My Feelings on Apathy

I'm in the process of writing a book on evangelism.

When I write a book I have to immerse myself in the project. I'm reading articles on evangelism, books on evangelism, and I'm reading the gospel of Luke--scouring each verse for every single morsel I can find that reveals Christ's heart for lost people.

As I've been thinking about evangelism I've been reminded that I must be careful that I don't allow myself to become apathetic.

If we’re not careful we can become desensitized to the plight of lost people in our world. Are we apathetic when exposed to the needs of the people we encounter on a daily basis?

Do you feel anything for the man holding the “Will Work For Food” sign, or do you see only words on a torn piece of cardboard?

Do you feel anything for the frazzled mom with dirty kids ahead of you in line at Wal-Mart, or do you just see a woman who is making you late because she can’t seem to find all of her food-stamps?

Do you feel anything for your co-worker as he wonders how to save his marriage, or do you only see a philanderer who’s getting what he deserves?

Do you feel anything for the homosexual guy who works in your building who is grieving the loss of his partner to AIDS, or do you only see someone who got what “he deserves”?

Jesus cared about lost people and, if we really want to be of any use to him in this world, we must too.

I'm going to be on DirecTV!

This Wednesday, January 30th I'm going to be a guest on The Harvest Show. I'm being interviewed about my latest book, Remember Who You Are: Unleashing the Power of an Identity-Driven Life.

The show will air on DirecTV channel 367 live from 9 a.m.-10 a.m. EST and then it will re-air at 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. EST. You can also watch the show live on the Internet for the next week by clicking Here.

The show is produced by the LeSEA Broadcasting Network and will also be available on a bunch of other cable networks around the country. Here a list of Viewing Times.

I'm really nervous, so I covet your prayers.

Blessings!

They Like Jesus But Hate The Church?

In a meeting I attended recently with some church leaders from around the country I heard this phrase spoken as a sample of how young adults view the Church: "They like Jesus, but hate the church."

Interesting.

And impossible.

If I understand New Testament ecclesiology we don't have the luxury of separating Christ and his Bride.

Jesus and the Church are one and the same.

When Saul was on his way to Damascus to continue his persecution of Christ's Church a blinding bright light appeared from heaven, Saul fell to the ground, and he heard a voice from heaven saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"Acts 9:4

Who was Saul persecuting? The Church.

Who did the Lord accuse Saul of persecuting? Himself ("Me")

What's the lesson? Jesus was taking the persecuting of his church personally. What you do to the Church you do to Jesus. What we do to--and say about--the Church, we're doing--and saying--about Jesus.

We can't like Jesus and hate the church. It's a false dichotomy (Jesus on one side-His Church on the other).

That's like saying, "I like Arron, but hate Rhonda (my wife)." Here's a little advice: Don't say that within swinging distance of my right arm. :)

How you treat my wife is how you treat me.

I understand the angst reflected in the statement ("I like Jesus but hate the Church"). Many young--and older--adults are frustrated with the legalism, traditionalism, and divisiveness they see in their congregations or the church as a whole. They love Jesus and want to see his Bride become all she can be, but I think they're . . . we're . . . going at it the wrong way.

In my opinion the best way to help the Bride of Christ (the Church) to become stronger, healthier, and more unified is simply to love her--and her Groom--even more.

Long Time No Blog

It's been over a week since my last blog. The Elder Survey is extremely important to me, so I wanted to let it sit on the top of my blog for a while. As of a minute ago 159 Elders have taken the survey. I'll post the results on my blog and in my article for the Christian Standard. It's not too late to send other Elders to my blog to take the survey.

I wanted to let you know (in case you're interested) that I will be on The Herman and Sharron Show on the Christian Television Network tomorrow at 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. I taped the 30 minute interview about my book two weeks ago and I'm really pleased with how it turned out. The hosts were so nice and encouraging.

You can watch it live on the CTN website or on the following stations:

WCLF TV - Clearwater/Tampa Bay, FL

WYBU TV - Columbus, GA

KFXB TV - Cedar Rapids, IA

WRXY TV - FT. Myers, FL

KNLJ TV - Jefferson City, MO.

WVLR TV - Knoxville, TN

WGNM TV - Macon, GA

WHTN TV - Nashville, TN

WFGC TV - Palm Beach, FL

WHBR TV - Pensacola, FL

WVUP TV - Tallahassee, FL

WTJR TV - Quincy, IL

CTNi International

Attention All Elders!

I'm a Contributing Editor for a wonderful magazine called The Christian Standard. The Editors of this magazine have declared 2008, The Year of The Elder. During 2008, The Christian Standard will contain articles about eldership at least once every month--all written to answer one key question: What is the role of the elder in the 21st-century Western church?

We will look at the question from many different angles. We’ll tell stories. We’ll listen to scholars. We’ll hear reports from local churches.

We're inviting every reader to participate.
• Go to our website and jot a “letter to the editor” to tell us how and why you agree or disagree with what you read in our pages.
• Submit your own idea for an essay or article. Some of our best articles (like the first two this week) come to us unsolicited. Click Here To Submit Article
• Tell others about this series. These articles will offer starting points for class sessions and informal discussions among elders and staff members in many local congregations.

But, there's one more thing you can do. The Editors asked me to write an article answering the question: What is an Elder's most important job?

As a part of the research for my article--and in cooperation with the Editors of The Christian Standard--I've produced a survey for Elders. I need to get as many Elders to take this survey as I can, so here's where you can help.

If you are an Elder (or you know an Elder whom you can direct to my blog) I invite you to take this brief survey. I thank you in advance for your help in answering a question that is important both to Elders and the churches with which they serve.

Click Here to take survey

More on Logan the Sky Angel Cowboy

I listen to 89.3 KSBJ on my computer all of the time . . . but now I'm even more of a fan. Recently I blogged about Logan the Sky Angel Cowboy and the "buzz" his phone call was generating.

A few people thought the story was false, so I investigated and found the proof that it was completely true.

Last week I heard from the Program Director from KSBJ. He included a link to a news story CBN did on Logan.

Very cool!

Here's what he said:

Aaron, thanks for the due diligence! If you'd like some further proof for your blog friends CBN was here and did a story on the whole thing... enjoy!

CBN News Story on Logan

Chuck Pryor
KSBJ/Program Director

Here's the story as it appeared on CBN: