Outreach in Today's Culture Archives

Choose Your Enemies Wisely

Choose Your Enemies Wisely A friend told this story about her son’s high school football game. The players on the opposing team grew angry at each other over a poorly executed play and began fighting among themselves. Morale was shot. There was no way they could win after the fight stopped. Same with us. If…

Accommodating New Realities

a pastoral change and post-COVID fatigue bumped them out of that church. These are some of the “religious dones” we read about. They are done with the Sunday event but active in ministry and hungry for fellowship. The couple in question lead an extremely informal Gen-Z microchurch. Their former pastor decided“You should keep your tithe;…

Evangelism: Grey Skies Will Turn…

Yesterday I spent a little time in my garden between storms. It’s winter in San Diego—our kind of winter, gloomy but not too cold. Most of our trees are scraggly and leafless, especially those that grow better in Hawaii than here. We need the rain, but a series of storms can get old.…

A Workable Approach to Evangelism

Do you struggle to motivate your members toward evangelism? Is your “invite them to church” approach broken? You’re not alone. The program-based model is failing and never touched more than 30 percent of people still interested in Christianity. We need to equip and activate every Christ-follower as an everyday missionary. But…

A Workable Approach to Evangelism

Do you struggle to motivate your members toward evangelism? Is your “invite them to church” approach broken? You’re not alone. The program-based model is failing and never touched more than 30 percent of people still interested in Christianity. We need to equip and activate every Christ-follower as an everyday missionary. But…

Evangelism: We can do better…

A recent trip to Orlando found me in my favorite restaurant—the one with the golden arches. While stuffing my face with a Sausage McMuffin, I hummed to the piped-in music. Connecting the sounds with the auditorium where I spoke the day before took a while. The “Aha, these people are bringing Jesus into McDonalds” soon…

Little Foxes and Other Legalisms

I’ve been taking some heat lately. A few weeks ago I published a free book – How Nearly Anyone Can Start a Microchurch. That triggered frustration in several people who judged the book by its cover. “You’re saying just any person who wants to leave our church and pull a bunch of people can just…

Becoming an Everyday Missionary Network Leader

We live as “sojourners” in this world. Even as “strangers and aliens.” I find that alien word a little–well, alien. But we are outsiders to our culture. This positions each of us as everyday missionaries. My overseas experience suggests that we learn to address a foreign culture with humility and grace. We need to consider…

Evangelism: War or Diplomacy?

Evangelism has become a negative word both inside and outside the church. Outsiders get angry when they perceive Christ-followers, or anybody else, trying to push something onto them. When people inside the church think they need to go to war to “win” someone to Christ, they usually don’t open their mouths. Making war means having…

Making Friends in the Neighborhood

I’m scared! I want to host a block party but don’t know what to serve. Most of my neighbors are second-generation Iraqis. Their culture, customs and foods are foreign to me. The mix includes many African Americans and Asians. We’re all different, which is good! However, my wife and I hope to know them better,…