20/20 Hindsight: Just a Phone Call Away

This is 20/20 Hindsight. I am posting a new one each Monday. The purpose of this series is to show God's hand of providence in the lives of people throughout history. Sometimes God works His good through a person and sometimes He does it in spite of that person.

Hindsight Obituary Entry 2:

Alexander Graham Bell

Alexander Graham Bell lived from 1847 to 1922. He was the inventor of the first practical working telephone. The telecommunications industry was born through his passion and hard work.

His design continually changed throughout his life from a phone that had to be shouted into even for short distances to one that would span a continent. The New York Times had this to say after a ceremonial debut of a new design in 1915:

On October 9, 1876, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas A. Watson talked by telephone to each other over a two-mile wire stretched between Cambridge and Boston. It was the first wire conversation ever held. Yesterday afternoon [on January 25, 1915] the same two men talked by telephone to each other over a 3,400-mile wire between New York and San Francisco. Dr. Bell, the veteran inventor of the telephone, was in New York, and Mr. Watson, his former associate, was on the other side of the continent. They heard each other much more distinctly than they did in their first talk thirty-eight years ago.

Bell could not have foreseen the advent of the cell phone or the fact that just about everyone would have one. He also would not have understood why we would choose to go back to texting (essentially a telegraph). Skype and FaceTime were probably the furthest thing from his mind, but yet he made all of that possible.

The telephone has gone from mere wires to satellite and towers. It has made the world much much smaller. How has God used this invention to further His good news? Because communication is the heartbeat of relationship. We were created to be in relationship with God and others. The telephone and all of the technologies that followed (remember the Internet began using phone lines to log in) have brought us closer together and enabled us to share God's truth with others.

We no longer have to wait weeks to correspond with a foreign missionary. It can be done in an instant. The phone has given us amazing opportunity. What about you? Is it just another gadget, or a tool to share your faith? Let me leave you with this challenge. Think of someone you care about that has not decided to follow Jesus. Now, take out your phone and call them. You can use this blog as an excuse. Tell them that you read a blog that told you to think about someone you care about who has not decided to follow Christ and they were the first person that came to your mind.

Tell them how you became a Christ follower and ask if they would like to do the same. I led a friend to the Lord the very 1st time I tried it. Let me know what happens.

Read other 20/20 Hindsight entries

How to Use Facebook for Evangelism

Facebook has become a place where gossip spreads, untruths circulate, and marriages fall apart. So is it all evil?

Actually, far from it. I believe Facebook is one of the greatest tools for Evangelism the world has ever seen. If you live your faith it is obvious to others.

However, if you do not live it out you can do irreparable damage to your testimony. A lot of Christian's lives are the very excuses for others to reject Christ. "The church is full of hypocrites" is their popular mantra.

Let me just say that posting random Bible verses is only compelling to Christians. In fact Facebook does not put some of your friends in your news feed. The algorithms that control Facebook put the people with the most in common with you in your news feed.

The people that you want to see the verses you post probably won't anyway. So how does one go about reaching those without Christ online?

Try making a "Hit List" of 5 to 10 people that God has put in your life who do not know Christ. After you have your list make sure you click on it at least once a day. You will see the news feed of only those people.

Pray for your list and interact with the people on it. Like their pictures, comment on their status, but do not preach at them.

You will earn the right to speak into their lives by doing this. They will begin to look at your feed more as well. And perhaps most importantly, you will train yourself to periodically leave your Christian bubble.

Cars 2-My Official Review

    
        "Cars 2" is one of those movies that I am divided on. On the one hand I see a movie that was not up to Pixar's usual high standards. However on the other hand I was thoroughly entertained as I sat there with my two kids laughing and enjoying the show. I do wish they had done more with Doc Hudson's death. They missed a chance to make a sad montage in the vein of "Up" and "Toy Story 3".

        This movie is more about Tow Mater than anything else and has a real clear message to be yourself. They go out of their way to show how a true friend doesn't try to change their friends, but loves them for who they are. As believers we should put this principle into practice. I am not saying that our friends should never change. I am saying that the thing that needs to change in all of us is our sin.

        Christ came to free us from our sin, not our personalities. As a believer I am to love my unbelieving friends even if they never choose to come to Christ. I cannot change them, only He can. It is my job to love them where they are.

Unevangelism: A Different Kind of Invitation

  
        I have been frustrated with a lot that goes on in modern evangelical circles for some time now, especially in the south. One thing that particularly saddens me is the invitation given at many Christian events.

        It seems that many people who "accept" Christ at Christian events are in one of two disturbing groups. The first ones are believers who are feeling convicted about sin and will pray "the prayer" again and again seeking solace from their doubts. The second group is the ones who have prayed a prayer at one time to get to Heaven. These individuals are often looking for a get-out-of-Hell-free-card, yet they have never given their LIFE to Him.

        This frustration has led me to investigate a different approach. So I thought I would see what Jesus did. His invitation was simply "follow me". Many people asked Him for eternal life who did not receive it (4 specific people in the Gospels). Why did Jesus turn people like the rich young man away? Because they would not follow Him with their entire being. People were instructed to count the cost, take up their cross and follow Him.

        Count the cost? We do not even let people open their eyes so that we can save a new believer the embarrassment of others seeing his/her "private" commitment. Are you kidding me?

        I recently spoke at an event where close to 25 people raised their hands to repent and turn to Jesus. I then asked them if they were already believers who just feel that sin has gotten in the way of their relationship with God to put their hand down. They were then instructed to talk to God about it in their seat. Over half of the hands went down.

        I spoke at an event last night where seven teens raised their hands to follow Christ. I told them of the trouble Jesus promises and the suffering that Paul said accompanies a believer. I told them that Jesus said that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before His Father. I told them that I was going to let everyone open their eyes in a moment and to count the cost before keeping their hands up. Two hands went down. I pulled the five aside and began asking questions. It turns out three were already believers who just needed to start fresh. I prayed for them and dismissed them to pray with other believers about where they had strayed.

        The last two were serious. They were pastor's kids. They had never really followed Christ. An event that could have boasted seven souls now had two. In fact one tweet escaped that said five had accepted Christ. In the end though, I went to bed with peace in my heart. Knowing that I had no doubts about the two that had endured the most awkward invitation of their lives (especially as pastor's kids with members of their youth groups present).

        Christ has done ALL of the work needed for salvation, but lets not sugar coat the life that Jesus offers. It is tough, not for wimps, and at times all uphill. The good news of the Great commission is that He will be with us even until the end of the world.

        I know in ministry that there is a pressure for numbers. It is easy to start viewing people as numbers. My challenge to you is to present the Gospel, but also define the cost, so that one can "count it" before picking up his/her own cross to die to their old way of life.