Weekly Web Roundup (6/21/17)

Photo Credit: Richard Bromley

Here is a collection of items from around the web that caught my attention the past couple of weeks:

How Billy Graham Mainstreamed Evangelicals by Frances Fitzgerald (The Daily Beast)

"Graham was, as he himself said, still a country boy. Tall and awkward, he had a rough-hewn voice and was given to flailing his arms and stabbing the air with a raised finger. When he told Bible stories, he used slangy vernacular and acted out the parts—preening and strutting in the role of Belshazzar, or prancing around like an uppity pig in the story of the Prodigal Son. Calling for revival, he would stalk the platform, assaulting the audience with vivid descriptions of the horrors that came from man’s rebellion against God. According to his Youth for Christ peers, Graham had a kind of incandescence on the platform that came from his passionate sincerity."

Practicing Privilege in the Local Church by Michelle Van Loon (Patheos)

"Most of us are occupied trying to get our needs met for belonging and significance. Those needs are really important! God himself wired us that way. When a church staff, each holding positions of social privilege within that small community, are focused on their own “interpersonal dynamics and church politics”, it communicates that they might be focused on getting their needs for belonging and significance met. The experience B. had in the church gave him a new way to think about how he’d functioned in his previous role as pastor. Though he was a very others-focused, servant-hearted guy, he recognized he’d succumbed to the temptation to form and hoard a clique around himself so he could get those needs of his met."

The Number One Reason Missionaries Go Home by Paul Akin (The Gospel Coalition)

I have heard it often communicated that the primary reason why missionaries leave the field is because of difficulties with other team members. Here, Paul Akin suggests five common reasons why this happens: 1) Unmet expectations, 2) Conflict, 3) Stress 4) Comparison/Jealousy and 5) Sin. He briefly offers a few suggestions as solutions.

If Humble People Make the Best Leaders, Why Do We Fall for Charismatic Narcissists by Margarita Mayo

"Charismatic leaders can be prone to extreme narcissism that leads them to promote highly self-serving and grandiose aims.” A clinical study illustrates that when charisma overlaps with narcissism, leaders tend to abuse their power and take advantage of their followers. Another study indicates that narcissistic leaders tend to present a bold vision of the future, and this makes them more charismatic in the eyes of others. Why are such leaders more likely to rise to the top? One study suggests that despite being perceived as arrogant, narcissistic individuals radiate “an image of a prototypically effective leader.” Narcissistic leaders know how to draw attention toward themselves. They enjoy the visibility. It takes time for people to see that these early signals of competence are not later realized, and that a leader’s narcissism reduces the exchange of information among team members and often negatively affects group performance."

The Uniqueness of University Evangelism by Tim Keller & Michael Keller (The Gospel Coalition)

"Universities create environments that encourage students to rethink the beliefs of their upbringing, including their meaning in life, values, and identity. That, of course, is a challenge to students who come into undergraduate courses with a Christian faith. But it also means students from other backgrounds and communities are dislodged from them and are freer to consider the claims of Christianity than they would’ve been at home. Also, while it may be considered impolite in much of society to try to convert people to your belief system, on university campuses this is essentially what everyone’s trying to do to everyone else, with vigor. The free market of ideas and the discussions that ensue inside and outside the lecture room aren’t value-neutral exchanges, but rather places of persuasion where individuals debate and accept differing explanations of the good, the true, and the beautiful. Evangelism fits right in."

Why Parents Need To Limit Screens And Make Boredom Great Again by Brooke Shannon (The Federalist)

"Unfortunately, the increasing ubiquity of screens diminishes opportunities for children’s brains to wander, create, and imagine. From carpools to the classroom to big sister’s sporting events to the dinner table, screens are destroying boredom. Why would a six-year-old stare out the car window or talk to a friend on the way to school when the latest episode of “Paw Patrol” is on? If a three-year-old can play a game on a tablet, why would he watch his big brother’s soccer game? Many waiting rooms have become quieter, and some dinner tables have gone silent. But at what cost? Too much screen time—and not enough boredom—can lead to poor social skills, shorter attention spans, and a need for instant gratification. How many future inventors will be lost without experiencing boredom? Where will the great orators and writers of this generation come from if imagination is not nurtured today?"

