fulfillment in doing the thing I'm considering. I don't believe we should seek our own detriment in vocation unless there is a strong pull from the Holy Spirit.
3. Consider the opinions of mentors. This could be family or friends. I don't think it's important for me to listen to people who don't know me well or don't know the situation well. Those who know me best are the people I ask. And I listen to their views and consider them strongly.
4. Follow Scripture. It's not God's will for you to go against His Word. God is not calling you to divorce your wife because she's getting on your nerves. I promise.

What do you do when you're trying to decide something?

Jacob

There is a possibility this could be an ongoing assignment. The pay is good, IMO.

Here are some qualifications:

• Biblically sound
• Experienced
• Free Will Baptist
• Culturally relevant
• Able to meet deadlines

If you are interested, let me know by sending an email to Thebrink@randallhouse.com.

Thanks!

Jacob

I also learned some background info on it. Muslims believe the Qur'an to have been written by helpers of the prophet Muhammad (A.D. 571-632). Evidently, Muhammed received visions from Allah that he then relayed to his helpers. Some of these visions were written after Muhammed was already deceased.

Think about this . . .

The Bible was written by over 40 authors. The Qur'an was written based on the testimony of one person.

The first book of the Bible (Genesis) was written around 1440 B.C. The last book of the Bible (Revelaton) was written in the later part of the first century (about A.D 90). That means the entire Word of the God of the Bible was written over a period of 1500 years.

The Qur'an was written over a period of 23 years, starting when Muhammad was 40, and going until his death in A.D. 632.

One might say the Qur'an seems to be more likely to be true. It was written relatively quickly. It was written by one man, so many men would not have the opporutnity to tamper with it--it could come directly from Allah and therefore be very accurate.

I disagree with this. I think the way the Bible was written is very telling about it's accuracy and the amazing power it holds. Here's why:

1. One man writing something makes it much more succeptible to error or foul play. No accountability is ever good. If I were to write something and claim it was from God, how would you know? You would simply have to take my word for it. BUT, if there were over 40 people claiming to have revelations from God and their stories all coincide, that would be something you would have to listen to! Moses didn't know Paul would ever exist. But God inspired him to write some of the exact same themes Paul discussed in the early church, over 1400 years later! Amazing.
2. The fact the Bible was written over a period of 1500 years tells me it is God's story, not man's story. There's no possible way all of the 40+ authors of the Bible could have collaborated on their writings over a time frame of 1500 years. It had to have been directed from a higher power, namely, the God of the Bible.
3. This one might be a stretch, but why would Allah only give one person his word? One person over a period of 23 years compared to the 7000+ years the earth has been around? Seems a bit stingy to me at face value. (There may be a very good reasons Muslims have for this. If so, I apologize for being hasty. I am just now starting to read the Qur'an.)

You might be thinking, the Bible wasn't completed until after the world had been in existence for about 5000 years. It's only been around for about 30% of the time the earth has been in existence (based on conservative estimates). How then is the God of the Bible not stingy as well? This is a valid question, to which I have two thoughts:

1. It would seem like God is unfair by the fact He has only had His completed Word around for 1900 years or so. It would seem that way if God had only interacted with man in that time frame. The Bible is very clear, however, that God has interacted with man since the beginning of time. God has always been trying to reach out to man, drawing man to Himself. Man is the one who resists God. Not the other way around.
2. This would also seem like a problem if the way by which we come to God is through obeying the law. If man comes to God by obeying His law, then God would be terrible to not give His law to everyone at every point in time. This, however, is not how the God of the Bible works. God saves people through faith (Ephesians 2:8). Anyone that has ever followed the God of the Bible has done so through faith. Adam had faith. Noah had faith. Moses had faith. Rahab had faith. The apostle Paul had faith. I have faith.

Read more about the Qur'an and Muhammad. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qur%27an

Jacob

However, we outsource some cleaning to a family from Turkey. Mostly doing the work is the father of the family and one of his sons, Havar. Havar and I have developed a moderate friendship/acquaintance. I felt the Holy Spirit leading me to talk to Havar about Jesus, so I initiated that conversation a few months ago. We have had a few spiritual conversations since then.

The approach I'm taking is to try to be his friend (sincerely) and ask him what he believes. He has stated thus far that he is not that interested in religion, even the Muslim religion, which his family has roots in (his father is a practicing Muslim). He is probably the equivalent to a normal American who is Christian by association. Some "Christians" go to church on Easter and Christmas, but they aren't being controlled by the Spirit and show no fruit of living for the kingdom of God. I am guessing Havar is the Muslim version of that, except he doesn't even really claim to be a Muslim.

Yesterday I felt the Spirit leading me to ask Havar another question about Islam. So I asked what someone had to do in order to become a Muslim. He said you should go to a Mosque and talk to a priest, and he'd tell you. He also said you needed to read the Qur'an. He suggested I read it and offered to give me a copy. He mentioned his dad said people convert to Islam on a regular basis.

I assurred him I wasn't really interested in converting, but I would read some of the Qur'an if he'd read some of the Bible. I said "I'd believe the Qur'an if it's true. I want to know what the truth is."

I asked if he'd read some of the Bible if I read some of the Qur'an. He said he had no interest in the Bible. Finally he said he'd read one verse of the Bible if I read the entire Qur'an. I agreed on the condition that I get to pick the verse. (I'm leaning toward John 3:16.)

Here's what I want you to pray for--that he remembers to bring the copy of the Qur'an today so I can start reading it.

Yes, I'm asking you to pray to our great Creator God of the Bible (a God who saves, mind you!) that He would help Havar remember to bring a copy of the Qur'an so Havar will eventually have to read a verse of God's very powerful Word.

I believe one verse has power. And I believe it can be a significant link in Havar's journey to knowing Christ.

So, please pray. Thanks.

Jacob

Remember that old gospel song?

The world is not my home
I'm just a passin' through

It's really old, and a bit hokey (especially if you remember the tune), but it's 100% true.

This world is not my home because I am a follower of Jesus. His kingdom is "not of this world." So while my wife and I may have a house in Old Hickory, Tennessee, the United States of America, planet Earth, my heart longs to go to the place where I truly fit in--the kingdom of my Lord.

The apostle Paul had a phrase to describe this. He called followers of Jesus "citizens of another kingdom."

I love that.

_______

Have you ever wondered why Christians from the U.S. who are sent to other countries to share the gospel spend years immersing themselves in the culture of their country in hopes of sharing the gospel, while American Christians who stay in the States spend seemingly exorbitant amounts of energy trying to stay as far away from culture as possible?

Why is the mindset of Christians who live in the States so different from Christians who go overseas?

I just don't get this. And I haven't for about 5 years now.

The message I get from this is that we Christians in America consider this place, this land, to be our home. We spend so much time and effort trying to Christianize this place. We have "Christian" everything! Bumper stickers, radio stations, TV stations, books, publishing companies, magazines, movies, breath mints, music, businesses, even a political party (although not official).

Don't you see? We're using God to build our own kingdom in America! 

These type of things are hardly signs that we are citizens of another kingdom!

What does it look like if we all realize that if we are in Christ, we are on His mission--to build His kingdom?

Spreading this gospel doesn't happen by making a "Christian" radio station. It happens by befriending, sharing the gospel with, and seeing the people in radio stations become Christians! We don't need Christian businesses! We need Christians in businesses! We don't need "Christian" books! We need Christians who write books!

My wife and I are trying to figure out how we can be missionaries to our community. We don't want to make a little "Christian" town. We want the people in our town to be Christians. Because this world is not our home. We're just passing through. We are citizens of another country. And we want our neighbors to join us in being "foreigners" to the United States.

God doesn't promise the United States will be around forever. Nor does He promise or owe our country anything. He does promise, though, that His kingdom will not fail, and that He will reign forever and ever.

