Excited for 1 John

In a couple of weeks we move from the Gospel of John to 1 John. Be reading ahead and be excited for this new season! This is an awesome little book filled with tons of nuggets that are going to change the way we live and love. In the meantime, remember that God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all (1 Jn 1:5). All that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life-are not of the Father but of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God will abide forever (1 Jn 2:16-17).

We need to love the Lord, who is light, and walk in light, forsaking all of the stumbling in the darkness we mysteriously love so much.

Theology with a Passion for Jesus can Conquer Biology

Men- let's not let ourselves be ripped off by Satan and tripped up by our flesh (Hebrews 12:1).  Rather, let us abide in reality.  Jesus asked the Father to keep us, protect us, sanctify us, and send us (John 17:11-19).  Did His petition fall upon the Father's deaf ears? Or can His word fail? May it never be!  We need only to believe that it is so- because it is so (2 Tim 2:13). The enemy is defeated, he has no hold on us (Col 1:15). Our flesh is dead, we are no longer held captive by it's lusts (Rom 6:6-7). Jesus is victorious, He has conquered sin, death, and the devil, and we are in Him, our sin and our wages were put on Him and His righteousness and His reward was imputed to us.  All of this is ours by faith (Rom 1:17)  and faith is given by God (Rom 10:17) so ask and you shall receive (Matt 7:7-11).

So our struggles betray the fact that we are dwelling in unreality.  We are believing lies, which means that we are believing the father of lies and giving our allegiance (however briefly or fleeting) to him.  But Jesus said that we are not of the world just as He is not of the world (John 17:16), so our allegiance does not belong to the ruler of this world, but to the King of the universe! So let's stop believing lies and continue in Truth!


Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
(Philippians 4:8 ESV)

How to Kill Sin, Part 2

How to Kill Sin, Part 2: "How to Kill Sin, Part 2 on DesiringGod.org"

Men! TONIGHT WE DINE!!!
We're having a Thanksgiving BBQ tonight at Charles' house tonight at 6:30.  Bring you own meat, or whatever you want to grill, but be ready to share with your brother who can't bring anything, I know for some of us it may be late notice.  The important thing is that we fellowship together, so don't sweat it if you can't bring nothing, just come! 

Meeting at Reality Carp Tonight!

Men!

We will forego gathering together tonight at Charles' Grandma's house because we feel it is important for us all to be at REALITY CARP tonight at 7:00 to learn about how to serve the body of Christ at Reality.  The pastors and staff at Reality have put this night together to inform those who have a heart to serve (or will have a heart to serve [meaning we should all be there!]) about how we can go about that.  I'm not sure if it's a class setting, a question/answer type of forum or what, but I'm sure it'll be a fruitful time and a blessing.  So let's all try to be there.  If anyone needs a ride or wants to carpool, hit "reply all" to this email and let's make things happen.  

See you next week at Charles' as usual.

In Christ!

J

Help on Sunday- Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus!

Hey men! It's that time of year again to raid your closets, finds your jackets, and buy some tarps and sleeping bags at K Mart.  Then grab all that stuff and head on down to Alameda Park on Sunday and let's help clothe our neighbors and share the love of Jesus with them!  Here's the info!

200 SLEEPING BAG DRIVE

BLANKET BLESSING

TARPS

USED CLOTHING

 

This Sunday, October 10, 2010

Alameda Park (Micheltorena @ Anacapa)

2:00 pm to 5:00 pm

Street Art & Music

 

NEEDS:  Used or new Sleeping Bags    HEADS UP!

Our local KMART has offered our annual sleeping bag of $12.99 down to $9.99!!!! They are held under WORTH street reach. ASK for those. These bags go down to 35 degrees.
Grab 1 or 6 and join us!

 

Blanket Blessing is raising funds for a super warm washable, fire retardant, thin enough to roll into sleeping bag is only $10.50 delivered.

 

Tarps truly needed

 

Warm clothing such as jackets, coats, sweats, hoodies, beanies, socks, jeans/pants, t-shirts, shoes, scarves, gloves, umbrellas, etc

 

Please join us!

Come help us!

PLEASE share & spread these needs

 

DEBORAH BARNES

WORTH

street reach

serving & inspiring urban nomads

805.331.0865

www.worthstreetreach.com 

Lifesaverservices07@yahoo.com

each one reach one

Are You Motivated by Love to Think?

Here's another video that was posted this week that has a Holy Spirit led relevance to what we talked about on Monday.  Stinking amazing.  Francis Chan speaks at Jon Piper's Desiring God Conference called "Think" to some of my contemporary theological heroes, and asks the tough question:  Why do you think?
I cried.

Stand Therefore...

A few ladies posted this video on FB this week, and watching it I was stunned!  So cool how it covers the very verses we were talking about last night.  Be inspired!


Gianna Jessen from LMF CAM on Vimeo.

Mens Group Cancelled Tonight

Mens Group is Cancelled Tonight! there is a concert at the bowl. We will return next monday as normal  spread the word!    Spend time with Jesus this week!

If My Words Abide in You...

What value is there to knowing God's word? What is the value of scripture memorization? Why bother, right?  See what John Piper thinks...

Be Men!

Men!  Watch this video whether you think you'll ever plant a church or not.  Let this inspire us to fight the good fight of faith, strong until the end!

Marriage and Men

Men!
A couple of us were discussing relationships after our last meeting on Monday night and i mentioned that I would email this video by Mark Driscoll, Pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA.  Rather than sending it to a coupla guys, I decided it would be better to post on here.  It's a sermon encouraging guys to be MEN in their relationships in a way that is Biblical.  I think there is something for each of us in here, but BE WARNED- this is no easy message!  Driscoll takes 2 Timothy 3:16 VERY seriously especially the words CORRECTION and REPROOF.  As you watch it you may find that you will try to defend yourself, but I encourage you to watch humbly and let the Word of God have its way with you.  Leading a woman in a Godly manner is a serious charge indeed, and Driscoll reminds us that we will one day give an account to God and explain how we led the women, His child,  that He gave us.  Why wouldn't we take that seriously?

Listen UP!

The Gospel of John

Hey guys!  I found this link recently for ordering these Gospels to give away, and it's the cheapest I've ever seen!  Anyway, I want to order some soon, but I thought I'd share this with you guys to see if you wanted to get in on it or donate.  Then we could split them up.  I know I'd like to have a few on hand at the shop once in a while.  So take a look at the link and see what you think and maybe we'll discuss it further on Monday.  Bring some cash if you think you want to contribute.  Love  you guys!
J