Why We Argue Best with Our Mouths Shut by Christine Herman (Christianity Today)

"The problem with persuasion is not just that people are stubborn; people change their minds all the time about all sorts of things. The real challenge arises when someone’s beliefs are tied to their identity. If changing your belief means changing your identity, it comes at the risk of rejection from the community of people with whom you share that identity. Knowing this, it’s not surprising that people tend to seek out information that confirms a belief and outright reject anything that conflicts with it, says Dan Kahan, a psychology professor at Yale Law School. 

“They might not perceive it that way consciously,” he says. But research has shown that this phenomenon—known to psychologists as confirmation bias—is real. Kahan illustrates with a sports analogy: “Fans of opposing teams tend to see different things when there’s a close call,” he says. “And it wouldn’t be good if you stood up on your side of the stadium and said, ‘I think the guy really was out of bounds.’ ” Being rejected by the group around which we have formed our identity can be painful. Thus, in the face of evidence that runs contrary to our beliefs, it only makes sense that we put up our guard."

What Apple Thought the iPhone Might Look Like in 1995 by Adrienne LaFrance (The Atlantic)

"To those who had been watching Apple since the 1980s, however, shrinking computers and videophones seemed to be always just tantalizingly out of reach, emblems of a future that would, fingers crossed, eventually arrive. But when? By 1995, even though Apple’s laptops had dipped to a svelte six pounds, and the transformative power of the internet was becoming apparent, the next great iteration of the web was barely imaginable. Today’s mobile web, the one that would be ushered in by smartphones, was still out of reach. But there were hints of what was to come."

Stuff Dads Never Say

I had the privilege of visiting my home church in Michigan - Colonial Woods Missionary Church - this past Sunday, Father's Day. This video was shown during the service and I got a big kick out of it.

Weekly Web Roundup (10/22/16)

Photo Credit: Duke TIP

Here are some interesting stories that I have noticed from around the web this past week:

Most College Students Are Leaving the Church. Here's How This Congregation Is Bucking the Trend by Daniel Darling (Christianity Today)

"I believed the college campus is the largest mission field in our city and the "10/40 Window" of America. We didn't want a church of exclusively college students, but rather a church of all ages that was passionate about reaching the campus. In the early days, though, people weeded themselves out quickly; they’d walk in and say, "Ugh, look at all these college students." Instead, we built the church with people who would say, "Wow, look at all these college students!""

Black Millennials lead in digital, Nielsen says by Jessica Guynn (USA Today)

"African-American Millennials spend about two hours more a week (eight hours and 29 minutes versus six hours and 28 minutes) using the Internet on personal computers than total Millennials, and about an hour more weekly (three hours and 47 minutes versus two hours and 33 minutes) watching video on personal computers. African-American millennials are 25% more likely than all Millennials to say they are among the first of their social or work circle to try new tech products."

From Cultural Competency to Cultural Humility by Natasha Iwalani Hicks (Next Church)

"In the past I used to get fired up about the assumptions that people make about me and my cultural/ethnic background, especially because it often came with a lack of expectation based on my appearance and my quiet presence.  However, as I have grown to be more and more comfortable in my own skin and to truly value my experiences as a multi-cultural person, I have increasingly learned to lean in and to engage in conversation instead of allowing anger or disappointment to lead my response.  I will admit though, that I still do experience those knee-jerk responses of anger and disappointment at times, especially when I see assumptions being placed upon others."

White Evangelicals Noticeably More Forgiving of 'Immoral Behavior' in Elected Officials Today Than in 2011 (Sojourners)

"A poll by PRRI, published Oct. 19, reveals that 72 percent of white evangelical Protestants now believe that immoral behavior by an elected official doesn’t mean the official is incapable of performing their duties. This is a dramatic increase from the year 2011, when only 30 percent of white evangelical Protestants shared this view."

