Just a few weeks ago, on a Thursday afternoon, a young woman came by the office to give me something. She was going to put it in the offering plate, but decided to just hand it to me. I was in a meeting, so she left it at the front desk. On the outside it said, “Jim White,” and underneath, “Be careful…sharp objects inside.” On the back it read, “I thought I was going to put this in an offering plate but I think it would be best to give you directly.”

I opened the envelope, and inside a plastic bag were razor blades. And a letter she later told me I could share.

“I have been coming to your church on and off now since I was in 5th grade.  I am now 23…When I was 12 years old I started cutting myself.  Now my arms are covered in an overwhelming amount of scars, but I am proud to say there are no open cuts.  I have not cut for probably a year now, but I still have razor blades that are hidden around my room…

I quit when I was about to cut one day but heard Jesus in my ear saying, ‘I bled enough.’ He took my pain on the cross and I no longer needed to take it out on myself.  But I realized by holding onto razor blades I am not fully letting go of the pain and addiction to cutting.  I want to fully let it go now…

It says in the Bible, Cast all your anxiety on him for He cares for you.  So I’m doing that today.  This is an offering plate and I am offering to Jesus today more than any amount of money I could ever offer Him.  These are all my razor blades that I have kept hidden around in different places out of my reach just in case.

I am handing it over to God and I trust you also with this as well.  Thank you for all you and this church have done in my life…”

And then she signed her name.

And now I am holding her razor blades in my hand, instead of her holding them in hers.

And that is why I do what I do.

There are stories waiting to be created and told all around us. Make one happen today!

That kind of challenge has been lost in our sincere efforts to lower the barriers to reach the unchurched. But Spurgeon’s passion is surfacing again.

Austin Stone is a missional church in Austin, TX which has grown to over 7,000 people in 8 short years. They are a partner in our Future Traveler effort to develop missional ministries from large church platforms. I was there recently and was stunned by how they’ve raised the bar as Spurgeon challenged. To become active in their ministry, you must sign and live by this 14-point partner agreement:

As a Partner at Austin Stone Church I Will:

Worship Christ

• Habitually spend time with Christ through the reading of scripture and prayer
• Follow the example of Christ in my personal life
• Financially support the mission of the church, starting with a 10% tithe
• Be or have been baptized as a believer
• Participate in community with Austin Stone

Live in Community

• Actively pursue biblical community within The Austin Stone
• Be diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit
• Not gossip, but instead use my words to give grace

Get Trained

• Serve the body of Austin Stone
• Get trained for ministry with the Austin Stone
• Not teach beliefs contraty to our Affirmation of Faith
• Build disciple relationships with other believers

Make Disciples

• Pursue intentional, transparent relationships with non-Christians
• Be involved in living out and sharing of the gospel both locally and globally

That is a high bar in any contemporary church today, yet over 1,500 have signed up. There is little room for imposters here. However, the more they raise the bar at “The Stone”, the more people show up the next weekend.

Are you an imposter?

Why do think more people keep showing up as they raise it higher?

What would happen at your church if they raised the bar this high?

It’s easy to say “no” when there is a deeper “yes” burning within you.

Covey explained that success is often a result of a clear, deeper “YES”  within us that empowers us to say “NO” to distractions.

During those same 20 years, our “Seeker Sensitive” ministry efforts seem to have taken us in a different direction than what Covey was advising. Even though lowering barriers successfully helped introduce thousands to Christ, it seems we have minimized expectations as well. Unfortunately, this means that we may have also minimized the deeper burning “YES” within young Christians.

Could that be the reason that a recent poll by the National Campaign To Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy discovered that 80% of  Evangelical Christians between 18-20 have had sex?  The Guttmacher Institute also discovered that 30% of unmarried Christians become pregnant and 40% of them end their pregnancy with an abortion. That’s 650,000 Christian abortions a year, even though 76% of Christians believe premarital sex is wrong.

Research now clearly shows that premarital sexual relationships lower our ability to develop the critical long-term bonds necessary for a healthy marriage and healthy families. Could it be our young people are failing to claim a deeper burning “YES” and are therefore ill-equipped to say “NO”?

Is it time to once again challenge young Christians to a higher purpose?

Aren’t Christians clearly called to be the light on a hill to a dark, hurting world?

Is it time to throw away the lower standards and equip Christians with a deeper burning “YES”?

Content from Relevant magazine

Recently, Hybel’s “Reveal Study” highlighted surprising trends. A large part of his church failed to become disciples once they were introduced to Christ. Even more troubling, the 20% that matured into disciples had become disconnected and dissatisfied with the church.

