connecting is more than an event

Spent about four hours yesterday afternoon trying to develop an initial relationship with 5 law students from Austral University.  Please pray that God would begin to draw Jacob, Adolfo, Juan, Macarena, and Maria to Himself and that we can meet as a group more than once.  Both Jacob and Macarena had never even been in a church building before not even a Catholic one.  This seems to be quite common here among the students I am meeting. Going to a “church building” appears completely irrelevant to them. Since they are studying law at a private Catholic University they knew lots of information about Jesus and theology and were not shy about letting me know what they believed.  I was just excited that they were willing to meet with me and let me introduce myself.  They seemed to appreciate my laid back non-confrontational approach.  God leads people to Himself.  I’m just a listener and guide in this process who trys to ask relevant questions.

OK…On to my soapbox….One thing that concerns me as I try to get local Argentine students from local Baptist churches to introduce me with their lost friends is the fact that for the most part they do not have any.  With this in mind, how do we as believers take evangelism out of the religious box and weave it into real life at school or work?  This is a problem I dealt with in the States as well.  During the week most believers spend hours every day in the most high-impact mission field in the world: their classrooms or workplaces. A place where they are regularly in touch with people facing significant life questions. But to have an impact, they need a perspective that’s different from anything they’ve ever heard or read about evangelism. Real evangelism is a process. It’s organic–more like farming than selling.

There are two basic ways that we believers tend to reach out to the lost around us.  I come from a background that views evangelism as an event.  I was trained to view evangelism as a point in time when a person recites the gospel message and encourages non-Christians to “pray the prayer” and place their faith in Jesus.  This tends to focus on the actions of the person who is “witnessing.” This view on reaching the lost uses standardized, assertive, and sometimes intrusive methods of relating with people.  This can make people apprehensive about telling others about Jesus due to fear of failure or guilt feelings if the results are minimal.  At least this is what students are telling me and what I have personally experienced in my own ministry.

We should rethink our approach and see evangelism as a process much like farming, that cultivates hearts, plants spiritual seeds, and nurtures their growth.  We need to recognize that God typically uses a number of people to draw a person toward a relationship with Jesus. Each witness in the process seeks to discover what God is doing in a person’s life, then employs his or her natural gifts and abilities to join in that effort.  I have found that this creates more joy and enthusiasm as people realize how God can use them as one link in a chain of people who help non-Christians discover Jesus and take incremental steps toward faith in him.

coffee & conversation

Met with five UBA biology students last night from 10 PM – 11:30 PM at a local cafe in Palermo.  Please pray that God will gradually draw Matias, Lucas, Fernando, Julieta & Sofia to Himself.  The coffee and the conversation although brief was really neat.  Initially we had planned to discuss whether or not Christianity is based solely on blind faith and continue our conversation on whether or not Science and the Bible conflict.  Right now God is teaching me how to be a better listener and how to know which questions to pose when and how to handle rabbit-trails.  My challenge has always been trying to find out and strike an importance balance between presenting the truths of the Bible with boldness, and at the same time keeping my friendships with seekers safely intact.  This was what I struggled with last night.  I started out our discussion very task oriented ready to debate the issue at hand but very quickly realized that they just wanted to hang out with me.  It occurred to me that I was moving way too quickly and needed to take a step back and begin building a “bridge of trust” with them. Deep inside I really wanted our time together to be intense and informative, but also enjoyable.  I never wanted them to feel any pressure or criticism from me but rather know that the group is a safe place for them to hang out and progress in their spiritual journey.  These students are still trying to figure out where they stand and exactly what they believe about God, the meaning of life, death, the afterlife, and many other spiritual issues.  Please pray that I will be more sensitive and perceptive to where they are at on their spiritual journey and that a bridge of trust with them will slowly develop.

yesterday

A couple days ago I spent an hour with Sebastian, Javier and Luis at a local pub in Palermo briefly discussing where evil comes from in light of how God could allow suffering.  For those who commented on my Facebook wall & in my Inbox, thanks.  They are students at the UBA Faculty of Psychology.  We had a great conversation and I appreciate their graciousness with my Spanish.  It was a difficult topic to discuss in a language that I am still trying to grasp but nevertheless I was able to communicate clearly what I wanted to express & point to the uniqueness of Christ.  During the week we are continuing to discuss this tough question via a closed Facebook Forum. I was also able to share my testimony in light of the personal suffering I have experienced in my own life.  God willing, next week we will be having conversations about why innocent people have to suffer.  As you can see I have lots to prepare for.