White Privilege in Western Missions (A Life Overseas)

"Even (and perhaps especially) in missions work, the resources that are used, the ideas that are disseminated, and the methods that are implemented are most likely created, introduced, or advanced by white men. While their intentions are undoubtedly benevolent, this comes at a cost. When those with white privilege are the only people with influence, people of color inevitability feel stripped of power. When theirs are the only voices we hear, people of color feel unheard.  When there is a lack of representation and diversity within the missions community, people of color feel dismissed. These seemingly benign acts of commission and omission seem trivial taken on their own, but when experienced day after day, what we hear is “I don’t need you.”  The message we receive is that we are weaker, less honorable, and unpresentable."

Racial Reconciliation May Not Be What You Think It Is by Rich Villodas (Missio Alliance)

"To be sure, diversity is a good thing, but in itself it is not reconciliation. On the surface diversity looks wonderful. However, the temptation is for us to stop there. When we do we are no different from New York City subway cars. NYC subway cars are crowds of diverse, anonymous people in close proximity. But the church is called be more than a sanctified subway car."

How A Lesbian Professor & Malcolm X Helped Lead Me To Christ

Photo Credit: Vectorportal

I have a lesbian political science professor and a black Muslim minister to thank (at least partially) for the circumstances that led me to become a follower of Jesus. It seems that God often chooses to work in ways that seem peculiar to us but, thankfully, He does his thing just the same.

Although I grew up going to church each Sunday and was raised by two Christian parents, my faith was not on a solid foundation when I entered college in the fall of 1991. If you asked me back then, I would have said I believed that I was a Christian and that I believed in God. But it was soon revealed that the beliefs I had been exposed to as a child had never fully been internalized.

Based on the things I saw as a college freshmen going on around me in the residence halls and what I was being taught in the classroom, Christianity was not something that anyone seemed to be taking all that seriously. I experienced a growing dissatisfaction as I dealt with the tension of seeking to be a good and moral person but not fully understanding the reasons behind why I would want to live a good and moral life.

I enrolled in an Introduction to Political Science the second semester of my freshmen year that challenged my belief system in ways that I had never previously encountered. Midway through the semester, my professor had the whole class engage in a learning exercise dealing with rights for the gay and lesbian community. Half the class was assigned to a group that was to advocate for the rights of gays and lesbians and the other half of the class was assigned to a group that would argue against these same rights. I was placed in the pro gay rights group.

This exercise forced me to defend things that I didn't agree with and, frankly, made me quite uncomfortable. I was frustrated and found myself getting defensive as my professor attacked traditional views on God and sexuality. But as the assignment carried on, I found myself questioning my beliefs about religion and morality in ways that I never had before. By the end of the class, I came to a striking realization. I genuinely felt that my parents were sincere in their beliefs about Jesus but I was no longer sure I felt the same way.

As the summer months gave way to the fall and the beginning of another school year, I was seriously questioning what I believed about God, the Bible and the Church. As someone that had been interested since childhood in the black community and the Civil Rights movement, I borrowed a copy of The Autobiography of Malcolm X from a roommate. I devoured the 500 page book in a handful of days.

As I read about the discrimination that Malcolm faced throughout his life, my strong sense of justice was aroused. Putting myself in his shoes, I realized that I probably wouldn't think too highly of white people either if I had experienced the same things he had gone through. Furthermore, my pre-9/11 self silently wondered if Islam might be more accepting of people of all races in ways that I hadn't seen lived out among some of the Christians that I had experienced.

I was at a crossroads and unsure of what to do. Though I rarely prayed, I prayed this prayer one evening,

"God, I need you to show me if Christianity is true. Because, if you don't, I'm just going to do what everyone else is doing and do my own thing."

