PastorMentor.com

The Virtue of Imitation

It looks like The Bible Questions will be available within two weeks! 

As we begin inviting other churches to join the Bible Reading Revolution, I’ve been thinking about the very first church-wide campaign we did at New Song. It was Rick Warren’s 40 Days of Purpose. Rick recommended I adapt his sermons rather than create my own. Initially, I wasn’t too keen on that idea. Then I thought, “Why not try some of his phrasing and see how it works on my audience?” 

I adapted the first sermon and was surprised how well people responded. Rick's a great preacher, but our styles are different. He rarely uses a long story. He uses lots of humor. And he packs his sermons with pithy statements. I tried some of the pith and discovered I need to practice more pith when I preach! 

Without realizing it, I was walking in Rick Warren’s footwear, if only for a minute. I’m a better communicator because of trying on his sandals. 

They say imitation is the highest form of flattery. It’s also a significant way to improve your preaching skills! 

Last week, half a dozen pastors signed on for The Bible Questions Campaign. I’m praying that the sermons will bear fruit for them, but also bear fruit in them as they learn whatever little is gleanable from my New Song style.

I can’t wait for the Bible Reading Revolution to begin!

Why Pastors Have More Influence on Our Economy than Presidents

These days, everyone is asking, “Which candidate will have a greater effect on our economy?” It’s a fair question, but let’s be realistic. No president is going to quickly and permanently reverse our financial fortunes.

I’d like to suggest a guaranteed way to improve our economy.

Instead of politicians, this way comes from pastors. Because pastors, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, have more influence on the economy than presidents.

Follow me for a minute.

1. History teaches that the Bible changes nations.

In 1738, Jonathan Wesley began gathering people in groups to study the Bible. If you’ve read Dickens, you know that this period of England’s history was full of poverty, disease, slavery, workhouses, and child laborers. By 1798, there were over 100,000 Bible study groups throughout the nation of Great Britain. The next hundred years are known as “The British Century,” because Britain became the most powerful and prosperous nation on earth.

In 1796, Hans Hauge began distributing Bibles throughout his native Norway. Hauge launched over 1,000 Bible study groups in a country of only 800,000 people. By 1814, Norway broke free from  enmark, wrote their own constitution, and became one of the most prosperous nations on earth.

In 1857, America reached her lowest percentage of church attendance. Not surprisingly, our economy tanked as well. In desperation, Jeremiah Lanphier convened a prayer meeting in New York City. That sparked a movement that saw Bible reading reach an all-time high. The picture of frontier America is a
family, gathered around the kitchen table after dark. A candle is lit. As mom and grandma do handwork, children play quietly, and dad reads the Bible out loud for an hour or so. By the end of the World War I, America had become the most powerful and prosperous nation on earth.

Coincidence? I don’t think so.

The Bible has a transforming effect on people. That transformation isn’t just spiritual, it can be economic as well. When a man learns integrity, not only do people trust him, he produces better work. Better work means better products, better pay, and prosperity for the people around him. When enough people are shaped and sharpened by biblical values, a nation is changed. 

2. Americans read the Bible less now than any time in the past 100 years.

According to Gallop, in the 1980’s, 73% of Americans read the Bible. By 2000, that number was down to 59%. I’m pretty sure it’s fallen further since then. I read recently that 34% of church attenders read the Bible regularly and 21% read it “sometimes.” That means almost half our church members depend on their pastors’ sermons for most of the Bible content they receive. Non-church-goers receive little or no Bible input at all.

We can blame politicians for the economic mess we’re in, but I don’t think they’ve got the power to change things significantly. What can change our situation is what has changed our situation in the past. And that’s the Bible.

Imagine pastors inspiring their people to read the Bible. Imagine churches inviting their neighbors to come and understand the big picture of the Bible, so they can read it for themselves. Imagine the character transformations, the salvations, and redemptive lift brought on by biblical work ethics and
lifestyles. That’s where pastors come in. We get to call people to Bible reading, Bible study, and Bible application. I believe the solution for what ails our country is a Bible-Reading Revolution, church-by-church, block-by-block, and city-by-city. That’s why I believe that pastors have greater influence than presidential candidates.

3. Prosperity and Bible-reading go together.

God promised Joshua that if he would meditate on Scripture day and night, he would be prosperous and successful (Joshua 1:8). God’s promise to Joshua may not be an ironclad guarantee for us, but locked inside the promise is a principle: Read Scripture regularly and you will be transformed. Live it out, and your life will prosper. That principle applies nationally as well and individually.

What happened in the late 1800s can happen again. I’m confident God wants it, and I know every pastor wants it too.

Tomorow I'll outline a strategy to make it happen.

Come on pastors, let’s launch a Bible Reading Revolution together!

