If Starbucks marketed like churches do

Coffee for thought.  How should churches attract new people?  Check out this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7_dZTrjw9I

Power of Purpose

I had the privilege of baptizing an incredible young man on Sunday.  In his story, Glen said that he found his need to get saved because of the great needs he saw all around him.  He was moved by the incredibly large amounts of unreached people groups in India and other parts of the world.  He was also moved by the lethargy (my word) he saw in America towards Jesus.  He wants to do something about reaching all these unreached all over the globe who have yet to hear the name of Jesus.  [This was the most powerful part of the story to me]  Glen said to me before walking into the baptistry, "before I could help them I needed to be helped and that is why I needed to get saved."  My take on it was that he knew the truth but it wasn't until he saw that God could give him a purpose that the truth mattered.  He had to be helped so that he could really help others.  In other words, it was the others, the unreached people of the world, that God used to reach Glen!!  How beautiful?  Truly God's ways are higher than our ways...

Lessons from the Journey

Evangelism should be the natural outflow of worship.  I was challenged by this thought most recently as I watched on TV the Hillsong Conference from Sydney, Australia.  The speaker was Mike Pilavachi from the UK and spoke with great conviction and clarity.  If you are anything like me, evangelism does not naturally flow out of you.  

We both know that is no excuse to not intentionally pass along the hope we have found in Jesus Christ.  Pilavachi's point was that worship is a worthy expression of a love relationship and the first evangelistic message given by the church was communicated by Peter in response to questions raised by the worship of the church.  I found this to be a revolutionary thought!  The Holy Spirit so inhabits the praises of His people that the lost are drawn to the "explosive power of a greater affection".  He went on to say that worship that does not lead out into evangelism becomes self-indulgence.  What a great challenge!  

God help me be so enamored by You that my display of love (worship) draws others to curiosity about the Object of my affection...