Fortunately for me, our God is a gracious and patient God...and He quickly answered my prayer. My youth pastor from high school, Gary, wrote to me periodically. Several weeks before I had requested some resources as a result of a weird conversation about angels and demons I had with a drunk girl on my dorm floor late one Saturday night. The books arrived shortly after my "ultimatum" prayer.

One of the books was too theological in nature and over my head. But the other book, Under Siege by Josh McDowell and Chuck Klein, was what God used to bring me to Himself. I related to the protagonist in the story and Christianity was presented in a way I had never previously understood it to be -- a personal relationship with God through Christ.

The book contained this explanation of the Gospel and I was awakened to the fact that I was a sinner in need of a savior and I placed my faith in Christ and committed to live for Him the best I knew how at that moment.

There was a contact form in the back of the book that said to call a phone number if the reader wanted to get connected to Christians on their campus. I called the number, gave them my information and within a couple of weeks, a couple of guys from Campus Crusade for Christ showed up at my door and sat down to talk with me. The rest, they say, is history.

I learned long ago that God can use the most unexpected people and the most unexpected things to bring people to Christ. Even people that might seem opposed to the Gospel still operate under the sovereignty of God. For me, I'm eternally grateful that God brought me into the classroom of that Poly Sci prof and that the story of Malcolm X found it's way into my hands.

As I look back on that time of my life, I find I have an incredible amount of respect for both my professor and Malcolm for boldly living out their beliefs. It encouraged me to do the same. Contrary to what one might normally assume, those encounters didn't lead me away from Christ but actually brought me closer to Him. And thank God they did.

Both Social Justice & Evangelism On The Rise For Millennials

Photo Credit: Merrimack College

According to recent research from the Barna Group, the perception that Christian Millennials (those born in the early 1980's through the early 2000's) are big on social justice but wary of evangelism might not be accurate. Here is what Barna found:

"They've been called "the social justice generation," and for good reason—Millennials are actively taking up the cause of the poor, the oppressed, the orphan and the widow. Yet the most common critique leveled at this surge in social compassion is that it comes at a great expense. Sure, skeptics argue, they might feed the hungry and free the captives in this life, but what about the next? According to this view, Millennials are elevating physical needs over spiritual needs and forgoing evangelism altogether. 

Yet the latest Barna research reveals this is not the case. 

In fact, in answer to the question of evangelism on the rise or in decline, Millennials are a rare case indeed. While the evangelistic practices of all other generations have either declined or remained static in the past few years, Millennials are the only generation among whom evangelism is significantly on the rise. Their faith-sharing practices have escalated from 56% in 2010 to 65% in 2013. 

Not only that, but born again Millennials share their faith more than any other generation today. Nearly two-thirds (65%) have presented the Gospel to another within the past year, in contrast to the national average of about half (52%) of born again Christians. 

Since tracking began in 1996, the data show born again Busters, who are currently in their thirties and forties (63%), were evangelizing at an all-time high in 1998. However, evangelism practice among Busters is down to 48% today. Among the Boomer generation (born between 1946 and 1964), nearly two-thirds of born again Boomers (65%) shared their faith in 2007, but today, this has dropped to less than half (49%). The outreach efforts of born again Elders (ages 68 and older), on the other hand, have remained fairly steady over the past several decades. Today, Elders (53%) share their faith just about as much as the average born again Christian (52%)."

I'm thankful that I have the privilege to invest in the lives of this generation of young people.

To read the rest of the findings please click here.

Are Short-Term Mission Trips A Thing Of The Past?

Photo Credit: jeremy.wilburn

Do short-term mission trips really make the difference that we may think they do? Darren Carlson offers a challenging perspective on whether our good intentions end up resulting in what we had hoped for. He says this:

"I have seen with my own eyes or know of houses in Latin America that have been painted 20 times by 20 different short-term teams; fake orphanages in Uganda erected to get Westerners to give money; internet centers in India whose primary purpose is to ask Westerners for money; children in African countries purposefully mutilated by their parents so they would solicit sympathy while they beg; a New England-style church built by a Western team in Cameroon that is never used except when the team comes to visit; and slums filled with big-screen TVs and cell phone towers. 