The Gospel of John

Scientific Evidence Humans are Born with Knowledge of Good and EvilAt the age of six months babies can barely sit up - let along take their first tottering steps, crawl or talk. But, according to psychologists, they have already developed a sense of moral code - and can tell the difference between good and evil. An astonishing series of experiments is challenging the views of many psychologists and social scientists that human beings are born as 'blank slates' - and that our morality is shaped by our parents and experiences. Good rabbit, bad rabbit: Simple experiments involving babies have shown that we have a strong morality instinct from an early age Instead, they suggest that the difference between good and bad may be hardwired into the brain at birth. In one experiment involving puppets, babies aged six months old showed a strong preference to 'good' helpful characters - and rejected unhelpful, 'naughty' ones. In another, they even acted as judge and jury. When asked to take away treats from a 'naughty' puppet, some babies went further - and dished out their own punishment with a smack on its head. Leading research: Professor Paul Bloom, of Yale University, said a series of morality tales featuring puppets were shown to babies of varying ages Professor Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale University in Connecticut, whose department has studied morality in babies for years, said: 'A growing body of evidence suggests that humans do have a rudimentary moral sense from the very start of life. 'With the help of well designed experiments, you can see glimmers of moral thought, moral judgment and moral feeling even in the first year of life. 'Some sense of good and evil seems to be bred in the bones.' For one study, the Yale researchers got babies aged between six months and a year to watch a puppet show in which a simple, colourful wooden shape with eyes tries to climb a hill. Sometimes the shape is helped up the hill by a second toy, while other times a third character pushes it down. After watching the show several times, the babies were shown the helpful and unhelpful toys. They showed a clear preference for the helpful toys - spending far longer looking at the 'good' shapes than the 'bad' ones. 'In the end, we found that six- and ten-month-old infants overwhelmingly preferred the helpful individual to the hindering individual,' Prof Bloom told the New York Times. 'This wasn't a subtle statistical trend; just about all the babies reached for the good guy.' Two more tests found the same moral sense. In one, the researchers devised a 'one-act morality play', in which a toy dog tries to open a box. The dog is joined by a teddy bear who helps him lift the lid, and a teddy who stubbornly sits on the box. They also made the babies watch a puppet cat play ball with two toy rabbits. When the cat rolled the ball to one rabbit, it rolled the ball straight back. But when the cat rolled it to the second rabbit, it picked up the ball and ran off. 'In both studies, five-month-old babies preferred the good guy - the one who helped to open the box; the one who rolled the ball back - to the bad guy,' said Professor Bloom. When the same tests were repeated with 21-month-old babies, they were given a chance to dish out treats to the toys - or take treats away. Most toddlers punished the 'naughty rabbit' by taking away treats. One even gave the miscreant a smack on the head as a punishment. Although the studies appear to show that mortality is hard-wired into babies brains, some psychologists urged caution. Dr Nadja Reissland, of Durham University, said babies started to learn the difference between good and bad from birth. 'Everything hinges on who decides what is normal,' she said. 'By saying pushing the ball up the hill is helpful, the researchers are making a moral judgement. The babies might just prefer to see things go up rather than down. 'In the other test, perhaps the bear closes the box to prevent the dog from getting in there because there is something dangerous inside. It is like a mother keeping children out of an area where there is something harmful.' Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1275574/Babies-know-difference-good-evil-months-study-reveals.html#ixzz0nUV3uN3R

At the age of six months babies can barely sit up - let along take their first tottering steps, crawl or talk.

But, according to psychologists, they have already developed a sense of moral code - and can tell the difference between good and evil.

An astonishing series of experiments is challenging the views of many psychologists and social scientists that human beings are born as 'blank slates' - and that our morality is shaped by our parents and experiences.

Good rabbit, bad rabbit: Simple experiments involving babies have shown that we have a strong morality instinct from an early age

Instead, they suggest that the difference between good and bad may be hardwired into the brain at birth.

In one experiment involving puppets, babies aged six months old showed a strong preference to 'good' helpful characters - and rejected unhelpful, 'naughty' ones.

In another, they even acted as judge and jury. When asked to take away treats from a 'naughty' puppet, some babies went further - and dished out their own punishment with a smack on its head.

Leading research: Professor Paul Bloom, of Yale University, said a series of morality tales featuring puppets were shown to babies of varying ages

Professor Paul Bloom, a psychologist at Yale University in Connecticut, whose department has studied morality in babies for years, said: 'A growing body of evidence suggests that humans do have a rudimentary moral sense from the very start of life.

'With the help of well designed experiments, you can see glimmers of moral thought, moral judgment and moral feeling even in the first year of life.

'Some sense of good and evil seems to be bred in the bones.'

For one study, the Yale researchers got  babies aged between six months and a year to watch a puppet show in which a simple, colourful wooden shape with eyes tries to climb a hill.

Sometimes the shape is helped up the hill by a second toy, while other times a third character pushes it down.

After watching the show several times, the babies were shown the helpful and unhelpful toys. They showed a clear preference for the helpful toys - spending far longer looking at the 'good' shapes than the 'bad' ones.

'In the end, we found that six- and ten-month-old infants overwhelmingly preferred the helpful individual to the hindering individual,' Prof Bloom told the New York Times.

'This wasn't a subtle statistical trend; just about all the babies reached for the good guy.'

Two more tests found the same moral sense.

In one, the researchers devised a 'one-act morality play', in which a toy dog tries to open a box. The dog is joined by a teddy bear who helps him lift the lid, and a teddy who stubbornly sits on the box. 

They also made the babies watch a puppet cat play ball with two toy rabbits. When the cat rolled the ball to one rabbit, it rolled the ball straight back. But when the cat rolled it to the second rabbit, it picked up the ball and ran off.

'In both studies, five-month-old babies preferred the good guy - the one who helped to open the box; the one who rolled the ball back - to the bad guy,' said Professor Bloom.

When the same tests were repeated with 21-month-old babies, they were given a chance to dish out treats to the toys - or take treats away.

Most toddlers punished the 'naughty rabbit' by taking away treats. One even gave the miscreant a smack on the head as a punishment.

Although the studies appear to show that mortality is hard-wired into babies brains, some psychologists urged caution.

Dr Nadja Reissland, of Durham University, said babies started to learn the difference between good and bad from birth.

'Everything hinges on who decides what is normal,' she said. 'By saying pushing the ball up the hill is helpful, the researchers are making a moral judgement. The babies might just prefer to see things go up rather than down.

'In the other test, perhaps the bear closes the box to prevent the dog from getting in there because there is something dangerous inside. It is like a mother keeping children out of an area where there is something harmful.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1275574/Babies-know-difference-good-evil-months-study-reveals.html#ixzz0nUV3uN3R

Listen Up New Location

Listen Up Men, group is now east side!    817e Anapamu St apt# 2 93103.   Corner of Anapamu and Lowena Come enjoy a time of fellowship, worship and studying his word.  Park on Anapamu or Lowena be Blessed and I'll See you all tomorrow.

Men's Group on Mission Tonight!

Men!  Tonight we will be meeting at Peet's Coffee, downtown Santa Barbara, 1131 State Street 


Be there at 6:30.  Drink coffee, talk about Jesus, tip your barrista. 
We may be homeless for just this week or for the next few weeks, please take some time in prayer and seek the Lord on where He would lead us to meet.  Until He provides a new location we may just flip around from place to place each week so be sure to check back on the blog on a regular basis to stay informed!  Tonight rather than a teaching, i think it would be good for us to talk about community, discipleship, and victorious Christian living so let's all be thinking about these things throughout the day today and come out tonight ready to build one another up in the faith and encourage one another to love and good deeds!  See you tonight!

BARBECUE AT STEVEN'S!!!

Men!!
Tomorrow, Monday 4/12/10, WE ARE NOT MEETING AT DARRYL'S. Instead, we'll be getting together a little early to BBQ at Steve's place down south, just past Carp.  His address is 6693 Breakers Way, Ventura, CA 93001.  To see a map, click here.