That's a kingdom I want to be a part of, and a kingdom I've got to tell others about.

Jacob

I'm wondering if how I am living my life is truly investing in the kingdom of God instead of the kingdom of this world. Here's an example.

Lynsey (my wife) and I have recently added another step to our nightly ruitine. We normally start getting ready for bed around 9 or 9:30. She brushes her teeth and washes her face while I read for a little while or fiddle with something. Then I brush my teeth. Then we work on our memory verses and pray. Normally we would just go to sleep after that. But lately we've been watching a TV show that we have 2 seasons of on DVD. After the show we drift to sleep.

If we watch one hour of that show every day like we have the past few weeks, that is 365 hours per year. If we do this for the next 50 years (I'll be 75 and probably die then), we will have invested 18,250 hours of our lives in a TV show. Yeah, that's a lot of time.

In the past the question I would ask is, "What TV show? Is it OK to watch?" You might have wondered the same thing when you read the above paragraph.

But the question I've been asking lately is, "Does watching that show make an investment in the kingdom of God?"

Don't we usually ask the question "What can I get away with in order to not make God angry?"

We want to know how far we can move toward the "line" of sin without actually sinning. We figure if we can just avoid sinning, then we're in good with God and He'll be obligated to bless us and we'll be in a right standing before Him.

It took a theoretical situation for me to see that is a load of crap.

Imagine watching me stand before God one day when He asks, "What have you done with the time I gave you on earth? How have you invested in my kingdom?"

You see me bend down, pick up something, and slowly reveal to the Lord of the universe my investment in his kingdom . . . 18,250 hours . . . of TV.

Maybe "What can I get away with?" is not the right question! Um, as a matter of fact, that's the stupidest question ever! If I'm not investing my time in the work of the kingdom, then I might as well be sinning!

So I'm not saying all TV is of the Devil and anyone who watches any is going to Hell. I'm sure there are times when believers just need to relax and rest and maybe TV helps in that. So in a way that's investing in the kingdom.

Here's my point though. Ultimately, the question to ask is not "What can I get away with and not sin?" But rather, "How can I invest in the kingdom of God?"

I just don't want to waste my life on worthless crap that doesn't matter. If I'm not investing in the kingdom, then what am I doing? Nothing.

Jacob

I made some comment on Facebook questioning the type of people our churches are "attracting." He politely said, "the church isn't for the unsaved anyway."

It sounded crazy at first, but after he explained himself, it started to make a lot of sense. It all stems from the definition of "church." And by definition, the church is simply a group of people who have faith in Jesus. By that, an unbeliever cannot be part of the church, because faith is a prerequisite for inclusion. 

That being said, I wonder if we're going about how we do our "church services" all wrong.

I have been in church my entire life and the whole time I have viewed the gathering of believers ("church") as a place that was supposed to be geared toward making unbelievers feel welcome. In fact, the thing today is to make the Sunday morning service "relevant" to unbelievers and welcoming. The idea is for believers to invite their unbelieving friends to that gathering so they will in turn accept the gospel at that event.

But, when you consider the fact church is for believers, it throws a kink in that concept.

If church is a body of believers, why would the primary gathering for those believers be taylored for people who aren't supposed to come anyway?

I mean seriously, why would we expect someone who doesn't know Christ to come to a worship service and "enjoy the music"? Christians are worshiping a "dead" Jewish guy who claimed to be the Messiah! Why would anyone other than someone who claimed to be regenerated by God want to experience that?

You might be thinking the same question I had: "How then do we share the gospel if we're not supposed to use Sunday morning as a place for unbelievers to attend?"

A very valid question. In answering this, it's important to look at the biblical role for church leadership.

Ephesians 4:11-12 says God has gifted some people with different leadership roles "to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up."

Hmm.

So according to Paul, it's not the institutional church's "job" to share the gospel. It's each individual member's job. The leaders of the church are supposed to build up believers to go out and share the gospel. It says nothing about inviting people into our meetings in hopes they will respond to an altar call there. It says just the opposite.

The Bible never says it's the pastor's job, deacon's job, elder's job, or worship leader's job to share the gospel with unbelievers. It says it's the Christian's job. That includes pastors, deacons, edlers, and other offices held in church, but it includes every believer too.

And my friend, based on how I'm thinking these days, and the verses that talk about who the church is, that is supposed to happen outside the walls of the church.

Here are a few problems I see with making the Sunday morning worship service (or any other worship service) geared toward converting unbelievers:

• Worship's primary purpose changes from glorifying God to entertainment, making it more about a slick production than anything else
• It discourages believers from becoming true fishers of men
• It encourages believers and unbelievers alike to become consumers
• It blurs the lines between a true disciple and curious follower
• Style and image become very, very important (too important)

In saying this, I need to point out I don't see anything in the Bible or in early church history that suggests unbelievers should not be allowed to attend a gathering of followers of Jesus. In the early church, curious unbelievers were allowed to attend, but merely as spectators, not as ones participating. They were welcomed to attend, but they were asked to leave during the sacraments.

The scary thing is, I don't really know what this type of gathering is supposed to look like. What do you do if you're not supposed to make it appealing to unbelievers? What kind of music do you play? Do you have it in a set aside building? Do you have it on Sunday? 

I'm not through thinking about this. I'm very excited about what it looks like though. What are your thoughts?

Jacob

I thought I'd try to make a list for each. Most of these things are intrinsically neutral. It's interesting how my sinful nature takes neutral things and perverts them.

Affection for Christ:

• preaching
• studying for a sermon
• thinking about my seminary classes
• listening to sovereign grace music
• sitting or walking without worry
• spending quality time with Lynsey
• working hard and efficiently
• being right with people before going to sleep
• yard work
• doing something physical

Affection for something else:

• being online late at night
• facebook
• twitter
• sleeping too late
• watching too much TV

Jacob

It seems like Christians try really, really hard to be respected and relevant to the world around us. If we could just get unbelievers to see that we're normal people, then maybe they won't be so weirded out by Christianity.

The more I've been reading in the New Testament, the more I'm coming to understand that we're not necessarily supposed to be liked by the world around us. In fact, we're not supposed to be surprised if the world hates us. 

To take it a step further, the message of the cross is supposed to make us sound foolish! Like idiots! Let me explain.

• I believe that there is one God over the entire world that has always existed, who sits above time, outside the realm of what I can think about.
• I believe that same God came to earth and made a virgin pregnant with Himself.
• I believe God was on the earth and was a God and a man at the same time without compromising either's existence.
• I believe the God of the universe purposefully caused His own death.
• I believe God also proved He is more powerful than death and made Himself come back to life.
• I believe that same God is still around the earth, convincing people in a very strange, miraculous way, to believe in Him.
• I believe in angels and demons. Around me. All the time. Seriously.
• I believe God literally lives inside of me.
• I believe part of me will live forever.
• I believe in the end of the world by fire and brimstone.
• I believe I should be willing to die for a stranger.
• I believe I should be willing to give all of my money, family, and possessions if God wants it from me.
• I eat the body and drink the blood of a dead Jewish carpenter who we claim is still alive.

So you see, I'm an idiot! Do you understand how foolish that all sounds!?

Here's the thing. I know it sounds like I'm insane, but I believe this stuff is really true! And if we would actually put it this way, I think the world would not think of us as "nice people," or as "normal members of society." No, if they really understood what we believe, they'd think we're nuts! They would think we are literally out of our minds.

Maybe that's how we can be different. By believing things and acting like we believe things that only fools would believe.

Jacob

Donate to the mission here:http://bit.ly/6CfwtR

Here is a letter from Richard and David Turner. Richard and his wife have been missionaries in Haiti for 17 years. David is their son.

