God created people because He loves stories
On Saturday, September 26th, I’m participating in Fight Gone Bad IV, a fundraiser for Athletes for a Cure and the Wounded Warrior Project. In order to take on this grueling workout I have to raise $150. I’m almost there. Will you help me reach my goal?
I recently worked through Jean Twenge’s Generation Me. (Thanks to Scot McKnight for the recommendation.) To quote the subtitle, it explains “why today’s young Americans are more confident, assertive, entitled–and more miserable than ever before.” It was a great read and the information in it has a huge impact on how somebody like me goes about gathering young adults into Christian community.
Twenge has a new book entitled The Narcissism Epidemic. Here’s a quote from the ElightenNext blog.
There was a survey done last year asking college students about their academic experiences. To the question “If you explain to your professor that you’re trying hard, should he or she increase your grade?” two-thirds of college students said yes. I’m a professor and I study narcissism, and I was still shocked by that number! The “everybody gets a trophy” mentality basically says that you’re going to get rewarded just for showing up. First of all, that’s not how the real world works. Second, that won’t build true self-esteem; instead, it builds this empty sense of “I’m just fantastic, not because I did anything but just because I’m here.”
Do you see this sort of thing showing up in your school, business, or church? Is the self-esteem movement backfiring in a socially disastrous way?
I’ve been sporadically blogging through I Once Was Lost, by Everts and Schaupp. They work through five thresholds postmodern skeptics usually cross on their way to faith in Jesus. I summarized them in a previous post and we looked at the first three thresholds here and here and here.
The fourth threshold is that skeptics become seekers. Once they begin to trust a Christian, becomes curious about Jesus, and are open to change in their life, they shift into a higher gear of seeking. They decide to purposefully seek final answers, a resolution to their quest. There’s a difference between someone meandering toward God and purposefully seeking out and exploring Jesus. The difference is urgency, determination, and purpose.
Everts and Schaupp point out three trends in seekers that distinguish them from those who are meandering:
1. Seekers seek Jesus, not just God.
2. Seekers count the cost.
3. Seekers spend time with Christians.
How do we help someone go from casualy and occasionally asking questions to really being on a quest for answers and for connecting the dots?
1. Show them how to build their lives on Jesus’ words.
2. Open up your prayer life to them.
3. Provide satisfying answers to their initial questions.
Everts and Schaupp offer a five-step framework for answering such questions (ATTIC). (Their counsel is not nearly as formulaic as these notes make it seem.)
1. Affirm their questions.
2. Translate your answer from abstract theology to concrete everyday life examples
3. Be transparent in the way you answer the question. Be willing to admit your own struggles with the question at hand.
4. Insert yourself as a case study.
5. Challenge your friend by asking them, “What about you? What do you think? What are you looking for?”
They also suggest that we create safe places for people to seek. While they don’t suggest that churches turn their weekend assemblies into seeker events, they do believe there is still a place for strategic “seeker events” in most churches and ministries. Whether they be special retreats, small groups, or a large gathering, the authors suggest the following questions to ask before holding such an event.
1. Is this event designed with real seekers in mind? Just because we think seekers should be comfortable at our event doesn’t mean they really are.
2. Are the expectations clear?
3. Is Scripture central to what we’ve planned?
4. Are we guiding seekers or shielding them?
What are some of the best “seeker events” that you’ve seen? How do they work?
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons
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