Bring your own meat or vegan delicacies, and come hungry.  After we break bread (and tri tip) we'll come together to pray, worship, and be taught from the Word of God.  What better way to spend a Monday night?!

See you guys there!  Text all the guys and let's be sure that everyone knows about this, we don't wanna leave any men behind.  Call me if you need a ride, maybe we'll try to organize from the tattoo shop at 5:00 if there is a need.

Group Study This Week...

43 x Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot y bear to hear my word. 44 z You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. a He was a murderer from the beginning, and b has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. c When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. 


Ok men, sorry it took me two days to get it up, but here it is.  These are some verses that Charles, Joel, and I put together over coffee Tuesday morning.  I encourage you all to read through these prayerfully and to add to the list as you study the word this week. For those of you who could not make it, we studied John 8:38-47 on Monday and we decided that it would be good for us to dig into the scriptures individually this week and come together at our next meeting to teach one another what the Lord has been showing us on the topic of the devil.  He is the adversary and he is real, so it is profitable for us to know a little about his character and his schemes.  


Below are several verses to get us started.  If you want to you can post comments on here and add to the list or put in your thoughts on what's posted here.  It would be cool to have a bit of dialogue going on the blog, but at the very least let's all try to dedicate a bit of time to this as we read the word this week and come ready to discuss on Monday.  Remember too that he is a defeated foe, Rev. 12:8. 


4 z You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires.
Genesis 3 (all of it).
Genesis 12:3.
Ephesians 6:10-13.
2 Corinthians 4:4, 10:3-5
2 Thessalonians 2:4


He was a murderer from the beginning,
Genesis 4:8


and b has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. c When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 
Genesis 3 (all of it- again!)
Isaiah 14:12
Ezekiel 28:11-19


Other attributes of and schemes of the enemy as well as warnings and defenses against him:
2 Corinthians 11:3
1 Peter 5:8
James 4:7
Jude 8 
1 John 3:8

Another ListenUp Fieldtrip...

Men!  We won't be gathering at Darryl's house tonight as we have been presented with an opportunity to come together at Reality Carpinteria at 7:00 for a pre-release prayer meeting for Britt's first book Big God.
While many pre-release party's hype the author and the book he or she has written, Reality prefers that we get on our faces and seek the true Author and Perfecter of our faith, Jesus Christ, that He would use the book for His Kingdom purposes and that the lost would come to know Him and His people would come to know Him better. So come out, and let's congratulate and encourage our pastor for his shepherd's heart and obedience to the King, and let's give glory and praise to our God because He is awesome!




Big God Announcement from Reality on Vimeo.



See you there!

Lyrical Theology...

We talked about it.  Here it is.  It's legit, maybe 2 legit...

Persecution of the Church

Powerful reminder to be praying for the persecuted church. It is beautiful and at the same time heart breaking to see our family pouring out their lives for the name of Jesus. Our brothers and sisters have sworn allegiance to the King and refuse to deny His name. Let's ask the Father to fill them with the joy and peace of His Spirit in spite of their suffering, and continue to keep them secure in His hand until the day of His return.

Field Trip 2/08/10

Men!
Tonight we will not be meeting at Darryl's house, but rather we'll be gathering at Community Covenant Church in Goleta at 6:25pm sharp!!
Deborah Barnes has put together an homeless outreach training session with a few key members of our community who are involved with homeless advocacy in Santa Barbara.  This will be a good opportunity to learn ways that we can help the marginalized and broken in our city regardless of whether or not we are called into homeless ministry.  The fact of the matter is that we all come across the homeless in our daily lives and so this course will apply to everyone.
So I hope to see you all there tonight!

Monday, 8 February 2010

Community Covenant Church

5070 Cathedral Oaks Road

SB 93111

805-331-0865

 

6:25pm arrive please to 8:30pm

(pls be on time to honor our guest speakers)

Bring notebook and pen

Casual warm dress suggested and welcome

If you have any questions, call me.  805 636 7962

J

Volunteer Opportunity This Week....

Hey guys, if you have time tonight and tomorrow and want to serve the homeless in our community, come on out to Pershing Park tonight or Alameda Park tomorrow.  Below is an email from Deborah with the scoop, if you need more info contact her or call me.

Love you guys,

J

WEDNESDAY PERSHING PARK FOOD SHARING   Hey Outreach Team,   Rain or shine we are serving each Wednesday, but we are blessed with sun today and it looks like until next Monday! Time to dry out a bit!   We will be meeting our very hungry Street Friends tonight. I would like you to pair up with someone, male and female if possible, and actually walk around and meet the friends and see what needs they may have. (jackets, tarps, blankets shirts, etc) as they are back on the streets tonight. Pls not if someone is hungry, we have small packets of food to hand out.   We have plenty of clothing and blankets to share which will be in my truck.   We have foods to share next Monday as it possibly rains too. I am asking for volunteers to come along side and help with this. They have had some long days without food in emergy shelters from 6pm to 7:30 am and are truly hungy and thirsty.   For tonight, before we mingle, Pls meet me by my truck for a word of prayer and some updates. If you are out and about today, we are searching for Shakey. He has not been to the shelter for a couplle nights we understand and has not been found. He is particularly weak right now. Shakey is in a wheel chair. His best friend Gator is in jail.   Please dress appropriately and bring a flash light. I can't wait to see you all there....it seems like we have been away from serving together for so long due to the weather. (those that came on instinct last week in the rain, THANK YOU...God provided just enough!)   Please today be in prayer for Thursday night outreach at Alameda Park 6:30pm. If Thursday is better for you or if you desire to do even more, Thursday is where we can serve a smaller population and get to know them. Pls let me know tonight   Volunteer training class coming up next week Monday, 9 Feb at 6:30pm. The session with Jeff Shaffer last Thurs was a good one as an eye opener and to ask questions. (Sorry Dr J could not attend due to issues at the emergy shelter) The next one will be an actual training session with the do's, don'ts and how to handle situations, Who to call and how to manage your relationship building, etc. Please email me if you can attend.   Pleae welcome some new volunteers tonight and pair up with them. TKs for your hearts. I appreciate you.   DEBORAH BARNES 805.331.0865 Life Saver Services Blanket Blessing Outreach Lifesaverservices07@yahoo.com   if each one with a home reached out to one without one, there would be not need unmet

Pray for Haiti...

Men, here is a video by Mark Driscoll of Mars Hill Church in Seattle about the needs of the Church specifically in Haiti.  It's pretty gnarly and graphic so be prepared, but it will direct you on how you can be praying for the body of Christ in Haiti.

Homework Assignment...

Hello men!  Just dropping by to encourage you all to be in the word this week!  We had a great time of fellowship tonight at MG as we sort of recapped "the story so far" in the Gospel of John.  As we're entering into a new season and a new year, we thought it would be cool to get refreshed in the word and lay a good foundation for 2010 by remembering some of the great lessons we learned last year from John's Gospel.