 Dear Ones,

(1) No one has died among our leaders and all churches seem to be intact.

(2) There are many dead in MFM family...10 in one good family at Lamaar

(3) Many, many are hurt bad and there are not enough doctors. Many are going to Laboul for help from our mission doctor, Dr. Charles. He is having to do things that he is NOT qualified to do.

(4) NO gas in many places. Dad was able to get 2 gallon this morning but it was VERY high. NO diesel for electric. But hopefully we will get some tomorrow.

(5) There is still LITTLE food, but VERY HIGH!!  Have about two weeks supply for all on the compound. That's if people stop coming and asking for food. Can't not give to them, everyone is hungry. T'Luke and his family are on their way here; their house fell in on them in PAP. Luke is hurt but not to bad. T'Luke and his wife were raised in the orphanage and now have 5 children and still love Jesus. They along with many more of our people are coming and we can't turn them away.

(6) Things are so BAD and getting worse: all the American Missionaries that Dad knows over here are trying to get out. By the prayers of our American Christians we are able to stay; these people need us now more than ever before.

(7) Buildings and walls are so bad; David worked 40 people today. Full report later.

(8) Please send out all the SOS for help. If our money runs out it will be a fearful thing.

We all still love Jesus and know He is able to handle everything.

Blessings,

Richard and David Turner

Donate to the mission here:http://bit.ly/6CfwtR

It really does make me sad though because fulfillment in life does not and cannot come from these type of things. It seems like it would because we all have a desire to be acknowledged, to have people think we are awesome. But that kind of power and popularity comes and goes like the wind. We've got to find fulfillment in something deeper, more powerful, transcendent even. I just happen to believe it can only be found in the God-Man, Jesus of Nazareth. What better way than to fill our souls than to drink from the fountain of life.

Jacob

1. God
2. Wife/Family
3. Work

I've also heard other phrases like, "Keep God first in your life and the rest will fall into place."

The problem with this is that it encourages compartmentalization. You know what I mean. God has His time on these days or at this time during the day, family has their time, and work has it's time at such and such a time.

You can't compartmentalize God. What I mean is that God operates on an entirely different spectrum than itemizable priorities like family and friends and work. It is definitley possible to give friends their due time and then move to something different to focus on that and give it its time. But God doesn't work that way.

As best as I can understand it, Christians are to honor God in every area of life. That means I am to glorify Him when I'm spending time with my family just as much as when I'm in church. Actually, interacting with my family in appropriate ways is glorifying God. That is worship. Working hard at my job is glorifying God. Spending my money wisely is worship. 

God is not my #1 priority. He's the only priority.

@jacobriggs

2. First date.

3. Date exclusively.

4. Meet the parents. (Guy begins to save for ring.)

5. Trade spare car keys. (Guy continues to save for ring.)

6. Record voicemail together on each other's cell. (Guy continues to save for ring.)

7. Spend a holiday with your significant other's family. (Guy continues to save for ring.)

8. Have the put up or shut up talk. (Guy returns his new computer and continues to save for ring.)

9. Girl "in passing" mentions something about how she's always thought it would be romatic for the guy to ask her dad for her hand in marriage. Subsequently, guy asks future father-in-law for hand in marriage. (Guy buys ring to show future father in law his serious intentions.)

10. Guy proposes.

Let me begin by pointing out American culture is clear that it is the responsibility of the speaker to communicate effectively and in a relevant manner. I say this because we're consumers. I have been raised to consume the best of whatever it is I choose to consume.

So what intake I have is based solely upon what satisfies me the best out of my available options. Well, that's the way our culture is anyway. I'm not so sure I want to be this way.

When any unsaved person (and most followers of Jesus as well) goes to a church service or worship experience or whatever you want to call it, they will only listen to and evaluate the content of the service if it is relevant to them and/or presented in a way they enjoy. We do this because that's how we engage with everything in our culture.

Take the example of how Americans interact with the car industry. Ford doesn't make cars with very good gas mileage? I'll buy a Honda. Honda doesn't have a vehicle with enough power? I'll buy something else. There is something out there that will satisfy my need or present something in a way that I like and I don't really care what company or church or label provides that, just as long as I get what I want.

With this in mind, let's talk about public speaking. When Americans listen to someone speaking, they engage in the same way they buy a car or interact with a product. If the person speaking doesn't say something the way I want it to be said, then it's their problem and responsibility to change in order to suit my needs. And frankly, if they don't say something I care about or applies to me, then it's completely OK for me to tune them out.

This is not the way it is in some other cultures, according to Malcolm Gladwell, as stated in his book Outliers. In it, Gladwell talks about how in China (I think. Forgive me.), the responsibility between the person speaking and the person listening relies on the hearer. That means if you're listening to someone speak and you don't understand, then it's your job to do everything you can to understand what the person is saying. They assume that if they didn't understand something, then it was their own fault.

You can see how it's completely different here in the States. If I'm speaking to you and you don't understand, then we assume it's my job as the speaker to make it clearer for you or do something else so you can understand what I'm trying to convey to you. If you don't understand, it's my fault as the speaker.

Well, what does the Bible say about this kind of thing? If God hasn't spoken something clearly enough, is it up to me to try to figure out what He was really talking about, or is it up to Him to make His message a little more clear?

God has an advantage here (among many, many other areas). And His advantage is that He knows us infinitely better than we currently or will ever know Him. As a matter of fact, we can only know about God what He has revealed of Himself. If God doesn't want us to know something about Him, we could not force Him to do so. On the other hand, God knows everything about us whether we want Him to or not! 

In reality, God's act of not revealing all of Himself to us is an act of mercy. If we were to engage with all of God, we would be completely consumed. Our flesh cannot stand before the presence of Almighty God. Our bodies are just clay that can only last 80 something years at best! In the Psalms David said the days of man are like grass. The wind passes over us, and we are gone. Our place doesn't even remember us. Put that before an all-powerful, all-knowing, eternally existent, completely holy God and what you get is God continuing to exist and us vanishing into nothingness!

That tells me that not only does God tell us just enough about Him but that His refusal to reveal all of Himself to us is merciful. It is by His mercies that we are not consumed.

We can only know so much about God, but God also knows all there is to know about us. The Scripture says the very hairs of our head are numbered. It also says that while we were in the womb of our mothers, He knew us. God knows every minute detail about every person that exists, ever existed, or ever will exist.

This leads to the fact God knows what it will take to convey something to us.

Another attribute of God is that He is loving. The Scripture says He is "not willing that any should perish." He is always pleading with everyone, trying to communicate to them the message of His existence and that of the cross.

So not only does God know what it takes to convey something to us, but since He is loving, He is doing whatever He can on His end to try to get that message across. Look at creation. The rocks and hills sound forth the praises of an infinite Creator God. Take the Bible. God breathed the very words of His message into the minds and hearts of men so that we may know Him. Think on Christ, and His coming to earth, God incarnate, the God-Man, taking on flesh and dwelling among us. Consider His Spirit, always prodding, leading, directing, encouraging people to become more like Christ. As Francis Schaeffer said, "God is there and He is not silent."

Based upon these things, I think it's safe to say God has done His part. He has spoken loudly, boldly, clearly. In fact, the Scripture in Romans says He has spoken so much that man is "without excuse."

No man can ever approach God and say "If only You would have spoken in this way or that way. Then I would have believed in You." Those who do not believe do not do so because they suppress the truth that their image urges them to embrace (Romans 1).

In regard to God communicating to man, if we miss it, the fault lies entirely on us.

Let's move back now to those who preach or lead worship or teach the Scripture. Is it the teacher's responsibility or the hearers responsibility? Based upon how God has spoken to man and how man is to respond, I would have to say both.