Other studies suggest claiming to be a Christian, but not acting Christ- like, hadn’t gone unnoticed. Throw in an increasingly diverse faith culture and the response has been a growing cynicism. To grow a church today, we must learn to connect with cynics who now make up 50-60% of our communities.

Cynics aren’t all that influenced by cool music, charismatic speakers or fancy buildings. They’re not all that interested in how attractive your Sunday worship is. They’re interested in whether you’re willing to send people to heal their community.

Recently, a young cynic told me he left his church of over 30 years because they had embarked on a multi-million dollar building program. He could accept a fancy new building if the building was a resource for a far bigger vision outside the church, but it wasn’t. Ten other families left with him.

“Cynical Sensitive” ministries focus on equipping and sending people to the doubt and pain in the community. And, cynical sensitive facilities must scream mission, a mission far more important than the building. That is why equipping and sending resources must be front and center.

And, the facility may need to feel more like FedEx Kinko’s than Starbucks.

They’re “Digital Natives” while we struggle as “Digital Immigrants”. What they want from church is very different as well.

Here is research data from Dave Tonen regarding what the 18-30 year old crowd want from you and I at church:

1. Community
2. Authenticity
3. Mentorship
4. Passionate Leaders
5. Interactive Environment
6. Involvement
7. Relevant Engagement
8. Intellectually Challenged
9. Technology and Internet Presence

This is real stuff.  Last week I experienced it first hand at an annual family camp we attend.

I had the opportunity to share a power point with video clips in an attempt to step into the world of the high school and college kids.

One of the videos was a passionate, tearful  plea from pastor  David Wilkerson (Author of the The Cross And The Switchblade). David poured out his heart about our lack of anguish.

Anguish:

Bearing God’s heart, passion and burden so deeply it provokes us to act.

I wondered if they would connect. Would they care? Could their hearts be stirred?

When we finished nobody moved. It felt like an hour of deep, quiet reflection. Tears were common throughout the room.

Does that surprise you? Have we underestimated our young people?

Check out Wilkerson’s video:

Who are you trying to connect with? Are you creative enough to get their attention?

We have stiff competition.

Check out this unbelievable activity that we’re generating every 60 seconds on the Internet…

I took the Father’s Day challenge and unhooked from the web all day Sunday. I even let my smart phone battery go dead. And it was, well…lonely.

For 24 hours I lost connection with all my on-line chatter. No news, Facebook, email, text messages, blogs, twitter or message boards.

There really is an on-line community out there that I’ve become attached to. A community that I’ve learned to depend on for connection, perspective, and context.

But after thinking about it, that’s the point. There’s only so much time in a day. We only have so much mental space. The big question is, are we allocating this finite resource to those most important to us?

If Sunday is first the Lord’s day and secondarily a family day, they should be getting priority. But sadly, my experience helped me see that I was robbing them both.

I’m considering making Sunday a no internet day for good. And maybe every day should have an extended quiet time for God and those most important to me.

Did you take the challenge?

What did you learn?

If not, try it and let us know what God reveals to you.

We are hopelessly addicted to our digital devices.

So much so, in fact, that some psychologists are pushing to have “Internet Addiction” broadly classified as a clinical disorder. Take a look at these numbers…

• 65% of North Americans spend more time with their computer than with their spouse.
• 45% of workers say they can’t go more than 15 minutes without an interruption (from a digital device).
• 50% of people leave their mobile phones on when they go to bed.

Mobile devices, computers, and social media are wonderful things. They’ve transformed our lives and our world in countless positive ways. But make no mistake, while we’re more “connected” than ever, we’re more disconnected than ever from our families.

Here’s a challenge to all you dads. First, turn off those distracting audible notices when emails, texts, and voice mails come in. Make a real effort to be present with whomever you’re with.

And second, disconnect.

That’s right. On June 19th, Father’s Day, disconnect your digital device for 24 hours and reconnect with your family. You’ll be shocked by how much that quality time with your family can revive dormant relationships. And you’ll be shocked by how much you’ve been missed.

Here are two simple tips to make it happen:

1. Before going to bed the night before Father’s Day, check your e-mail one final time, turn off your mobile device, and put it in another room. You may get the shakes, but you’ll get over it.

2. Make a good plan for the day.

Alcoholics are especially susceptible during periods of boredom, and it’s no different with an internet junkie. Plan a day of special activities with your family so you’ll be less tempted to check email or go online.

I’m in. Will you take the Father’s day challenge with me?

If so, let us know here how it goes.

• What does mission look like in America in the 21st century?
• How should the message of the Gospel go forward?
• What does it mean to be a Christian in a world that is disenchanted with our movement?