Yesterday was a rough day for me physically because of my cough, runny nose & body aches.  Spent about 5 hours interacting with students at the UBA Faculty of Economics despite feeling like crap.  After introducing myself I asked as many students as I could to elaborate on the significance behind this specific proverb, “It takes money to make money”? As a result, had some awesome conversations that focused on the economy & the concentration of wealth.  Then I asked them another question if they were not in too much of a hurry, “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?”  Again, a few of them really opened up to me about some of the deep seated issues in their lives.  I was surprised at how open they were to discussing their pain with someone they just met.

After about 4 hours of interacting with students the Holy Spirit convicted my heart and asked me to be obedient.  Obedient to what? Well, earlier in the day during my devotional God told me that he wanted me to print off a Spanish version of the hymn Amazing Grace and then find a place later on in the day at UBA Economics & begin singing it.  For those that know me you know that this is completely out of my comfort zone.  To be very honest as I was engaging the students I was hoping that God would just let this slide.  I was thinking to myself that I do not have any musical abilities, my Spanish sucks, people are going to think I am retarded etc….But I had to be obedient so I found a central place along the main sidewalk to the main building.  Sat down on some stairs and then began to sing.  Immediately, all my insecurities about what everyone would think came flooding in.  God’s Spirit  inside of me said just keep singing and focus on the Cross.  Just worship.  At first students walked by and just ignored me.  Then some of them began to laugh but after awhile some became very irritated.  Overall, I sang Amazing Grace in Spanish for about 1 hour nonstop.  Toward the end a few students were standing around I guess trying to figure me out.  God led me to two students named Naomi & Virginia. I was able to share my testimony but also the vision God gave me for beginning a small group at the school that meets to investigate God.  They gave me their contact info and said that they were interested but not until school begins again in August.

On the subway ride back home I started hacking and throwing up.  People around me began to move away because they could see that I was really sick.  Honestly I did not think I was going to be able to make it home but God sent me a Jewish Rabbi to come to my aid.  He gave me his seat and began talking with me and asking me questions which was great because it took my mind off my situation.

Took a sick day off today. Can’t seem to completely get rid of the bug I have which is irritating. My son Ezra is under the weather too. As a result, missed out on my team meeting and am going to have to postpone my GIG (Group Investigating God) until tomorrow night with the biology students. Tomorrow nights discussion will center on whether or not Christianity is completely based on blind faith.  Again, lots of preparation.  Thanks everyone for your continued prayers on my behalf.

4 questions

I hope to meet with 5 students from the Faculty of Psychology at UBA later on today.  God willing, tonight will be the beginning of another GIG (Groups Investigating God) meeting at a local pub in Palermo.  Many have asked me how these groups are beginning to form.  The first thing I do is pray and God immediately gives me a sense of where He is working.  Without wasting any time I physically go to the specific Faculty and begin starting conversations with students trying to make friends.  Right from the very beginning I say that I am a spiritual teacher who has been sent here by my master teacher Jesus.  Then they are not wondering who I am and can begin to trust me.  I have found that if I ask at least 50 students these four questions I can get a feel for what kind of GIG to initiate.  The questions are as follows:  (1) When you have major life questions to whom do you turn with them? (2) What has your experience with Christians been like in the past (at this faculty)? (3) To what extent is God (belief in God) important in your life? (4) If you could ask God one question, what would it be?  After doing this survey at the Faculty of Pschology I learned that a common thread among the students there was basically how could God allow suffering and evil.  God willing, tonight our conversation will be focused on where evil comes from.  Please pray for me because I was up half the night working on this discussion in Spanish.  I have also been extremely tired today (more so than usual) and have been throwing up.  No doubt it is spiritual warfare. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would be present and that my testimony at the end of the discussion would glorify God