We must teach and preach and lead in such a way that, as much as possible, those who are listening are without excuse when they try to find fault with our message. 

And when the tables are turned and we are the learners, we must make it our responsibility to learn and discern what God is saying. There is always something to learn even amongst the poorest of teachers because they are image-bearers as well, whether fallen or redeemed. 

God has spoken as clearly as we finite creatures can handle. And He has given us the tools to listen, process, and respond.

Let's do it.

Jacob Riggs

But seriously, I think a lot about the relationship between a man and a woman and what it's supposed to look like for a man to pursue a woman and try to win her. It was always in the forefront of my mind when I was single. I mean seriously, what 17-23 year old guy is not thinking about women in some form or fashion at least 5 hours a day? The sad thing is, there are a lot of misconceptions going around as to how to date. Here are four of the biggest, written with guys in mind:

1. It's OK to date with no intention to marry.

Um, no. Whenever a guy asks me what they should do in a dating situation I ask, "Are you ready to pursue marriage with this girl? If not, stop dating her." Here's why I say and think this:

Dating is not a biblical institution, marriage is.

The thing about dating that is so dangerous is that a ton of people use it as an end in and of itself. They date just to date with no real intention of marriage in view. Marriage might be in their overal picture of things they want to do in life, but the dating relationship they are in at that time is not being used to figure out if they want to marry that person.

Dating, when used properly, should be a means to an end. What I mean is you date someone to figure out of God is leading you to marry that person. You should never, ever, ever date if you have no intention to marry the person you are dating. It's harmful and wasteful. Some guys spend years dating, acting like they're married to their girlfriend (praying together, sleeping together, sharing every thought, hope, and dream). And when they break up, it's like they have a mini-divorce! How can that be beneficial for you or for the girls you've dated?

If you are dating just for what you can get out of it whether it be companionship, a make out partner, or whatever else, then you are obviously in that relationship for what you can get out of it.

If you are dating to pursue marriage you are in that relationship to honor God either by finding out more about yourself and what you can live with, or you honor Him by choosing to marry a woman and become a picture of Christ to the world. You marry in order to literally bring glory, attention, and honor to what Christ has done. 

2. Your future wife will "complete you."

The concept of your wife "completing you" is one of the biggest piles of excrement I've ever heard in my entire life. And it comes straight from Hollywood. I'm not one of those guys who thinks everything that comes from Hollywood is bad, but this idea is completely heretical and asinine. Think about it. If you are an imperfect guy who lusts and has pride issues and wants everyone to think you are the man, then what you need to "complete you" is not an imperfect girl who is insecure and only feels valued by how she looks and has problems with gossip. 

You can't get perfection by adding two imperfect people together.

You're sinful. She's sinful. Putting those together does not equal righteousness or completion. The only thing that can complete you is Jesus. Period. End of story. (Phil. 1:6 He who began a good work in you will complete it.)

"Then what's the point of getting married if my wife won't complete me?" Well, to glorify God. When people see a biblical marriage, they will have to look to a higher power because a biblical marriage is when two imperfect people who are found in Jesus, love each other unconditionally. That is other-worldly.

3. You need to find "the one."

If there were one person out there for everyone, we'd all be screwed. If that's true, then all it takes is for one person to marry the wrong guy or girl. If that happens, everything else is messed up and you're left married to your "#2." It just does not make any sense.

I know, I know, it sounds very romantical (Little Rascals) to think there is one woman out there and you're on this quest to find her. But I think it's much more romantic for there to be a TON of different women you could be married to and CHOOSE the one you do! That's so much better! I could have been happy with some other woman besides my wife. Incredibly happy and successful and whatnot. But the beautiful thing is that I chose to marry HER! She became my one when we got married. Now there's no turning back. We are trying our best to be the small picture of Christ and the church. 

4. You need to be settled and stable before you get married.

I've taken flack from this before (mostly from people who were unarried at the time--go figure), but I think it's a myth that you need to have every material thing in order before you get married. People say you need to be out of college, have all your debt payed off, make at least $__ thousand per year, blah blah blah. My question to this concept is, what is the purpose of marriage? I could understand and agree with this concept if the purpose for marriage was to be completely happy and comfortable, or if it was your job to "complete" your spouse. Since you as a man cannot make your spouse truly happy, comfortable or complete, own your biblical role and get married! In fact, if your "future wife" says she won't marry you until all those things happen, I'd seriously reconsider as to whether or not you want to marry someone who is dependant on you to make her happy, comfortable, or complete. Do you have a place to live? Do you have food? Do you want to get married? Are your counselors approving of it? Get married.

So remember: (1) it's not OK to date with no intention to marry, (2) don't expect your imperfect wife to complete you, (3) there isn't one out there for you, so choose wisely, and (4) you don't need to be near as "settled" financially as some people think.

I welcome your dialogue here or at other places.
Jacob
twitter.com/jacobriggs

Dad has been a pastor for somewhere around 25 years. I highly respect him and his heart in ministry.

I said, "The more younger generations come into 'big church,' the more the church is going to change."

He nodded in approval while saying "That's true."

"The thing about it, is it's very difficult for the older generation to accept the changes, especially when they've put their blood, sweat, and tears into those programs. They're sacred cows and they're tough to get rid of." I was building momentum.

Dad then said something that I think is very wise: "But the thing the younger generation needs to know is that those sacred cows were put there for a reason. If they want to get rid of them, they first need to understand why they were put there in the first place."

What a huge key in connecting generations. In order for changes to be made by a new generation, wey've got to first show appreciation and understanding in the older generation. After all, they've been there. They're not as dumb as we might assume they are.

If you're a twentysomething, join me in honoring those older than us, and admitting we don't have all the answers. We need to learn from those who have gone before us.

@jacobriggs

That's wonderful.

Not that it's happening, but that people are finally realizing it.

BUT, it doesn't end there. Only acknowledging a problem does not fix it. You have to actually act on it.

So the question really becomes, what are you going to do about the problem?

I don't have the answers. I really don't. I don't know of one model that will fix this. The faith at home movement has some good things to say about parents being involved with their kids and being spiritual mentors, but that doesn't say what to do about the current generation that has already left who have already turned mom and dad off. So there's some talk, but I don't see it as solving the problem completely.

My deal is, you can't do the same things in church and expect different results.

Are twentysomethings leaving your church? Then if you want to keep them, you can't do the exact same things you've been doing!

I read the following from Outreach magazine's September/October 2009 issue. This is a quote from Joel Hunter, a pastor from Florida:

"If younger and/or more secular people were going to be interested in church for the traditional reasons, they'd already be with us."

Wow.

Dude, doesn't that punch you right in the stomach?

The pastor is like, "Hello!? If it was working, they would still be here!!!"

You've got to do something different!

Like I said, I'm not claiming to know what the change is. I'm just saying that doing the same thing and expecting different results is stupidity.

@jacobriggs

Yeah, the Kingdom of God doesn't work like that.

Jesus said the first will be last and the last will be first.

Matt Chandler said if we worship God because He gives us more money, or because He makes us happier or because He makes us healthier or because He gives us a good marriage, then we're after those things instead of God, and biblically an idolator.

The Good News is not that life gets better on the outside, but that no matter what situation life hands us, we get Christ, and He is enough!

I am exhausted!

We're staying about 40 minutes away from the Gwinett Arena where the conference is held, so we had to get up very early this morning in order to get there for the 7;45 door opening.

The seats are first come, first serve, so we wanted to get a decent spot. We ended up getting 10 rows from the stage on the floor.

We experienced 6 different sessions today, and each one offered something unique. I'm going to miss something, so I'm just going to share the highlights with you now, and later I might share what God dealt with me about if I'm awake by then.