 
Hal has teamed up with Intervarsity Press, Outreach Inc., and pastormentor.com to create a six week church-wide campaign called, The Bible Questions. It’s designed to launch a Bible Reading Revolution in your church and city. You can access it at www.pastormentor.com.

The Radio, Television, and Facebook: How Technology is Competing with Spiritual Formation

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and I’ve love to hear your thoughts.

In 1917 the American Radio and Research Corporation began radio broadcasting and within a few years Americans were bent over little boxes almost every night of the week. Television came in the 1940’s, and within a decade our habits shifted from listening to speakers to watching screens for hours on end. Then Al Gore invented the internet, and soon AOL, then MySpace, then Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest began competing for our evenings.

A little more than a hundred years ago, the American frontier family huddled around candles at the kitchen table after dark. While mom and grandma sewed and mended, kids played quietly and dad read Scripture – out loud – for an hour or more each evening.

Romans 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” For the later part of the 19^th century, the truths of Scripture seeped into American minds, reminding us of virtues like integrity, the importance of personal responsibility, the nobility of labor, and a thousand other healthy concepts.

In the mid-1800s, American church attendance and spirituality were at an all-time low. Not surprisingly, our economy was in the doldrums as well. In 1857, desperation led Jeremiah Lanphier and a few business friends to found a noontime prayer meeting in New York City. The practice spread throughout the city, then throughout the country. That’s when Bible-reading began to take hold of us as a nation.

For the next 50 years or so, Americans absorbed Scripture, renewing their minds and transforming their behavior. By the end of World War I, we had become the most prosperous and powerful nation on earth. Reading, studying, and hearing the Bible preached is fundamental to personal transformation.

The revivals of Wesley and Whitfield drove Englishmen to the Bible. Within a few generations, they were the most prosperous nation on earth. The revivals of 1857 and 1858 drove Americans to the Bible, and within a few generations we became the most prosperous nation on earth.

Today, everyone is busy. Doing what? I don’t know for sure, but I suspect it’s watching television, surfing the web, and posting on Facebook. Where once we were a nation of Bible-readers, we’ve become a nation of technology-consumers.

With the upcoming elections, everyone has an opinion on which candidate can help us more. I believe what will really help us is a Bible-reading revolution! What would happen to our country if we all began reading the Bible for a half hour a day? What would happen to you if you began letting Scripture, instead of Facebook, reshape your perspectives? What would happen to your family, if they thought more about God's thoughts and less about The Kardashians? What would happen to your neighborhood if people reset their standards by the Golden Rule instead of the rule of media?

Thomas Jefferson once said, ...the studious perusal of the sacred volume will make better homes, better citizens, better fathers and better husbands.

What do you think?

Here's the FOREWORD to My Next Book - with thanks to Sergio De La Mora

This coming August, InterVarsity Press will release my newest book, The Bible Questions. I'm praying it introduces thousands who have never read Scripture to the wonders of God's Word, and inspires tens of thousands of believers to develop regular Bible study habits. Today, my friend Sergio De La Mora finished the Foreword to the book. I think I can show it to you without breaking copywrite. So here it is, with deepest thanks to Sergio:

FOREWORD:
On every level of humanity, there is a deep yearning within us. We want to know more than what we can see and understand at face value. And on no other platform do we encounter more questions than in the confines of faith-questions that stem from our profound longing to further grasp what my good friend Hal Seed refers to as "the bigger picture of God and the Bible."

Every one of us seeks answers to the questions that arise from our beliefs. We thirst for understanding, development and maturity . Most people would openly admit that their greatest desire in reading the Bible is not just to know something but to be known by someone. When we admit this, we arrive at a place where answers are found; but more than that, an intimate, fulfilling and lifelong relationship with God is discovered. This process of discovery is the ultimate goal of not just the Bible, but also Hal´s book The Bible Questions .

The Bible Questions is more than simply a reference book or study guide. It´s a deeply thought-provoking and theologically sound manuscript that leads you through a historical journey and helps you discover the tools to answer some of the most poignant and philosophical questions we have asked since the beginning of our existence. The Bible Questions provides the fundamental keys to helping us answer the what, why and how of our own story with God.

Through meticulous detail of historical facts and brilliantly inspired personal insight, Hal invites readers to begin to experience the Bible for themselves and unlock the incredible wisdom and practical knowledge found within. As a pastor and friend, I thank God for Hal´s theological and doctrinal strength and for his commitment to help people think accurately about God.

As you make your way through this book, see it as a journey toward a greater sense of honor and reverence for the authenticity and authority of the Bible. Commit to give your best, and I believe God will give you his best through every revelation in his Word. Begin today to unlock the mysteries of the greatest book in history as you turn the page and answer The Bible Questions.

Come on somebody!

Sergio De La Mora, lead pastor, Cornerstone Church of San Diego, and author, The Heart Revolution