Next week, we will be back to business as usual, Lord willing.  So homework for this week is to read John chapters 1-8.  Don't trip out, we're not putting you under the yoke of legalism- though a bit of discipline is a good thing for a Godly man to develop, so don't be scared.  Reading these chapters won't gain you merit with God, ha ha.  They will however fill your heart with love for Jesus and give the Spirit of God opportunity to minister to your heart and to teach, reprove, exhort, and train you for righteousness, 2 Timothy 3:16.  So why wouldn't you wanna dig in to the word.

As you read through the Gospel this week, keep these questions at the front of your mind: 1) How is each character transformed by their encounter with Jesus (no one meets him and remains the same), and 2) How does this encounter display the Gospel?  How is this encounter "Good News"?  Then humbly ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through His word, ask Him to transform you and to do a work in your heart.

So if you couldn't make it this week, don't sweat it.  We'll see you next week!

Love you guys!

J

Same great Mens's Group- New great Location

Hey guys!  Tonight we'll be meeting at Darryl's house in SB at 6:30.  Do your best to spread the word, don't leave anotha brotha behind!  535 W Arrellaga St.  Santa Barbara, CA 93101

See you there!

Click here for map


J

Learn to feed each other

I know this is not 100% theologically true, but it makes you think in it's simplicity.

A Holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, 'Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.'
The Lord led the holy man to two doors.
He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in.
In the middle of the room was a large round table.
In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew,
which smelled delicious and made the holy man's mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly.
They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.
The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering.
The Lord said, 'You have seen Hell. They went to the next room and opened the door. It was exactly the same as the first one.
There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the holy man's mouth water.
The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The holy man said, 'I don't understand.
'It is simple,' said the Lord. 'It requires but one skill.
You see, they have learned to feed each other.
The greedy think only of themselves.'
When Jesus died on the cross, he was thinking of you. 

Get Schooled on the Felt Needs of Our City.

Hey guys, our friend and sister Deborah Barnes is organizing this meet to be held on the 21st so that we, as the body of Christ, can be informed on the needs of the homeless in our city, and how we can minister as the hands and feet of Jesus Christ, Act 4:30. Are you called to serve but don't know how? Are you being convicted but aren't sure where to serve? Do you have the heart but are afraid? Do you just have questions about the homeless and broken? Come be informed THIS MEETING IS FOR YOU! The homeless and broken are growing in numbers daily. There is a huge need to come serve alongside them and get to know them. Mom’s with kids, young families, Vet’s, teens, and many middle aged women are living in their cars or on the street, scared and alone. 28 deaths happened that we know of in 2009. 22 in Ventura. 8000 are homeless in Ventura and no new numbers were available for SB. 14 known are homeless in Carpinteria. This is a fact-finding meeting that will provide you with some information that may help your choices about serving the homeless and broken in several ways. We will have 2 brief speakers: *Dr Lynne Jahnke, SB oncologist has served the homeless for 15 years *Jeff Shaffer from Uffizi Mission Project who is on mission working full time with the homeless and poor Deborah Barnes with Blanket Blessing will share the needs Magda Barnes with Laundry Love People SB will share the needs Homeless Prayer Partners needed Other needs will be displayed Date: Thursday 21 January Time: 6:15 to 8:15 Location: 1105 Via Balzano (between Cathedral Oaks and Patterson) Directions: Take 101 north to Patterson exit- Turn RIGHT Stay straight to signal at Cathedral Oaks- Turn LEFT Turn RIGHT on Cambridge Drive Via Balzano is ¼ mile, right side, top of hill, Blanket Blessing sign out front Park on the street please Please send questions/RSVP to lifesaverservices07@yahoo.com Kindly place Homeless Meeting in the subject line Everyone is welcome    Consider sharing driving together

New Season, Fresh Start

Well men, we've made it through another year in the strength and power and grace of the Lord!  As we're entering into 2010 I just want to say thank you to all you who have been coming out week after week to get together in Jesus'  name and seek His presence and direction for our lives.  I know I have been incredibly blessed this past year by each of you, and I thank you all for pouring your lives into me and the rest of the guys in the group.  It's been amazing to see the growth that comes to us as a result of the power of God as He ministers through His people.

This season let's be sure to start strong and finish well.  I encourage you all to invite a friend or two in the coming weeks and let's continue to encourage, equip, and disciple one another in service to Christ for His glory!  It's good to come together each week and study the Word, worship together, pray for each other, and share our struggles with one another with the goal of going back into the world  refreshed and refocused on the Gospel.  Let's seek the Lord's transforming power in our lives and let the Holy Spirit inform our decisions, affect our relationships, and transform our communities.

I'm excited to see the Lord work this year in each of our lives.  Let's all agree to spend some time in prayer this week for one another and for this season of men's group, that it would be fruitful and powerful, and that we would meet Christ there every single week.  He is our life!  Let's expect great things from Him and attempt great things for Him!

As I posted earlier, we'll be meeting at Paul's house this week (Jan 11), check below for the address.  We will see you at 6:30 my brothers!

In His service,

J

No MG this week!

Hey Men!

We're taking tonight off, so use this time to hang out with the Lord and get refreshed!  We'll be back next week though and it looks like we'll even have a regular place to meet again, praise the Lord!
Next week we'll be gathering at Paul's house- 3340 Richland Dr apt #7, Santa Barbara, CA 93105

See you all then!

Blanket Blessings/ Homeless outreach

Hey guys, here's an update from Deborah Barnes.  We're looking to recruit some volunteers, please read the following post prayerfully and help out if you feel led.  You can contact Deborah or me.  Love you guys!

Jason

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED  (lots of info tonight)

There have been so many blessings since Thanksgiving it is amazing! I will have a donation update report coming out the first week of January and a new website for Blanket Blessing and Laundry Love is being designed. God has truly blessed our endeavors to help our destitute and homeless friends. I have been sending out periodical cameos or vignettes of situations along the way to keep you informed about the Divine Appointments that happen. I appreciate all your prayers too. I am very grateful for those who have come alongside in these efforts that God has shown us.

Here are the needs for this week: 28 Dec to 3 January

If you can assist in any way, please email me with Blanket Blessing Volunteer in the subject line

A) BLANKET BLESSING blankets arrive Monday 28 Dec 09

1)     Help is needed Monday(tomorrow) at 12 noon to get ready to receive the blankets within the hours of 12-2pm. This would be at my townhouse on Pedregosa and we would need to move some items around in the garage, stack and clothing donations for Wed, cut blankets off the pallets and stack in the area designated, count them in and number them. Est time 2 to 2.5 hours.