Andy Stanley spoke first about Joshua's encounter with the Angel of God and Joshua asked him, "Are you for us or against us?" The angel basically said, "Well, no." Some translations say "Neither," but "no" was just funny.

Andy's point being--life is not about us making our mark, but about how God can make HIS mark through us! This really hit home with me as God revealed a lot of pride issues in my heart today.

Malcolm Gladwell was featured in the second session, and he was really good. I'm not sure if he claims to be a believer or not, but definitely not a pastor. He writes for a newspaper and has written 3 very successful books on business and leadership, his most recent being "Outliers" (which I started last night).

Malcolm told us a story from the Civil War about overconfidence and about how people will actually follow people when they're overconfident. He also made some keen observations about how when someone is overconfident, additional data or facts does not influence the direction they are heading in. The Civil War story about General Hooker losing to General Lee was incredible. His final summation: "We don't need over-confident leaders. We need leaders who exhibit one thing: humility."

The Steve Fee Band led worship in several of the sessions. They are incredibly high energy and I do not understand how they keep it up! They've gotta have like a ton of Red Bulls back stage or something.

Shane Hipps talked about the medium and the message and sort of threw a wrench in our notions about that. I didn't feel like he competely landed the plane so to speak. If he would have hammered his thoughts home a bit more and unpacked them, I might have been with him, but as he finished his session, I was not on board.

They interviewed some author that we were supposed to know but who I didn't. He had a new book coming out and talked about it a bit. He said a few things about faith that were, well, completely out of line with Scripture. So I took what he said with a grain of salt.

Rob Bell was very impressive. He talked about how God had a role for each of us to play, and that we could not be satisfied by trying to play someone else's role. He is a very gifted communicator and I sensed a humble spirit about him. There are a few things I am not sure I agree with him on, but I didn't let that hinder God still speaking to me. Oh yeah, he was taller than I imagined as well.

Matt Chandler is just awesome. He is incredibly solid biblically. He spoke from Hebrews 12 and talked about the hugeness of the Gospel and what an incredible thing it is that we get to be a part of it and that in light of that, we have GOT to lay aside the weights and sin that hinders us from running this race with patience. I was very impressed with Matt and his passion for the Gospel and being very focused on the Word of God.

Aaron Keyes led worship in the last session of the night. He was awesome. Nearly every time he opened his mouth he was either quoting Scripture, singing, or praying. His heart and intent was very, very clear--he led us in worshipping God with the Bible. He probably quoted at least 5 different passages while leading worship. I loved that, and I loved his spirit.

Francis Chan was very real. He's just the man. You got a real sense that he was being completely open and honest with you. He led us in communion, and simply read some different passages of Scripture, and invited us to worship God for what Christ had done on the cross. We took communion together and worshipped our Lord for what He had done. It was wonderful to just rest and focus on the amazing work of Christ and His redemption.

Whew! I can't believe I remembered all that stuff! Day two starts in about 6 hours, so I'd better get to bed!

Here are a few links:

http://catalystbackstage.com   Go here to keep up on the conference from backstage. Looked pretty cool.

Do a twitter search for #cat09. Everyone who tweets during the conference uses that hashtag, and searching for that will show you what attendees are saying about the events. Oh, P.S. I find it annoying to read a ton of quotes from someone going to a conference, so I'm refraining from that. However, I'll share a few thoughts in response to some things via my twitter account, @jacobriggs.

Peace!

@jacobriggs

I haven't heard anyone say Christians are supposed to give their life for the sake of the Gospel.

That is, until yesterday when I read Mark 8:34b-35.

"Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel's will save it."

To save my life, I have to lose it for the sake of Christ AND the Gospel. The two go hand in hand. They cannot be separated.

You can't have the Gospel without Christ, and you cannot have Christ without the Gospel.

So based on this verse, it's a bit ridiculous to think anyone can be in Christ and not be completely about what the Gospel is!

That leaves me with a very tough question: If those who are in Christ are about the Gospel, and if I'm not about the Gospel, then am I truly in Christ?

God, move in my heart to be about the Gospel!

@jacobriggs

But there is one thing I've never done that I am extremely ashamed about . . .

I've never led anyone to Christ.

Never.

It drives me crazy to say that.

Some people think witnessing or evangelism is only for a certain kind of person and that every Christian is not supposed to do it.

I think that's a lie from Satan himself. And I really do mean that.

If Satan could convince Christians that they didn't really need to tell anyone about the Gospel, then after the current generation dies, he takes over.

It's difficult for me to talk to people about my faith. Maybe it's because I'm an introvert or because I don't have much experience. Either way, I have no excuse.

So my wife and I have decided to study passages of Scripture that talk about the Gospel. Either where people are telling someone about the Gospel, preaching it, or receiving a command to tell someone. Basically anything that deals specifically with someone acting on the Gospel.

After the study, I'm not sure what we're going to do, but we've got to get busy. I'm tired of being ashamed of this. People are dying and going to hell while I refuse to obey God because I'm "uncomfortable" or "introverted."

@jacobriggs

I don't say that to point out that my beliefs are incredibly strange or obtuse, but rather, there are very few people who completely believe the same things. I can tell you two leading theologians of my movement who disagree about a very well-known passage of Scripture. Both theologians are well-respected. Both have written commentaries and have taught in our Bible colleges.

"Are you saying the Bible can mean one thing for one person and another thing for someone else?"

No.

If I were to write you a letter, you would assume that when I talked about my wife Lynsey, I would actually be referring to the actual Lynsey unless I gave you reason to think I was using her name as a metaphor or something. Why should we assume the Bible, which is really just one big letter, can be interpreted several ways when the authors do not call for such?

So I don't believe the Bible can be interpreted different ways.

"But since people believe different things about the Bible, does that mean somebody is wrong in what they believe the Bible teaches?"

Well, yes.

If people believe two different things about an objective truth, then someone is wrong.

You and I can argue about who is right and who is wrong all day. But the main point is, one of us is wrong.

Even if I think you are off your rocker, I can still learn something from your perspective. If you bring something to light I've never thought of before, maybe my view can change to be more in accordance with Scripture. Or if you say something that is just totally heretical, it will still help me to word a defense to that--which strengthens my knowledge of the correct view.

Because of this, I think it's very important to engage with other Christians who don't believe the same thing I believe. It stretches me and challenges me.

All that to say, I'm going to the Catalyst Conference next weekend in Atlanta. It's 12,000 young, innovative leaders who are all passionate about serving God and leading others to do so as well. And if I were to guess, I'd probably disagree with most of the people there about something.

And I really like that.

A lot of people believe the exact same thing my friend believes--that God has one person picked out for them to marry.

I wonder why they believe that. Maybe it's because they think God maps out every situation in life and that we have no choice in anything we do. Or maybe (and this is what I lean towards believing) it's because they think it's more romantic to think there's just one person out there for them.

You know ladies, one day you'll be at Starbucks when you slip on a "coincidentally" unlabeled wet floor, only to be saved from impending injury by a dashing debonair. Your eyes lock, some cheesy music plays, your hair flows in slow motion, and you can focus on nothing but his perfectly chiseled (and tan--a bonus!) face.

You get married two weeks later, have 2 kids, lots of money, and one day save the world from every problem it's ever had. Blah blah blah.

It's all so romantic to have one person hand-picked just for you, isn't it?

Well, it might be romantic, but I don't think it's as romantic as choosing who to marry.

The reason I say that is because if there is one person picked out for you, then it requires very little want-to on your part. You don't really have to be committed to the person out of desire. You're just sort of there because that's the way it's supposed to be. It's not that you don't "love" that person, but it sure does make it a lot easier to do so since you know it's "God's will."

I think it's much more romantic to be in a relationship knowing you could very well have chosen to be with someone else.

