Unchurched Questions
There is no denying the fact that I am a huge Perry Noble fan, to me he’s the Kobe Bryant of the church world. Love his story and what God is doing through him. Love his approach to ministry and the creativity and innovativeness that he is surrounded by. I love his approach to saying anything even though it may be offensive to some. I love his passion for the local church and for people to meet Jesus without apology. All that to say, I’m not Perry Noble. I’ll never be Perry Noble nor would I want to be him. I’m me. I’m who God created me to be. Saying that though I have learned so much from him over the last couple years as I have from so many others. Frequently he posts something that really just gets me fired up and excited and says what I am thinking way better than I could ever write. So here is a re-post from March 31st of a few thoughts from Perry. He called his post: Ten Questions That Unchurched People ARE NOT Asking!
#1 – “What do you do to disciple people?” (This question is usually asked by people who want to ‘microwave” spiritually, not understand that they themselves actually became mature in the “crock pot.”)
#2 – “Who is speaking this weekend?” (They usually don’t care about the WHO…it’s the WHAT that matters to them.)
#3 – “Are you reformed in your theology?” (Most of them have no idea what in the heck this means!)
#4 – “Is your church spirit filled?”
#5 – “What version of the Bible do you use?” (Many unchurched people don’t even really know there are different versions!)
#6 – “What denomination are you affiliated with?”
#7 – “How many different activities can I sign my family up for in order to add to the insane schedule that we already have?”
#8 – “Does your pastor teach exegetically through the Scriptures?”
#9 – “Are there lots of crosses and pictures of Jesus in your church?”
#10 – “Are you guys pre trib, mid trib, post trib or partial trib?”
Great questions and just a reminder to focus on what is really important.
Jump
There are those moments that define you. Those moments where you realize what God has been doing in your life and yet you didn’t understand it, until now. Anybody who has been in ministry looks for those moments. Those moments encourage us when it gets tough. Those moments remind us why we do what we do. Those moments are given to us by God because He knows we needed to hear it at that moment.
Had a newer student post on their blog one of those moments for them. First let me say, I love to see students blogging and sharing their lives as an online author. Second, for a student to put anything like this out publicly shows me that God is doing something incredible in their life.
Name: Betsey Suchanic
School: Garnet Valley High School
Blog: Tall Buildings and Tiny Epidemics
Tonight I jumped. I literally jumped. My life changed tonight.
I got my first boyfriend.
That was wonderful. =D But my life changed in a whole different way too.
After my dad died, I lost faith in God. It wasn’t intentional. It wasn’t like one day I just decided that I didn’t believe anymore. I couldn’t understand why my dad had to be taken away. Over a couple of months it just faded away. I still believed, but not with my whole heart. I really wanted too. I just couldn’t.
Tonight that changed.
I finally understand. Between the stuff we discussed in our life groups and the video we watched after. I just understand. I can’t give a real explanation for why I understand. But I do. I’m so happy I do. I’m so grateful for being able to go to this church.
So tonight I jumped. I literally jumped. My life changed tonight.
(I cannot believe I’m actually posting this.)
I love the defining moments in a teenagers life. What have been some of your defining moments? What has been that moment that keeps you going and reminds you why you do what you do when it gets tough?
Guest Blog: Jeff Sareyka
Great insight from Jeff here as it totally goes along with what we talked about in our Hostage series on Sunday…bitterness. Regardless of how you voted…God is in control.
America’s new era begins on Tuesday. A sermon on bitterness that I heard on Sunday begs the question to be asked…Are you bitter about the next 4 years? Were you bitter about the previous 8 years? No matter what your perspective, remember, this is a nation under God. I believe God had good things in mind for this country back when the odds were against a young Colonial America in 1776. And when I hear bitter people talk about our Presidents, I feel like asking, “Do you think God has had plans for the previous 43 Presidents?” You see, Jesus had PLANS for twelve men that learned from him for three years of his ministry. And, of course, those men had flaws. If political cartoons existed in Jesus’ time, the disciples would have been depicted. If Saturday Night Live existed in Jesus’ time, the disciples would have been spoofed. But, you see Jesus still POURED into these men for a reason! God hasn’t turned His back on our country. If He did, it surely doesn’t make me feel secure. But, I know that God IS in control. He HAS been long before our country was in existence.
When a young America nominated George Washington to be a cornerstone….God was in control.
When William Harrison died of pneumonia one month into his term….God was in control.
When a bullet took the lives of Lincoln and Kennedy, as scary as it was for our nation….God was in control.
When America put all its hope for peace and prosperity into the hands of FDR….God was in control.
When a worn down Richard Nixon resigned from office in front of the country…God was in control.
To make it more personal, whether or not Carter, Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush or Obama had your vote….God was and is STILL in control. Let’s give God some credit here. We nominate human beings to lead our great nation and yes, they are still our leaders. God commands us to respect them. Let us all be comforted by God’s providence for our country and pray that He continues to use the leaders that lead. That’s really the best thing we can do as we look toward Inauguration Day.