2)     Cut donated large blue tarps in ½. This can be done in your home, in groups, etc and are going to be needed soon. Group or individual task. Scissors will be needed. Tarps can be picked up from Pedregosa St. Estimated Time: As you desire

B) Cook for Wed 30^th Dec Pershing Park Feed

This Wednesday is the 5^th Wed of the month. Jeff has set up volunteers for once a month cooking for each month but there are usually 4 weeks, not five. So we have a holiday schedule(regular vols are out of town) and an extra week that needs covering….here is what is needed:

a)     Cook a main dish or a side dish in an aluminum disposable pan (Smart & Final) so no dishes or pots and pans need be returned this way.

b)     Bring it to Pershing Park (corner of Castillo and Cabrillo across from public pools) at 5:15pm at Band Shell.

c)      Stay and serve or just drop it by.

d)     Servers are needed to help too 5:15pm for 1-1.5 hours

e)     Can be cooked or delivered to Westside Community Center on Wed afternoon for others to take to the park if you cannot join us

(I will have many more details on Monday when Jeff returns)

C)    Distribution of Blankets and Tarps & donated Clothing to those needing items. Set up will be 5:15pm, pls bring flash lights and dress warmly. Pershing Park   Est Time: 2 hours

D)    PRAYER Ministery to the street friends & others who come  (pray over illness, safety, peace and for those serving as well as for those in need and as you feel lead)  we seek people to get to know these friends by name, what their needs are, see if they are ill, need prayer or sometimes just listen. They need to be heard.We have met some amazing people on the streets

E)    NEW NEED!  Warming Shelters (WS) Vols- these shelters are put together by Dr J and her outreach for the homeless. WS’s are for the street friends when the temperature drops below 35 degrees and is either windy or raining. This is to prevent more deaths like those we have seen (22 in Ventura and 28 in SB) These locations are voluntary churches or other buildings needed to open for emergency purposes and only need a room to allow them to sleep and a toilet. Dr J or other officials stay and they are asking for others to come alongside.

           Shifts are at check-in from 8pm to 10pm, 10pm to 12am, and overnight-12am to 7 or 8am (or you can stay from the first shift through the night) allowing 6 to 7 hours of sleep. The 2 we have run this winter have been amazingly peaceful. The guests immediately sleep at 8pm and are most grateful and are gone between 7 or 8am. We make sure all items are taken with them. That is it! Very simple. Volunteers are needed on short notice in bad weather only and available by phone. Those who have been visiting the 2 Warming Shelters we have had are amazed and want to come back. So we need rotation volunteers. People would sign up for a certain week in the month through winter. We are quite blessed that our winters are short and these WS’s are only needed for a few months at most.

G) TRAINING SESSION   In early January I will be holding a training session for interested people to learn more about serving the homeless, to over-come fears, and to gain awareness from the officials and those who have served a long time. My guest trainers will be Dr J, Jeff Shafer, and perhaps Ken Williams.

I am currently searching for a place to hold the training session (just like home group). If you are willing to host it in your home, kindly contact me soon so we can set the date soon.

This is an exciting week! Much growth and many blessings to bestow. Please contact me by email with Blanket Blessing Vol and let me know of the area in which you can come alongside us. (FYI the usual amount of time is 2 to 2.5 hours for Wed in the parks, but any portion is welcome)

Thank you & bless you

Gospel Presentation

Hey guys, found this while surfing the net.  It's a worthy read.






Once, when I was invited to preach at an evangelistic rally in Dallas, the organizing pastor introduced me to a dear woman before the meeting. He had talked with her previously, but remained unsure whether she was saved or not. He left me alone with her, so I asked some “diagnostic” questions to find out for myself. I concluded that she did not really understand the Gospel, so I explained it to her as clearly as I could, then led her to place her faith in Christ.
When we returned to the pastor to tell him the good news, she instead pointed her finger in his face and in an accusing voice rebuked him, “Why didn’t you explain it clearly to me? You never made it clear!” (No evidential fruit of the Spirit at this point!) It is hard to say who was embarrassed more--I or the pastor who had just graduated from seminary as a “Master of Theology!”
Academic credentials are no guarantee of clarity in communication. Sometimes it seems seminary degrees uniquely qualify a person to make a simple message confusing or complicated--anything but clear. One could even say that seminary grads become more obscure by degrees! Telling the Gospel clearly can be an exercise in art as much as in academics. Preachers and speakers of any kind are word artisans. A speaker shapes a message by the language and methods he uses.
In Col 4:4 Paul asked for prayer to make his Gospel telling “manifest, as I ought to speak.” The NASB and NIV translations prefer the word clear or clearly. F. F. Bruce translates it this way: “that I may publish it openly in the words which I ought to speak.”¹ Paul understood that it was easy to garble the Gospel. He wanted to word it clearly. The word he used, phanerow, has the idea of “to make visible” and is from phainw which means “to manifest” or “to light up.”² The job of the Gospel-teller is to shed light on the message, to make it clear, not to obscure it.
How important is it to tell the Gospel clearly? Well, we only need to think about what is at stake. Only in the Gospel is there the “power of God to salvation” (Rom 1:16). No wonder Paul had an “anathema” for those who misstate the message!
The main assumption behind this article is this: God can use us to reach more people with a clear message than with a cloudy one. A clear presentation of the Gospel is not only more powerful, it also gets people off to a well-grounded start in their Christian walk. They will begin with a firm assurance and appreciation of their new salvation. Below are four essential elements that make for a clear Gospel witness.

I. A Clear Motive

A compromise in integrity will likely tilt the telling of the Gospel. For example, one who is looking for bragging rights about his evangelistic prowess, or one who sweats his monthly field report on the number of conversions, may be tempted to take a shortcut with the Gospel message.
Once I was presenting the Gospel as clearly as I could to about twenty Cambodian refugees. At the end of our time, I invited all who would like to trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior to raise their hands. Everyone’s hand went up! Though it would have made a good story, I never assumed this was a mass conversion. There were too many unknowns: The language barrier made me wonder if they understood my words. (I was speaking through a translator.) The religious barrier made me doubt they really understood concepts like sin and faith. (Most of them were Buddhist.) The cultural barrier made me wonder if they were not just being polite. (Asians are extremely polite, especially to teachers.) The social barrier had me wondering if they only wanted to please me because they saw me as a way to get something more in life (money, a job, etc.). The headlines in my newsletter, “A Miraculous Movement of the Spirit on Refugees,” would have to wait.
How did the apostle Paul handle the temptation to take short cuts in sharing the Gospel for personal gain, or so that he could impress others, or get quick results? In 2 Cor 4:1-6 Paul states his approach to telling the Gospel, first negatively and then positively.

A. Negatively Speaking

Note Paul’s negative terms first in v 2. He renounces “the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the Word of God deceitfully.” He refuses to adopt questionable or shady practices which would bring shame if exposed. He would not use a convenient device or trick to achieve an end. He would not distort, dilute, compromise, adulterate, or falsify God’s message. Paul would never manipulate or pressure people into a profession of faith.
When I was an unchurched teenager, some friends and I went to an all-you-can-eat pizza bash at a local church. As we approached the church entrance, I asked an usher where we could find the pizza. He told us we would have to listen to the evangelist preach first. We looked at each other. Well, if that’s what it took to get pizza, okay. We sat down and listened.
At the end of his message, the evangelist asked all those who were not sure they were going to heaven to raise their hands. I raised my hand, but was determined to do nothing else. But he kept on, and before long we were all standing in place. Then, after we reached the point of no return (and imminent public embarrassment if we sat back down), he got us all to walk down the long church aisle to the front. We had been trapped like tuna in a net--but like dolphins, we didn’t belong! At least we knew we would have the last laugh--we would get their pizza, even if it was a bit cold!
We may have made that evangelist look successful, and we may have been statistics in his newsletter, but I, for one, was not saved. Deceptive or even questionable tactics have no place in sharing the Good News.
Improper motives may muddy the message and methods of telling the Gospel. Below are some unacceptable practices that can grow from wrong motives.