I've told my wife this before, and she's told me before: we could be married to someone else and still be happy, still be serving God, still be in His will. Not that divorce is an option or that we could walk out on the marriage and be cool with it. Rather, that before we got married, we understood that we had options.

To me, it's much more romantic to wake up every day and tell my wife, "Babe, I realize there were other women out there, but I don't really care about them. I want you more than anyone else. I choose you."

No Christian wife intends to have an affair.

If that's the case, why does it still happen? If Christians intend on remaining pure and living holy lives, then why does it happen?

I think it's because we think purity is just supposed to happen. Like after we get saved, it's supposed to be in our DNA or something. Yeah, it doesn't work like that.

Proverbs 7 has a lot to say about this. Here's the story in a nutshell:

• a young man was walking down the street, minding his own business
• the harlot "caught" him
• he "strayed" into her paths
• they had sex
• everyone "slain" by the harlot were "strong" men

I don't believe the man in the story was taking a walk for the purpose of finding a prostitute. His motive was not as much sinful as it was careless.

I might not ever come face to face with a prostitute on some street corner late at night. However, I am faced with situations like this all the time.

• A provocative ad pops up on my computer
• A female with a low-cut blouse bends down to pick something up
• A certain commercial comes on TV

In all of these situations I do not go into it intending to lust. I don't ever want to.

Both the man from Proverbs 7 and my own life tell me that purity doesn't just happen. I have to be intentional about it. I have to prepare for what I'm going to do in certain situations. If I'm not prepared for an attack, then how can I expect not to fall?

Purity is a battle. It's literal spiritual warfare. No one would go into a game or a war without some kind of plan. If you have no plan, you will lose. If you're not intentional, you will fall. 

Here's some things I do to be intentional about my purity.

1. Fill my mind with Scripture--right now my wife and I are memorizing Psalm 63 (we're on verse 9 now).
2. Talk to my wife about my struggles with lust--she knows everything I've done in my past. I tell her when I am tempted to lust or even when I watched a cetain TV show too long or when I looked at another woman inappropriately. There's something about verbalizing things that make it easier. And doing this with my wife is wonderful for me. If you're not married, you have to find someone you can talk to.
3. Avoid situations that could lead to something else--I have friends that are girls, but they are all very casual. I have no good female friends who are not my wife (I intend on keeping it this way too). I don't tell them my thoughts on things, I don't go places with them, I don't talk to them privately without telling my wife about it. I will never be alone with a female who is not my wife. I try my hardest to avoid riding in a car with a female who is not my wife (except family).   
4. When a lustful thought comes, I fill my mind with something else. Sometimes lustful thoughts come and you don't even know why. This might seem weird, but when I have a lustful thought, I say the verse "I will set no wicked thing before my eyes." And then I think about playing baseball (I guess some of you who hate baseball might consider baseball to be wicked--if so, I'm sorry). Here is something John Piper wrote about replacing lustful thoughts with other thoughts (this is very good): http://is.gd/3wLrG.

No one intends to be impure. I don't, and you don't. We have to be intentional about it if we're going to win this war. And believe me, it is a war.

I welcome your dialogue on ways you are intentional about remaining pure.

@JacobRiggs

Creative? No. Fun? No. Exciting? Not really. Consistent? Yes!

I think this was a result of the Great Depression. I mean if I grew up during the GD, when I got older I would want a stable job too! Who cares about what you do as long as you have enough money to feed your family.

My generation is not like that.

I value stability, but the thing I value more than that is passion. I want to work at something I'm passionate about. And that passion trumps the money for me. I can cut back on stuff. I don't have to have all the stuff I could have if I made a lot of money. I really don't care much about the money as long as we have what we need (which is different than what we want). I'd rather take a pay cut and work for something I'm passionate about than have all the money in the word and hate my job--no matter how stable it is.

So fellow twentysomethings, which do you prefer? Stability or passion? Am I alone here in being willing to take a pay cut to work for something I'm passionate about?

@JacobRiggs

Oh it's selfishness on the part of the reader, to be sure. But it's the way people read articles and blogs and tweets. 

So if you want people to read what you have to say, you have to catch them (twice) before they'll do it.

The first catch is the title.

If an article or blog has a boring title, no one will read anything more than that (except maybe your mom). A catchy title tells people, "This is worth your time and will be interesting to you. You should read this." A boring title says, "You won't miss anything if you don't read this title."

The second catch is the first sentence of the piece.

Just because you have a good title doesn't mean someone is going to read your entire piece. If your title is good, but your first sentence is terrible, then people will stop reading or lose interest and stop reading after the first paragraph. A good first sentence after a good title says, "See, I told you this was going to be worth your time. You should totally keep reading!" A bad first sentence after a good title says, "I'm a liar, although a good one." A good first sentence after a bad title is pointless, because no one will read it anyway.

So for all of you potential writers out there, keep in mind the importance of the title and the first sentence! If they stink, you might as well not even write the rest of the piece.

Jacob

The way I'll do this is in response to some commonly-used objections to using Twitter in church. I've had several conversations with people, so I've heard a lot of objections, most of which I think are valid (yeah, some objections are just dumb).

Objection #1: If You Tweet, You Can't Pay Attention

For some, this may be a problem. You just might not be able to tweet very quickly. But when I'm tweeting via my phone, it takes me about 30 seconds to tweet something. I just type 40404, send new text, type my message, and send it. It doesn't take much time at all. As a matter of fact, I might be able to tweet nearly at the same rate of writing something down on paper (which, if you do that, you're super-spiritual). However, I will say that if I used a smart phone to tweet, then it might cause me to lose focus more. But since I have one of the oldest phones in the world, I use texting to tweet, which doesn't cause me to lose focus. So in regards to tweeting taking too long and thus causing you to stop paying attention, this issue is different for different people. If you're a slow tweeter, then maybe, sure. But if you text quickly, tweeting a point in the sermon takes very little time, causing you to be able to pay attention just as well as you could if you were taking notes. 

Objection #2: Tweeting's Purpose is to Tell the World What YOU Think, While Taking Notes Is Trying to Learn Something

This is probably the best objection I've heard to tweeting in church. It originally came (as far as I know) from Joshua Harris' blog (who I guess has "Kissed Tweeting Goodbye"). He stated that the purpose for listening to preaching is to ask the question, "God, what are you saying to me?" And that that is contrary to the nature of twitter which asks the user, "What are you doing?"

Although that was the original intention for Twitter, if you use Twitter with any regularity, you will have noticed Twitter's purpose is evolving. It's not just about spouting off information that no one cares about. The best Tweeters say things that people following them will find beneficial.

So then, the reason someone would tweet in church about what God is speaking to them about would not be because they just want to be heard, but because the people following them want to hear what they have to say, or in this case, what God is speaking to them about.

Another point against this is to the fact that writing something down does help retain information. And not only writing something down, but writing something down for the purpose of other people reading it forces you to (1) listen to what's being presented and (2) process it enough to write it down. In this instance, tweeting is more beneficial than just taking notes. For me, if I have processed something enough to tell someone else about it, then I have really internalized it (which, I know what you're thinking, and it doesn't really take that long).

Objection #3: Your Tweeting Will Distract Other People

Think about a fake situation with me. Let's say I am tweeting some points that really hit home with me in the message. I'm paying attention, and I might look at my phone for about 30 seconds at a time to tweet, and I tweet about 4 times in the message. Now let's suppose someone just happened to look over at me and see me look down at my phone. They would be appalled right? Well, maybe. But the one thing they would do for certain is look at me again. Wouldn't you? And the next time they looked, chances are they would see that I was paying attention. They might actually see me listen to something and then enter it into my phone--which would tip them off that I was actually using my phone to help me. Now, if I wasn't paying attention to the sermon and was just on my phone the whole time, then that would obviously be a problem, and someone should confront me about it. But if I was actually using the technology for something positive, then they would notice that as well. If they saw me tweet and pay attention and were confused, then the biblical thing for them to do would be to come talk to me (if they were concerned about my spirituality). The unbiblical thing for them to do would be to get upset about it and tell someone else like a deacon or their friend or whatever, stating how offended they were by that. Well, I'm sorry, but if that person really wanted to be biblical, then they would do what the book of Matthew states to do if they are offended. In that case, the person who observed me tweet is much more in the wrong than I was for tweeting (if you want to get technical).