I have seen or know of teams of grandmothers who go to African countries and hold baby orphans for a week every year but don't send a dime to help them otherwise; teams who build houses that never get used; teams that bring the best vacation Bible school material for evangelism when the national church can never bring people back to church unless they have the expensive Western material; teams that lead evangelistic crusades claiming commitments to Christ topping 5,000 every year in the same location with the same people attending."

As one that has participated on a number of short-term missions teams, I do believe that these ministry opportunities can have lasting value. I've also experienced the other side as one that has received short-term missionaries into an unfamiliar ministry environment for them. I've dealt firsthand with the challenges of seeking to accommodate these well-meaning but inexperienced missionaries while also trying not to push away the people that will remain long after the missionaries return home.

In order for short-term mission trips to have the type of impact that most of us hope for, it is important for us to examine our motives and intentions in taking part in such endeavors. Before participating in a short-term mission trip, we would do well to ask ourselves several questions. These questions could include the following:

1. Is this trip about me or about the people I'm supposedly going to serve? Do I project the posture of a tourist or that of a servant? 

2. Has our team already identified the needs of those we'll be serving without first talking to leaders in that community? Or have we sought their input on what will be most helpful for them? 

3. Is our team contributing to an unhealthy dependence on outside resources when the ability to generate those resources might already exist among those we'll be serving? 

4. Will we be eating the foods they eat, living in similar housing and respecting their customs and culture? Or will we refuse to identify with them while carrying a "superior" attitude? 

5. Do we acknowledge that there are things that the people we'll be meeting have things to teach us and that they can be a blessing to us even as we hope to be a blessing to them?

It is true that short-term mission trips can be unhelpful in some circumstances. But that doesn't have to be the case. When we approach others with a humble and teachable heart in which we are willing to serve and not be served, then we are helping to lay the groundwork for a positive experience for both short-term missionaries and those to whom they will be ministering.

To read the rest of Darren Carlson's eye-opening post on the Gospel Coalition blog please click here.

The Whole Church Bringing The Whole Gospel To The Whole World

Whiteboard-Whole Church Whole Gospel Whole World from mariners church on Vimeo.

(h/t to Sandy Ovalle for the link)

John Stott: A Legacy Passed On

Photo Credit: osattack

John Stott, a leading figure in Christian evangelicalism in the past century, passed away this week at the age of ninety. Christianity Today has written a wonderful piece about his influence and legacy on the world. Here's a highlight:

"Stott was every inch an evangelical, but a reforming evangelical. He recognized that evangelicalism could and sometimes did sink down into mere piety, whereas the Bible spoke of a robust transformation of the world brought about by God's people engaged in mission. As a London pastor, Stott increasingly recognized the need for evangelicalism to reclaim its heritage of engagement with the social issues of the day.

As he told an interviewer years later, "In the early 1960s, I began to travel in the Third World, and I saw poverty in Latin America, Africa, and Asia as I had not seen it before. It became clear to me that it was utterly impossible to take that old view." The "old view" was that preaching was always a Christian's preeminent task, and that deeds of compassion were strictly secondary. As Stott probed the Scriptures, he came to believe that Jesus' Great Commission commanded Jesus' servants to carry on his entire mission, which included practical concern for life and health.

One of Stott's most significant works—and one that carried him far out of his own expertise—was the book Issues Facing Christians Today (1984), in which he attempted to address crucial concerns of contemporary society such as abortion, industrial relations, and human rights. Earlier he had written Your Mind Matters: The Place of the Mind in the Christian Life (1972). In 1982, he helped to launch the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, which offered classes and lectures on a wide variety of topics relevant to life in modern society.

