Just about every church says they desire to “reach people where they are” in life. Easier said than done right?

Yesterday someone came to my blog by searching this on Google:

“What calls people to be followers of Christ?”

I have no idea who this person is and what made them search for that. I don’t know if my blog even provided a great answer. But this was my first thought after I saw that the google search led to my blog:

I bet that person won’t ever step in a church, but in a small way I reached them where they were.

Because my class was canceled yesterday morning (after I already drove 30 minutes to get there), Jeff and I decided to go out for coffee. We talked a lot about the importance of churches being engaged in what is taking place on the internet.

It is funny to me that the same church that says it wants to “reach people where they are” refuses to have any kind of web presence, other than a lame website with a bunch of information.

How is that reaching people where they are?

You ever notice how many Christians are quick to attack others when it means keeping their ideological opinions “right”?

And sadly, with social media I believe this problem has taken a whole new level. It doesn’t take a leadership position to be able to speak into a crowd of people with various opinions anymore, it only takes a following on social media.

Last week Glenn Beck said something I totally disagree with and the backlash towards him from many in the Christian community was great.

Just a few months ago Pat Robertson also said something I totally disagree with and the backlash towards him from many Christians was huge.

And I could name plenty more examples of Christians or non-Christians that have been burned at the stake of public opinion by Christians.

So I ask you…what is the point of standing up against opinions you disagree with?

Honestly, I’m sick of all this. It makes me want to ignore social media completely. We’ve abandoned “the truth in love” for “the truth hurts.”

I fear that too many are willing to crucify these men instead of engaging a conversation. Christians can become so completely unChristlike when someone offends them.

And I get it, because (especially within social media) it is a lot easier to gain a following by being condescending, negative, and overtly opinionated, than it is to be uplifting, positive, and gracious.

I think Jesus speaks directly to us when it comes to dealing with those who disagree with us or offend us:

“I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”

Your thoughts?

All of us have luxuries that we are used to living with. Some of us have more than others, but considering shelter and food are the only tangible “things” we really need, there is a lot that we have that is extra stuff.

What is the one tangible thing you could most easily give up?

For those of you new to this blog, every Saturday I write up a short post including links to some of the best blog posts I read and some of the most interesting news I found.

Blogging is a funny thing. Sometimes I write posts that I think a lot of people will resonate with and few do, and other times I write something that I don’t think is my best and people love it. This week was an example of the former, not the latter.

Blogs

1. “The Open Source Pastor” from Vince Marotte. Interesting concept.
2. Probably my favorite post of the week. This time from John Dyer as he weaves the subjects of coffee, theology, and technology in a perfect way.
3. I think Rhett Smith asks an important question: “Are we addicted to our smartphones?”
4. I am not this skin, I am the soul that lives within.
5. How do we honor aging gracefully?
6. Great discussion surrounding this post critiquing seminary online.

News

• Sad news of 6 World Vision workers killed in Pakistan this week.
• Article from Christianity Today on whether text messaging and/or Twitter can enhance or distraction during a church gathering.
• Time Magazine gave my favorite local coffee shop some national pub: “Is Stumptown the new Starbucks or better?”
• People actually miss Paula on Idol? Come on, give me a break.

Have a great weekend.

Let the Madness begin.

This is easily one of my favorite times of the year. The weather is finally getting better. Baseball season is close. I can begin thinking about golfing again. And March Madness is upon us.

Each of the last few years I’ve set up a Tournament Pick ‘Em league on Yahoo Sports. This year will be no different. This year however there will be a prize. I’ll take whoever wins out to coffee at Stumptown, my treat. It isn’t much, but better than nothing.

So I invite those of you who care about the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, and will be watching the games during March Madness, to come and join in the fun.

The brackets don’t come out until Sunday but you can join the league I set up right now and fill out your bracket after the Selection Show (you will need a Yahoo account to sign up).

To join the league, just go here.

Good luck.

And Go Duke!

During my undergrad studies I took numerous management classes and often our class discussions would be centered around the importance of being flexible and nimble in business. We would go through numerous case studies of businesses that were once at the top of their industry, and after 10 years of remaining stagnant (without change in structure or approach) they began struggling to compete with other businesses.

The connections to the local church on this topic are numerous. Granted, churches aren’t competing against other churches to retain the most people. But if eternity is at stake and businesses are constantly changing and adapting to stay at the forefront, why shouldn’t churches?

The goal with churches isn’t to be at the forefront of their industry, but it is to effectively step into people’s lives with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Tony Morgan shared this on his blog yesterday:

“Leaders have to choose between control and innovation. You can’t have both. You can define the desired outcomes. You can create the boundaries, but you can’t expect your team to be creative, innovative or artistic if you try to control every element of the execution. If you must have full control, you just need to know that you are also choosing to shut down new ideas and innovations in your organization.

Unfortunately, the Church is notorious for religiously keeping things the way they’ve always been but hoping we’ll somehow achieve different results. Avoiding new approaches. Top-down, centralized leadership. Preserving the traditional ways of doing things. Sound familiar?” (full post here)

Churches are well known for being slow to change. After growing up as a PK (Pastor’s Kid), now attending seminary, and working at a church, I find myself accepting this about the local church.

But the reality is, when I am honest with myself, everything in me wants to fight the idea that it ok for churches to be stagnant and slow to change.

I can give you two principles that almost always hold true:

1. What used to work, does not work anymore.
2. If you aren’t changing, you’re falling behind.

Why is it that churches do a great job of ignoring those two principles?