Recently, Lyons had the opportunity to ponder these questions with Billy Graham. For decades the 89-year-old evangelist has traveled the world and witnessed what God was up to. He has enjoyed audiences with the world’s most powerful and has spiritually counseled seven US presidents. After careful reflection, this was his answer to the questions:

Back when we did these crusades in football stadiums and arenas, the Holy Spirit was really moving – and people were coming to Christ as we preached the Word of God. But today, I sense something different is happening. I see evidence that the Holy Spirit is working in a new way. He’s moving through people where they work and through one-on-one relationships to accomplish great things. They are demonstrating God’s love to those around them, not just with words but in deed.

Graham had seen the best of what 20th century Christianity had to offer, yet was in tune with something new.

So what do these sage words from such an iconic figure mean for you now as you try to have an impact with your faith?

To learn more, check out The Next Christians. It’s one of the best resources yet to navigate our unique challenges.

How does this impact the future for you and me?

What does it mean for our grand kids?

Check this video out…it’s an interesting three minutes.

And he has called on his 1,100-member congregation to do the same. The problem isn’t lost productivity while checking out photo albums – it’s adultery.

Miller shared that 20 couples from his church have had marriage problems in the last six months due to hooking up with their old high school flames on Facebook.

According to the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, 81% of its members have either used or been faced with evidence from social networking sites in divorce cases.

Wow, those are scary statistics.

Should you and I keep our Facebok and Twitter accounts?

We filled the 100 available seats in four days and have a waiting list. What is stirring this passion to find purpose beyond ourselves?

James Emory Wright’s thoughts are very revealing:

The names say it all:  iPod, iTunes, iMac, iPhone and iPad.  If there is a theme to our day, it’s that “it’s all about me.”

It’s called narcissism.

In Greek mythology, Narcissus is the character who, upon passing his reflection in the water, becomes so enamored with himself that he devotes the rest of his life to his own reflection.  From this we get our term “narcissism,” the preoccupation with self.

The value of narcissism is the classic “I, me, mine” mentality that places personal pleasure and fulfillment at the forefront of concerns.  Historian Christopher Lasch went so far as to christen ours “the culture of narcissism,” saying that this is the new religion – a religion where we don’t actually want religion proper, but instead, personal therapy.

And it is just this spirit which has invaded our thinking, even those who claim to follow Christ.

Eavesdrop, for a moment, on our rhetoric.

“I want to go where I’m fed” – not where we can learn to feed ourselves, much less feed others.

“I need to be ministered to,” as if ministry in the life of the Christ-follower is something that happens to us, instead of something we make happen through us for others.

This from a people whose Savior said,

“I did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”

“Whoever wants to be great among must become the slave of all.”

Sadly, a spiritual narcissism has invaded our thinking where the individual needs and desires of the Believer have become the center of attention.

Do you see this happening in your world as well?

Why do you think we’ve become so self-focused?

This was pointed out to me in a conversation with a pastor friend who built a large mega church of over 12,000. His ministry was built on one key question:

Who are we trying to reach with the gospel?

My friend went to great lengths to define their target audience and focused their efforts into developing a powerful Sunday service to reach that group.

This is also the same question that has driven church growth the past 30 years. And the result has been remarkable success at growing huge churches. Unfortunately, these are huge churches with little loyalty, exhausted staff, and stretched budgets.

This struggle has now provoked many mega church pastors to ponder a far more courageous question. One my pastor friend is painfully wrestling with:

What are we trying to create?

Jesus taught we should bear fruit. We are called to be clay in the potter’s hands, willing to be molded in His likeness. We are told to not only reach others with the gospel but make disciples as well.

Effective church leaders must have the courage to ask both of these questions and then act.

Does your church ask both?

There’s fresh thinking everywhere. The new House Speaker John Boehner took the gavel from Nancy Pelosi yesterday and vows change as we shift from spending to constraint. And constraint is the buzzword for ministry as well.

It’s no longer about building bigger buildings and trusting they will come.  It’s about:

• Becoming Christ centered
• Life transformation in His image
• Planting new, organic faith communities.

It’s about growth but not about big.

In fact, the brightest students coming out of seminary are no longer interested in being mentored by the biggest and fastest growing churches. The talented ones are passionate about planting  their own fresh expression of church in movie theaters, school cafeterias, coffee shops, pubs, warehouses and store fronts in strip malls.

It’s about becoming missionaries in our own communities and going to them versus expecting them to come to us. And that’s why church construction now includes retrofitting old warehouses, storefronts, and old outdated or abandoned church facilities.

In an effort to partner in this church planting movement, our Carmel office is launching a Church Planting Incubator.  They are making our conference and meeting rooms available to these budding faith communities. If you’re a church planter in the Indy area and need space, contact Lynn Noe at (317) 582-5100 x129.  We’d love to support your planting effort.

Check this out!

Touching…somehow it makes it all very real.