Objection #4: Tweeting During the Sermon Has No Value

This is very possibly an excellent point. There are many instances where tweeting would have no value in church. If no one is following you, then it has no value. If you're not tweeting about the sermon, then it has no value. Or if you're tweeting for selfish reasons, then it's actually detrimental.

However, these things do not have to be the case.

I do have a caveat or two about this whole issue (which in the grand scheme of life and the kingdom of God, is very miniscule isn't it?). And that is if I am at a place where they specifically ask me not to tweet during a certain portion, then I would have no problem not tweeting. It's just not that big of a deal. I can pay attention while not tweeting, so I have no problem with that. It's more important to live peacibly with everyone than it is to tweet in church. Plus, tweeting right after they asked you not to brings up all kinds of other problems not mentioned in this post.

My overall mindset in regard to using new media and technology in church is to use discernment, but don't be that guy that assumes just because it is new that means it's bad. Twitter is a tool. And tools are neutral. Just like a gun. A gun can be used for good or bad. Just because someone once used it for evil does not make the tool itself evil.

I want to be one of those guys that takes the tools available and uses them for good. There's just so much more freedom in it that way.

@jacobriggs

By the way, if you'd like to read Josh Harris' post about this subject, here it is. http://is.gd/39tbx

But other times, it's not so easy. Jesus was always making religious people feel uncomfortable. He challenged people left and right. He said that unless we hate our father and mother, we couldn't be His disciples. On another occasion, He said that unless we sell all we have and give it to the poor, we couldn't be His disciples.

This picture of what it means to follow Jesus seems quite contrary to how I see it portrayed in US Christianity. We know Jesus deserves a lot from us, because, hey, He was a pretty good guy and all. But ultimately we believe there has to be some kind of material payoff for what we do for Christ.

We don't verbalize the thought "I am serving Jesus so He'll take care of me," but I fear that's really the motivation behind a lot of our actions.

After all, if I go to church one day a week, I can do what I want the other 6 days.

And we all know that if you give Jesus 10%, He'll watch your back.

I don't know about you, but I'm so ready to break past that. I want to be so infused with the Spirit of God that I'm willing to give Him uncomfortable amounts of myself. Not because I'm paying God off, but because that's who I am. I am God's, so whatever He asks, even if it's a bit uncomfortable, is what I'm going to give.

@JacobRiggs

While there might be some validity to noticing problems, all of that doesn't really matter if I don't do something about it.

And sometimes I can get so bogged down in my frustration that I forget the thing that's really driving me--God.

I don't mean to say that God is spurring me to complain. Most often, my complaining is never a good thing. But my frustration, on the other hand, has great potential to be a very good thing. So does yours, really.

It's just that I want to see God move in an amazing way. I want Him to renew His Spirit within His followers. I want Him to open up the hearts and minds of those who have fallen away and those who have never had an encounter with Him. I want Him to overwhelm us with His presence and use that to stretch us to litterally reach the world with the Gospel. I want Him to break down strongholds over His people, causing us to repent of our sin and come before Him as broken, helpless people. I want Him to make His name our highest priority over our agendas or disagreements.

I want to see God move in a way that's so amazing that we can only say, "WOW! That is so incredible that it couldn't be anything but the Almighty, Ever-present God of the Universe!"

I want to be a part of what He's doing. That's really my heart.

So let me be the first to apologize for just complaining about things and not being willing to really DO something about them. If God is going to really move amongst me, you, our friends, and our denomination, we've got to stop talking, and start doing.

One thing that is very important when trying to understand young adults (whether you are one, or whether you are trying to minister to some) is that we have no brand loyalty.

I can best explain that by the example of cars and Baby Boomers (my parents' generation). Generally speaking, my parents are a one-brand type of people when it comes to cars. They buy American-made cars. It's either Ford or Chevy.

They didn't necessarily buy Ford and Chevy because they were the best car, but because they trusted those companies because they are US companies (unless they both tank before I post this). My parents are American, so they buy American-made cars.

Some people take brand loyalty a step further and only buy one make of car. Ever met someone who will only drive a Chevy? I have.

Well, the baby boomers did not transfer the quality of brand loyalty to their kids. Nope, not at all actually.

We have zero brand loyalty. I could care less about where a car was made or who made it as long as it's dependable, gets good gas mileage, and looks pretty cool.

Since this is true, churches are going to have to re-think the way they do church for this generation.

No longer do people go to church because their parents did or because they are loyal to their denomination. No, twentysomethings don't care what denomination, color, or creed the church is that they attend. They just care if the church speaks the same language and gives them a chance to do something they are concerned about.

There are a few negatives in this to be sure. The fact we have no brand loyalty makes us seem even more narcissistic, right? Everything is about us and if a certain brand doesn't provide then we'll go somewhere else.

Well, yes, you're right, but I think there are positives from this as well.

The fact we have no brand loyalty creates huge potential for long-standing barriers to be divided. Race barriers, language barriers, generation barriers.

Where our parents might say, "So and so goes to that church, so they do their thing and we do our thing," a twentysomething might say, "We're in this together, so lets do something together."

A greater good can be accomplished because of this "no brand loyalty" thing.

Lets capitalize.

Jacob

Can any of you other twentysomethings attest to this?

We are great at pointing out the problems of society, church, whatever, but we're perfectly OK with the problems not being solved. We're also OK with not trying to solve the problems ourselves.

If you are a twentysomething, help me answer this question: Why?

Why are we OK with pointing out problems and then not doing anything to fix them? I'm right here with you (I do this too). I'm just trying to figure out why. Help me out.

Upon pulling into the church parking lot I noticed a soccer team on the field next to our church. Stretching. At 7:45 am.

It seemed pretty crazy. Why would a group of high-school to college age guys spend their Sunday morning practicing soccer at 7:45 in the morning? Half of them probably didn't go to sleep until well after midnight.

Then it dawned on me. They were practicing at 7:45 because soccer is an event that is worth it to them.

A few months ago my wife and I went with some friends to see the Cincinatti Reds play. We had great seats, except it rained the entire game. And surprisingly, I really didn't care. I'm a huge Reds fan, so it was worth it to me to sit in the rain to watch them play. I couldn't care less about the rain. I was watching the REDS!!

I have heard some Christians make excuses as to why not many people go to their church. "It's a bad location. It rained today. Our air conditioning is out."

I really don't buy any of that.

The bottom line is that people will go to something and be committed to something that is worth their while. And the brutally honest truth about churches no one wants to go to is that the church is not providing a worth-while service.

If no twentysomethings are coming to our churches, we have to seriously ask ourselves, "Are we providing something that a twentysomething will see as valuable?"

If you're not, then no twentysomething will attend. It's as simple as that.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to work like that.

I remember having this conversation with my friend Nathan one day at baseball practice. We were stretching just before we did some drills and I said, "You know Nathan, I am saved, but I'm not saved."

He was really confused.

When someone first accepts Christ, they are "saved" from the power of hell and begin a journey toward following God. If the Lord were to come back on that day, I fully believe that person would be called with other believers.

But in a sense, that person isn't quite there yet. They aren't completely "saved" from the impact of their sin. It still has a hold on them. Paul the apostle wrote about his constant struggle to want to please God, but not really having the capability within himself t do it. He wasn't quite saved yet.