1. Deceitful practices

Deceptive manipulation, such as I just illustrated, is unethical. No one should be tricked into hearing or responding to the Gospel. A minister friend told me how before he was saved he was invited to a luncheon to hear a well-known businessman speak, only to find that the man preached the Gospel. He was furious and had to sit on his hands during the car trip back to work so that he wouldn’t deck his friend who invited him!

2. Dubious practices

Some methods Christians have adopted are not clearly deceptive, but questionable. Invitations to walk an aisle are not necessarily manipulative--it all depends on how the invitation is stated. A “Friend Day” at church can be a good activity for the church and your friends if they know what they are in for when they get there. By the way, could the door-to-door “surveys” conducted by Christians be more accurately named?

3. False promises

We must also be careful of making false promises of a trouble-free life for those who would trust in Christ. When people get saved, their marriage may not also be saved, their daughter may still want to get her nose pierced, and the IRS will still want their money.
When I was in India recently, a pastor friend told me that with Hindus they do not use the promise of an improved family as a reason to become a Christian. The Hindu family is strong, and divorce is not a big problem. Besides, it is the Christians (who usually hold “Western” values) who have the weaker families in India. The pastor said that their appeal in telling the Gospel is the promise of eternal life and the forgiveness of sins. How novel!

4. Sensual appeal

The Children of God cult used to urge their followers to proselytize through “Flirty Fishing.” Attractive young ladies would lure naïve young men to their religious meetings with the impression that punch and cookies was not the main dish afterward. This is an extreme example of a sensual method. But is it so very different from luring people to Christ through the hope of finding a Christian husband or wife, or the promise of financial prosperity or physical healing?
Jesus could get a crowd by handing out free fish sandwiches, but He later chased them away by telling them, “Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life” (John 6:27). Missionaries warn of “Rice Christians,” those who profess conversion in hopes of obtaining more of the missionaries’ supplies.

5. Trivialized pursuits

A free dinner for two awarded to the visitation team with the most conversions will likely compromise the message or the methods they use. One friend, who used to be with a para-church organization, told how the pressure to share the Gospel with others was so great he often only shared a brief watered-down word so that he could list the person on his statistics sheet. Once he witnessed to a potted plant and recorded “her” as “Fern”!
I am aware that Gospel blimps and placards with “John 3:16” at football games may have a place in God’s big world. I also remind myself of evangelist D. L. Moody’s words to someone who criticized his methods of evangelism. He told him, “I like the way I’m doing it better than the way you’re not doing it!” But I question the effectiveness of methods that handle the Good News flippantly. The Gospel deserves more than a game-show approach if others are to take us and it seriously.

B. Positively Speaking

Paul disdains all unworthy tactics. Instead, in 2 Cor 4:2 he states positively that he preaches “by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” The word “manifestation” is our word phanerow again. Paul preached clearly, openly, and honestly even when discouraging circumstances tempted him to get fast results. The result of his ministry was that “every man’s conscience”--whether saved or unsaved--commended him for his honesty, and more importantly, so did God.
I once overheard two seminary students discussing a Scripture passage. One said, “I don’t think that’s what the passage is saying.” The other replied, “Yeah, but it’ll preach!” Our standards must be higher than “It’ll preach.” We must only say what God says and in the way He would say it.
In a ministry of light, there is no room for darkness. Paul reminds us that a dark, demonic veil blinds unbelievers (vv 3-4). It is penetrated only by “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” Dark motives and methods cannot penetrate or disperse the darkness. That is why Paul says “we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord” (v 5). His preaching did not call attention to himself, like the “super apostles” who were subverting his reputation in Corinth (11:5). He lifted up Jesus Christ as the One who died for sins, rose from the dead, and now reigns as Lord.
It is significant that Paul uses the word khryssh for “preach.” In the ancient world, one who proclaimed in this sense was called a khryx, or “herald.” A herald was someone sent by his master to proclaim in public the master’s message. He dared not change the announcement because it was not his own. His responsibility was only to proclaim it accurately. That is how Paul understood his Gospel ministry. He was merely a servant proclaiming his Master’s Good News. The herald should be lost in his message. Only the Gospel of light dispels darkness and brings new life. That’s how Paul got saved (v 6), and that’s how we get saved.
The acid test of a true witness is what he does when no one responds. It is a test of integrity. Skewed motives will skew integrity by a compromise in the message or the methods of telling the Good News.
At the end of my meeting with the Cambodian group, I left them with an assurance of my love and my desire to see them come to know the Lord Jesus as their Savior. Their last words to me came through the translator in his rough English: “They say, `Thank you for advertising Jesus Christ to us.’” I doubt that any of those people even remember my name today, but I trust some of them know Jesus Christ. We advertise Him.
It is a great privilege to be a herald of the Gospel. But we must remember that the greatest thing about preaching the Gospel is the Gospel, not the preacher!

II. A Clear Content

What does a person have to believe in to be saved? I have heard everything from “Believe in God” and “the Ten Commandments” (or “the Sermon on the Mount”) to “Just believe that Jesus loves you.” What is the content of the Gospel and how can we articulate it clearly?

A. Defining the Content

Most of our readers should not need a review of the Gospel’s content. It is laid out no more clearly than by Paul in 1 Cor 15. Paul reminds the Corinthians about the Gospel that he preached, that they received, and by which they were saved (vv 1-2). The message was the one Paul received personally from God (v 3; cf. Gal 1:11-12).
In vv 4-5 we find two great propositions of the Gospel and their supporting evidence. We could diagram the verses like this:

Christ died for our sins		1) First proposition
	according to the Scriptures		a) Scriptural proof
	and was buried		1b) Physical proof
He arose		2) Second proposition
	according to the Scriptures		2a) Scriptural proof
	and was seen		2b) Physical proof

In summoning the evidence for his propositions, Paul is arguing his case like any good lawyer (the possible oxymoron noted!). A brief explanation of each of the statements follows:
Christ died for our sins. The concept of “Christ” may not have been entirely understood by the Corinthian readers, but the meaning of “anointed” and His work of dying for sins certainly points to a special divine messenger. That He died for our sins implies that we are sinners in need of forgiveness. The word “for” (hyper) conveys the idea of “on account of,” i.e., to deal with our sins.
According to the Scriptures. The OT Scriptures pictured or predicted the suffering of God’s Messiah (e.g., Ex 12; Lev 16; Ps 22, 110; Isa 52-55, especially 53:4-6).
And was buried. This statement functions as Jesus’ death certificate. It reminds the reader of the many eye-witnesses to His death, the best evidence which could be summoned. Only dead men are buried. Christ’s death was witnessed by multitudes, including the soldier sent to break His legs. The grave and body were also attended by Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus, and the women.
He arose. The second proposition attests to Christ’s resurrection from the dead, which implies that God accepted the sacrifice. A dead man cannot save anyone. A Savior has to be alive. Only then can He offer and effect salvation.
According to the Scriptures. It is harder to find the resurrection of Christ in the OT. However it is there not only explicitly (Eg., Ps 16:8-11; 110:1), but also implicitly. When the suffering and death of the Messiah is discussed, this is often followed by a declaration of His reign (cf Isa 53). The implication is clearly that He rose from the dead.
And was seen. Paul lists those who were eye-witnesses. This included the apostles (men of repute), a multitude of five hundred, and himself (vv 5-8).