His greatest impact in the area of social concern came somewhat inadvertently. In 1974, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association convened an International Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland. About 2,500 members attended (in addition to 1,300 other participants). About half of the delegates and speakers came from Majority World countries. The gathering's wide representation resembled meetings of the World Council of Churches, but the excited atmosphere of unified mission was unprecedented. Many participants grasped for the first time the global dimensions of the evangelical church. Almost 30 years later, Philip Jenkins would write The Next Christendom: The Coming of Global Christianity. But as David Jones, president of John Stott Ministries, says, at Lausanne, "Jenkins' book was there in the faces and minds of people. Lausanne showed the global church that we can work together."

Such unity was hardly automatic. In fact, there were great differences in perspective between those from the West and those from the Majority World, and the relationship between evangelism and social concern was an emotional hot button. According to some, Christians were called to preach the gospel, full stop. For others, particularly those in countries where poverty and injustice were inescapably obvious, such a stance amounted to callous indifference to people. Lausanne could easily have divided between these perspectives.

Stott had been asked to give the opening address on the nature of biblical evangelism. He began with characteristic humility, calling for "a note of evangelical repentance." And he spoke head-on—with a lucid exposition of Scripture—to the issue on people's minds.

"Here then are two instructions, 'love your neighbor' and 'go and make disciples.' What is the relation between the two? Some of us behave as if we thought them identical, so that if we have shared the gospel with somebody, we consider we have completed our responsibility to love him. But no. The Great Commission neither explains, nor exhausts, nor supersedes the Great Commandment. What it does is to add to the command of neighbor-love and neighbor-service a new and urgent Christian dimension. If we truly love our neighbor, we shall without doubt tell him the Good News of Jesus. But equally, if we truly love our neighbor, we shall not stop there."

Stott's speech made it possible for delegates to rethink their positions, to listen to others, and to conceive of preaching and social action working in tandem. He managed the same trick in chairing the committee that drafted the Lausanne Covenant. Stott's skill as a diplomat was never more in evidence, as he chaired potentially fractious meetings, getting people to listen to each others' views. He worked tirelessly behind the scenes to draft and redraft the covenant, finding wording that would capture various points of view without doing violence to any. In the end, the Lausanne Covenant spoke to the moment, expressing a common mission that most delegates could enthusiastically endorse; and it spoke to the future, providing a framework that evangelical groups could use as their basic statement. Lausanne was a defining moment in global evangelicalism. Billy Graham was the indispensable convener, but John Stott was the indispensable uniter."

You can read the complete CT article here.

Why Non-Christians Are Not The Enemy

Photo Credit: dave_apple

In a challenging post, Tim Challies identifies why so many Christians "miss it" in how we relate to those around us:

"Over the years I’ve had to reflect on what made the churches I attended as a child and teenager so ineffective at evangelism. While there are several reasons I could provide, and they are of varying importance, there is one that I believe stands at the foundation of the rest: These churches often regarded the unbeliever as the enemy. Of course the church would never have articulated that belief, but it seemed to be deeply rooted.

This attitude manifested itself in many ways. One of the clearest ways was among the children of church members. They would rarely, if ever, be allowed or encouraged to play or even interact with the unsaved children in the neighborhood. I knew an “urban missionary” whose children were confined to their backyard and were forbidden from playing with the other children. The churched children were not allowed to play with other children lest they become corrupted by their worldliness.

My observation was that this approach failed and failed badly. First, the church was not faithful in its calling to take the gospel throughout the world. They preferred to exist in an enclave, safe from outside influences. Second, and ironically, the children developed a fascination with the world. I believe this was, in large part, because access to the outside world had been denied to them and they had never seen the pain and heartbreak that are the inevitable results of forsaking God. The world can look awfully attractive until a person sees the results of giving himself over to it. Third, the parents were prone to ignoring worldliness in their own children. I know that I saw more drugs, more drinking, more disrespect and more awful behavior in the Christian schools I attended than I did in the public schools. This isolation simply did not work. What I saw was that we do not need the world to teach us worldliness. Worldliness arises from within."

To read the rest of Challies post please click here.