Neither are we.

We are saved, but we are in the process of being saved as well.

Why can't the church get that through her head?

This completely changes how we engage other Christians. We understand that people will mess up.

And you know, right now, the church (at least the churches I've been a part of) is incredibly stringent. If you make one mistake, you're not welcome. You're looked down upon. You should be ashamed. One strike and you're out.

So how do people respond? They put on a front! And how could we blame them? If they were really honest about their shortcomings, we'd kick them out or make them feel like idiots! They lose their opportunity to teach, they can't sing in the choir anymore, they can't be a deacon, they can't be an usher, they can't be a greeter, they can't go on visitation, they can't go on missions trips. 

The thing that really throws a wrench in all of this is there are actually very, very few people in church who don't have serious problems. Pastors look at porn. Deacons are dying of lung cancer. Women leaders have bitterness issues.

If this is the case, then we're all just full of crap then aren't we? What's the answer?

We've got to understand this one thing: You don't have to have it completely figured out yet. Really.

You should be getting there, so to speak. But you don't have to be there yet. No one is. We're all striving to get there, and we're all in this together. But you don't have to have it all figured out yet.

May we all accept each other in grace and humility, knowing none of us are perfect, and that those who are in Christ are striving to get there. Let's get rid of the fascade and create places where people can be honest about their journey.

Jacob

People see how we were raised and take note that we have been very blessed as kids in regard to having things. We have never really been in want. We've always had the next best thing. We had personal tutors as kids, swimming lessons, cello lessons. We went to sports camps, band camps, chess club camps, and debate team camps. We are catered to through the media. They really, really want our money, and they are willing to invest serious cash to get our attention.

In turn we are very picky and skeptical about the things we entertain. When you've had it all, you can discern between what's good and what sucks.

The older generation sees that generally speaking, we haven't had a job while growing up like they did. Some of our grandparents had to work when they were in their early teens to provide for their brothers and sisters, while some of us got our first job our Junior year in college. That's a big difference.

You can see why the perception is that we're spoiled.

That carries over to the church (this is where it hits home with me).

We started out in the nursery. Then the toddlers class, then children's church, then youth group. We've had specialized ministries catered to us our entire lives . . . until now (for most).

How do we respond? We leave. We go to the church that has a ministry for us. We have no brand loyalty because we've been trained to pick out the best things and to be skeptical of the man. So it really doesn't matter if the church we're interested is Methodist, Southern Baptist, Free Will Baptist, Lutheran, Church of Christ, or whatever. If there is a ministry that's giving us attention, then we're there!

Now, that's the perception I'm hearing.

My question for you is, is it true?

Is the perception that our generation is just a bunch of spoiled mammas boys true?

I really, really want to say "No, that's not true! You just don't understand my generation!" But honestly, I don't know that I can say that right now. I'm scared what they are saying about us might . . . be . . . true.

Crap, right?

I don't know about you, but I am not satisfied with that perception. I am not going to just sit around and let the entire church think I'm just a lazy, good-for-nothing who just wants to complain until someone caters a ministry after me. Because if I do that, then that makes church about me. And since the church is the body of Christ, then that makes the body of Christ about me. And if I'm not mistaken, that seems completely counter-intuitive to what being a Christ-follower is about (someone who gives up their right to glory, who is not self-seeking, who does not return evil with evil, who said, "not my will, but Your will be done"). 

So since the church isn't about me, and since I absolutely refuse to let that stipulation stand, I am determined to prove those people wrong. Not in an "I told you so" sort of way, but in a way that serves them above myself and exalts them as fellow brothers and sisters in the enormously big body of Christ.

Because of that, I will use my talents in the church and outside of the church. I will be involved in classes even if the teaching is boring and is very "churchy." I will support my pastor, even if he alliterates every single point in every single sermon. I will pray for my deacons, even if they think my faux-hawk is "worldly." I will vote in business meetings, even if I don't really care what color the carpet is. I will do these things because I am part of the body of Christ, and if I am in Christ, then I cannot be removed from my older generation, no matter how much we misunderstand each other or how much our philosophy might be different. I am here. This is my church. And I will serve it because this is about His kingdom. Not mine. 

Jacob

Randall House, the company that owns The Brink, didn't really know what they wanted to do, just that something needed to be done to help retain or link the vacated twentysomethings back to church and God.

They sort of dumped the task into my lap. I love challenges, so I ran with it. Hard.

The cool thing is that although I didn't point out the need for something like this to happen, I sort of adopted it after it was assigned to me, and the more and more I thought and prayed about it, the more I had a burden for it. I sort of feel like Isaiah did when God called him (Isaiah 6). God pointed out a need and Isaiah said, "I'll do it!" After that he poured himself into that opportunity, and prophesied about the coming of Christ, the One who would redeem all who will come to Him. Before God called Isaiah, the future prophet didn't know what the need was. He just listened to God and responded.

I spent the next 4 or 5 months doing research, dreaming, praying, doing more research, talking to people, observing, trying to soak everything I could about young adults. I wanted to know what made our generation tick. What were we involved in? Why were we involved in it? What do we care about? What was it about church that was so repulsive to us? Is there anyone actually reaching young adults?

What I learned was vital in developing The Brink. I'll try to break it down to the four main "characteristics" I learned about our generation (gen Y, twentysomethings, young adults):

1. We are looking for something real, authentic, or genuine. This theme is all over the place. Take reality TV as one obvious example. You and I don't really care about a show being polished and professional. We just want to see the juicy, gorry details about the personal lives of people. We want to see them screw up, get embarassed, get promoted, whatever. Another example you might take is Chris Martin and the band Coldplay. I love Coldplay (as do millions more). Why? I don't really think it's because he has an amazing voice per say. I think it's because there is a genuineness to his voice. He just sounds like some above average singer who writes cool music that talks about stuff that I actually think. So I connect with that.
2. We want to stay connected to a community of friends. The Internet is our baby (thanks Al Gore!). It was our generation that adopted it and because of that we live and breath in it. This enables us to constantly stay connected to our friends. Friends are very, very important to us. It makes sense too because friends are the only constant our generation had throughout adolescence. Our parents divorced (generally speaking) because dad worked too much or had an affair with his secretary. Or grandma raised us and try as she might, just couldn't connect. So we sort of grew up with friends, learning life as we went along with them and Zack Morris. As a result, we want to be connected with each other, spending time together, doing life together. 
3. We are very, very skeptical. And in my opinion, we have every reason to be. Think about it. We've been marketed to our entire lives. I can remember commercials from when I was 6 or so. Not that commercials are intrinsically evil or anything, it's just that we've figured out that people (companies) lie in order to sell their product. Hamburgers aren't really as big or as perfectly put together as they are on billboards. Leaders of other companies like Enron will lie, cheat, and steal to get ahead. Megachurch pastors have affairs. So yes, we are very skeptical, and rightfully so.
4. We want to make a difference. In a culture where there isn't much with substance, we want our lives to count. We will gladly give incredible amounts of our time and money to a cause we believe in. Whether it's Darfur, Tom's Shoes, or volunteering for something, we put our time and money where out mouth is.

This is who The Brink is for.

For those of you who might be older and are reading this because you are wanting to reach twentysomethings, there will probably be some things printed in the magazine that make you a bit uncomfortable. And there might be a conversation or two on this site that would probably be better left un-read by some. And you know what, that's ok. If you want to reach twentysomethings, you have to meet them where they are without expecting them to act like something they're not.

If you're a twentysomething who is still in church, welcome to the conversation. Join me in welcoming our friends back as they come.

If you're a twentysomething who has left the church for whatever reason, I want to personally welcome you to the conversation.

Jacob