B. Communicating the Content

Having reviewed the biblical content of the Gospel, what errors do Christians commonly make in articulating its contents? The art here is discerning how much to say. We can say too little or too much.

1. Saying too little

People can be told that God loves them, but certainly that is not enough to save them. They can be convinced they are terrible sinners, but still not know how to deal with that sin (cf. Acts 2:36-37). A persuasive speaker can move people to some kind of response without them knowing exactly what they are responding to. Evangelists know this. Some abuse this. Much so-called “evangelism” is more hype than substance. No wonder there are so many false professors in the church! They are the fodder that feeds the Lordship Salvation teaching.

2. Saying too much

A witness is not the time to dump our “smarties” on a bewildered unbeliever. There are at least two ways Christians frequently do this.
A Bible survey. Too often we try to give too much biblical data. If we start in Genesis, there’s a good chance we will lose our audience by Leviticus, the Bermuda Triangle of the Bible. How much Bible did Jesus use with the woman at the well (John 4), or Paul with the Philippian jailer (Acts 16)? We can tell people only what they need to know from the Bible to be saved, unless circumstances require more explanation.³
A crash course in Theology 101. I recently asked a missionary candidate with seminary training to tell me how he explains the Gospel to someone. I expected a brief outline of his main points. Instead, he took a deep breath and submerged into profound meditation for a good part of a minute. When he surfaced, he began a deep theological explanation of the sinfulness of man. I interrupted him, because I feel I have endured my share of theology lectures.
Lessons in theology work best with Christians. That is why Paul wrote the heavily theological Epistle to the Romans to Christians. But in 1 Cor 15:1-6 he reminds the readers of what he preached to them as non-Christians. Secular Sam does not need to know the definition of justification in order to be justified. He does not need to understand the Abrahamic covenant to become a son of Abraham. Neither does he need to comprehend the ordo salutis to be saved in that order. Melchizedek will be a fascinating study for Sam--after he is saved.
Again, we appeal to Jesus’ example in the Gospels. Isn’t it beautiful that God made the Gospel so simple that a child can understand it? Yet it is so simple that millions miss it. Still, keep it simple!

III. A Clear Condition

Just when I had talked myself into the benefit of becoming involved with my community’s ministerial alliance, they decided to launch a community-wide evangelistic survey. A smorgasbord subcommittee of pastors designed the evangelistic tract that would be handed out door to door. To be thorough, I guess, the tract covered all the bases. It spoke of believing in Jesus as Savior (Amen!), but went on to tell the poor chap at the door (who was probably dying to get back to his television ASAP) that he must confess his sins, call on the name of the Lord, open the door of his heart, receive Jesus as Savior and Lord, and let Him take control of the throne of his life. It’s not that all of this language is unbiblical (though most of it is), but it is so confusing. Since the alliance would not let our church use different literature, I had to drop out of my first foray into cooperative evangelism. The reverends were miffed. Maybe I will check in on them again in a year or so when they calm down.
We will save ink by affirming to our readers that the only condition of salvation is “faith alone in Christ alone.” But this is where much Gospel telling takes a space-walk. Let’s review some language commonly used to explain the condition of salvation.
Ask Jesus into your heart. Not that the heart is not universally understood as the very essence of our being and person. But the issue of trust in Jesus as the One who died in our place is hardly communicated. And wouldn’t this be confusing to a child who thinks concretely instead of abstractly?
As a mother drove with her young daughter in the car, she was explaining what it meant to have Jesus in her heart. The little girl leaned over and put her ear to her mother’s chest. “I’m listening to Jesus in your heart,” said the daughter. “What did you hear?” asked Mom. The little girl replied, “Sounds like He’s making coffee to me!”⁴
Give your heart (or life) to God. A Halloween Gospel tract designed for children to leave at homes when Trick or Treating ends, “Well, thanks again for the treat, but the best treat for me would be for you to give your heart to Jesus.”⁵ How appropriate this could be for Halloween! A child might imagine this as a gruesome display for the local haunted house. Again, picture the scene conveyed to a naïve child. When asked to give his heart to God, one child broke into sobs saying, “If I give my heart to God, how am I going to live?”⁶ The issue in salvation is not what we give to Him anyway, but what He gives to us. Eternal life is Christ’s life in us (1 John 5:11).
Invite Christ into your life. This is certainly a courteous approach, but we must remember that it is the Lord who does the inviting. Another form of this is the admonition to “open the door of your heart,” based on Rev 3:20. Though I used to use this verse a lot, I now see that it was written to the Laodicean church as a whole and was more of an invitation for fellowship than salvation. Again, after you get a child to stop wondering where the knob on the door of his heart is, you have really told him nothing about what it means to believe in Christ. Adults are not helped either.
Receive Christ as your Savior. This one I hesitate to criticize, and even find myself using it sometimes, though I try to avoid it. There is some biblical support for the idea of receiving Christ--John 1:11-12 and Col 2:6. Both uses are in the past tense, pointing to the result of faith, however. Receiving Christ is what happens when we believe and He comes to live in us.⁷ Accept Christ is similar, but not used for faith in Christ in the NT.
Make Christ Lord and Savior. Spare the effort. No person can do this. The Bible says God the Father “has made this Jesus . . . both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:36). Of course Jesus is Lord! But He is Lord whether we accept Him as such or not.
Make Christ Lord of your life. This is Lordship Salvation when used as a condition for salvation. Lordship decisions are decisions for Christian obedience made by believers in the light of transforming grace (Titus 2:11-12), not something done to merit that grace (Titus 3:4-7). Sometimes we hear “If He is not Lord of all, He is not Lord at all.” Would somebody please tell me what this saying means?
Put Jesus on the throne of your life. In other words, give Him control of all areas of your life. Has anyone accomplished this? It is a commendable admonition for a believer, but again teaches Lordship Salvation if it is made a condition for salvation. It is better to deal with this issue after a person understands the issue of faith in Christ for salvation. I know, however, that some people believe in Christ as Savior and surrender to Him as Lord simultaneously. They inherently understand that if Christ saves us, He also deserves to rule us and both decisions appear as one. Still, the issues are distinct.
Confess your sins. To a priest? How many sins? What about ones that are overlooked, forgotten, unintentional, or by omission? This is confusing. Of course, we must all acknowledge that we are sinners before God, and we confess this to Him when we agree with Him that we are.⁸ We are saved from something, and that is our sin. But the above statement implies our problem is specific individual acts rather than our sinful position or nature. God wants to cure the cause, not the symptoms.
Repent of your sins. Sometimes less sensitively stated as “Turn or burn!” If by this it is meant that we must turn from every individual sin in our lives, then salvation and assurance would be impossible. Repentance in the NT speaks of an inner change of attitude and heart, not an outer change in conduct. Changed conduct is the expected result of true repentance, but we should not confuse the root with the fruit. As we come to faith we may change our minds about a number of things, for example, our sinful status before God, our need for salvation, or our opinion of who Christ is.
Pray this prayer. I have a pamphlet entitled “God’s Anointed Soul-Winning Plan” in which the author is explaining how to present the Gospel. The wording he suggests ends like this:

What I’m going to do toward closing our talk is to say a prayer. And as I say this prayer you can repeat it softly and He’ll come into your heart--but you have to REALLY MEAN it or the prayer won’t work.