relevant reads

I really believe that we can make a difference in today’s culture.  One recent book that I have found extremely helpful that I wanted to pass on to my network are (1) The Rabbit & the Elephant: Why Small is the New Big for Today’s Church (by Tony Dale).  I especially appreciate the included documents on how the “church” across the world is changing from being event-based to life and relationship-based.   Also, I found the words of wisdom about how to incorporate spiritual growth and outreach into every aspect of our lives very practical.  The other book that has been relevant recently to me is (2) The Monkey & the Fish: Liquid Leadership for a 3rd-Culture Church (by Dave Gibbons).  Since I am a third culture kid I was immediately drawn to the book title.  The author encouraged me to be Jesus to people who are not like me which will allow me to stay relevant in this ever changing world where the cultural lines intersect near and far.  Perfect for a church planter like me in the university context.

kingdom of god

Over the last few weeks I have been reading and praying over the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus was such an awesome teacher.  If you have not read “The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas Willard I would highly recommend it.  I completely agree with the author, “Jesus is not just nice, he is brilliant.” As I interact with students I hit home from the very beginning that discipleship to Jesus is the heart of the gospel.  Also, the gospel is for our life now, not just for when we die. As Willard points out, “Our future is a natural extension of the faith by which we live now and the life in which we now participate.”  Any thoughts?

Group Investigating God (GIG)

Yesterday I was able to meet for the first time with 7 biology students studying at the University of Buenos Aires to have an initial conversation on whether or not Science and the Bible conflict.  We discussed over coffee whether Christianity was primarily based on blind faith.  They asked some great questions like, “Doesn’t the Big Bang disprove a Creator?” and Won’t scientific progress make God unnecessary?”  I was thrilled at how interested they were in exploring this topic with me.  We plan to continue our discussion every Wed evening but also interact on a discussion forum via Facebook during the week as well.  The underlying idea or thought that seemed to be present in their minds during our time together was the fact that really nice people with good intentions honestly do not believe in Jesus.  Sincere people ought to be accepted by God on the basis of their strong convictions.  Therefore, Christianity cannot be the only way.  With this in mind I made it clear that I believed that there is only one way to God.  Please continue to pray that more “tough question” groups will develop which I hope will result in students worshipping the true God.

Colorado number

In case you did not get our email, we have a CO phone number…just click the “get us @” to the right to get the number plus all our contact info…hope to hear from you!

hola!

we are still alive! Sorry for those of you who actually read our blog…some times it feels like no one reads this thing. not much happening around here, but here is an update on each of us:

Dave: is currently recovering from a terrible cold/bad cough. Every time we seem to get better, we get sick again, due to the chilly weather…but we are doing better lately. He is now hanging out with Ezra at one of the campuses near us, University of Belgrano…drinking mate, hanging out with students & throwing the ball with Ezra.

Paula: trying to get over the cold Dave gave me…I think we’re getting each other sick. Taking care of Noah, he has been teething and waking up every 4 hours throughout the night. Trying to get things ready around the apartment before my parents come to visit…like establishing heat in each bed room, learning how to use our gas fireplace and finding curtains to hang up. They’ll be coming in September, hopefully!

Ezra: is enjoying school, but has 10 days off due to prevention of the swine flu thing. he had a great 3rd birthday!!! His best friend is Bruno.

Noah: is getting some hair! It looks like it’s going to be blond and he still has BLUE eyes!!! I hope his eye color doesn’t change. I think he looks like Dave, his features. He is a great baby! Very easy and is now learning how to sit on his own.

that’s about it. the weirdest thing right now is the cold weather, in JUNE! And for those of you who are wondering, the toilet water when flushed, goes counter-clockwise.

possible discussions

Within the next couple months Paula and I hope to initiate and facilitate a “tough questions” discussion group at a local Starbucks or Cafe.  For six weeks there will be six specific discussions exploring how anybody can really know that God exists.  We hope to have 7 students participating in this first round of “tough questions.”  These students are naturally skeptical but are searching for authenticity.  Our first discussion is entitled, “Is Anybody Out There?” Paula and I love it when we are able to interact with people who ask great questions.  Personally, I love what Voltaire said, “Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers.”