Before we pray the prayer I want to say this, this prayer we are about to pray is a special prayer. Do you need to pray this prayer EVERY DAY to go to heaven, or just ONCE to go to heaven? (emphasis his).⁹
I am not making this up. Believe me, you don’t want to see the prayer.
We should not give someone the impression that they can be saved by a ritual such as prayer. It is better to tell them that they must believe in Christ, and they can tell Him through prayer that they want the gift of eternal life or that they are thankful for what He has done.
Not all of the above conditions are totally void of all truth. The point is that they are often misleading or confusing. Why not be as biblical as possible in our communication of the condition for salvation? In the Gospel of John the verb believe is used ninety-eight times as the condition for salvation. We should take the hint, especially when the Holy Spirit had John tip us off that he wrote his book in order to bring people to faith in Christ (John 20:31). We don’t find any of the above language there.¹⁰

IV. A Clear Invitation

A minister acquaintance told me an almost humorous story of his conversion. When he was a totally pagan, long-haired bartender and bouncer, he attended a revival and went forward at the evangelist’s invitation. When he got to the front, the host pastor met him and asked, “Do you come to make a profession of faith in Christ?” Bill looked confused. The pastor asked several times. Bill finally said, “Look, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just want Jesus.” He told me if it had not been for the evangelist’s clarity in the sermon, he would not have found Christ up front with the pastor. As one of my seminary professors, Howard Hendricks, was fond of saying, “A mist in the pulpit is a fog in the pew.”
A clear telling of the Gospel can easily become unclear when the invitation is given. Whether it is an invitation in a one-on-one encounter or a public invitation by a preacher, there are certain things that will keep it clear. Let’s look at some of the common invitations and comment on each.
Come forward. The invitation to come down the church aisle is used by many preachers, though criticized by others--sometimes rightly so.¹¹ It has only been around since the 1800’s. Some people will quickly respond to such a public expression, and others would rather go through an IRS audit before they would stand up in front of a crowd. In spite of 18 verses of “Just As I Am,” they are singing to themselves, “I Shall Not Be Moved”!
Walking the aisle is not harmful if the person clearly understands the issue. We probably all know someone who came to faith in this way. But people should never be led to believe that they must walk an aisle in order to be saved--even if the preacher’s ego is at stake. They should be encouraged to walk an aisle if they want to talk to someone about their salvation or if they want to make a public statement that they have trusted in Jesus Christ as Savior during the meeting.
Bow your heads and close your eyes. (Not, Close your heads and bow your eyes, as one hapless preacher stated it!). Why must Christians always get saved with their eyes closed? In a séance opening the eyes might break the spell, but in a Gospel confrontation faith can appear with eyes wide open. Funny, but Jesus was always opening peoples’ eyes! On the serious side, closed eyes and bowed heads can create a safe, confidential, and prayerful environment for those who may want to respond publicly.
Raise your hand. Again, we must avoid implying that a physical act is necessary. However, raising a hand is less threatening to a person than walking an aisle. It may give the preacher more opportunity to identify those who are interested in salvation. In fact, I ask people to raise their hands in my invitation, because I want to follow-up with them. I will often tell them something like this:

You don’t have to bow your head or raise your hand to be saved. You can believe in Jesus Christ with your eyes wide open while you are looking at me. I would just like to know that you have placed your faith in Christ as your Savior or that you want to know more about that. The only way I can know who you are, so I can speak with you later in private, is if you raise your hand. I really would like to talk to you about it.

Sign a card. This is also non-threatening to many people, even though a few may have fearful visions of a three-person Evangelism Explosion team ambling up their sidewalk later in the week. It is often wise to ask this only if all the people present at the meeting fill out cards. This makes people feel less conspicuous. A card could include these categories to check:

• I have trusted in Jesus Christ as my Savior today.
• I want more information about knowing Jesus Christ as Savior.
• I want to know for certain that I have eternal life.
• I want to speak to someone about my salvation.

Pray a prayer. An invitation involving prayer can be handled correctly. The Gospel teller must be careful to make the issue faith. When inviting people to Christ, I explain how it is that Christ saves us through faith, make sure they understand the issues, then ask, “Do you believe this?” If they say “Yes,” I say, “Then why don’t you thank Him right now in prayer for dying for you and for giving you eternal life?”
It may not be possible to validate a public invitation from the Scriptures. But then we could not validate Gospel tracts and evangelism training classes either. Sharing the Good News implies an invitation to believe, and giving a clear invitation may help many to actually do it. The main point in relation to the invitation is that in no way do we want a person to get faith mixed up with works. If we have told someone that salvation is a free gift, then we must be consistent and not demand any action as a condition. In fact, when someone decides to respond to any kind of invitation, it seems logical that he or she is already trusting in Christ and just desires to express it somehow. An invitation gives people an opportunity to tell others about their faith, something they should be doing the rest of their lives. Such an expression can help affirm them in their faith.

Conclusion

Clear communication is an art. When it comes to telling the Gospel it is an art worth refining. We must work to tell the Gospel as clearly as possible. Not always will we succeed. But isn’t it a wonderful fact of life that God can still use us in spite of the misplaced approaches and methods that we use? We know, however, that He can accomplish more through us according to how clear and biblical our message and our methods are. And that means that we are clear in our motives, in our Gospel content, in our statement of the condition for salvation, and in our invitation to believe. Given all that is at stake, we want to share the Good News as clearly as possible in a way that is pleasing to God, not just convenient to men.
We give the last word to the Bible:

But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. First Thessalonians 2:4.

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1 F. F. Bruce, The Epistle to the Ephesians and Colossians, in The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1957), 298.
2 Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged in one volume by Geoffrey W. Bromiley, eds. Gerhard Kittel and Gerhard Friedrich (Grand Rapids: Wm B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1985), 1244-45.
3 Having said all that, we state an important caveat: It does no good to talk about concepts like sin unless our audience has an idea of what it means. We must be careful not to assume too much biblical background for our audience. Paul started his witness with creation in Athens (Acts 17). When in a remote African fishing village, I also found it necessary to begin my witness with the account of creation and the fall of man. Our society is growing increasingly secular and will need more and more explanation, but usually we give too much anyway.
4 James Dobson told this story on his March 1, 1994 broadcast.
5 ^“Thanks for the Treat,” Faith, Prayer, & Tract League (Grand Rapids).
6 Larry Moyer, “Guiding Children to Trust Christ,” Moody Monthly, December 1987, 42.
7 Note how the immediate context of each passage refers to faith as the condition of salvation.
8 The word translated “confess” is homologew which means “to speak the same thing,” thus “to agree with (some person with reference to something)”. See Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament, 3 vols. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1944-55), 1:177-78.
9 Larry Beckmann, “God’s Anointed Soul-Winning Plan,” Baldwin Park, CA: n.p. 1982.
10 Except, as noted above, the mention of receiving Christ in 1:11-12.
11 See my review of Jim Ehrhard’s article in the periodical review section of this issue.