Come off the Reservation

In the book, “Stronger than Steel: The Story of Wayne Alderson”, R.C. Sproul tells how Wayne Alderson was invited to a retreat by men in his church. Wayne decided to go after a rough time dealing with labor strike issues at the plant, of which he was just made operations manager.  He thought he would be able to relax but he heard a message that R.C. says stung his conscience. “The theme was a challenge to churchmen to put their faith and values to the test in the real world. They were told to come out from under the shelter of their steeples and into the marketplace.
The speaker likened the Church in an age of secularism to an Indian (Native American) reservation. Intrusions of God were not welcome in the public sector. Believers could be ‘safe’ only if they stayed on the ‘reservation.’ He challenged the idea that separation of Church and State meant the same thing as separation of State and God. He maintained that God’s authority applied to all of His creation, and His values were to be applied to all of life. Civil institutions should not become churches, but they were still fully accountable to God.
Wayne heard God saying to him, Come off the reservation…confess me before men.”
This may be old stuff to some, but it seems in most jobs I have had, there is not much of a witness to God’s power being done. The most that can be hoped for is people sitting around the break table cursing and telling dirty jokes one minute and mentioning going to church the next.
How dare I judge these people but it seems that they still believe that their ‘faith’ has no business in their worklife.  I was blessed to belong to a Church for many years that drove us little Indians off the reservation, which was good for me because I was never a very good little Indian. So if you are feeling a little uneasy now about your faith at work, try clocking in with your ‘faith’ in tow and use it. Come off the reservation.
I’m not implying that you need to leave the Church, just take your faith with you “as you go”, the Church or Reservation will be there when you get back.

My Workstyle Witness

Since I've started my new job I've attempted to really seek the Lord on how to be a witness and the approach I should use. This is how it's been going.

1. My first days and week was mostly spent with my mouth shut and ears open. Learning the job and learning the people I work with.
2. Mostly keep my witness to making general remarks during causal conversation about church or something the Pastor said that weekend. This really lets you know if someone is open to hearing more or they couldn't care less. Already any real believers will ask where you attend and step into fellowship. Must be careful if you work with temp labour. You do not know from one day to the next if the person will be there for you to witness to. You must hear God on this and step up to witness if the Lord moves you.
3. Bring a Bible to work to read during break or lunch. But don't keep your head in it long and lose touch of what is going on around you.
4. Wear Christian apparel that is appropriate.
5. Show real concern for others at work. The guy no one likes, befriend him.

That is all I got for now.

What About Bryan: a true story

Bryan started as a temp. Working on the dock were I worked. Like allot of the guys there he was rude and rude, but a hard worker. he migrated from Vermont to Dothan by way of working as a carny (someone traveling with a carnival). He quickly became disliked by the others by showing a know-it-all attitude and making a habit of breaking into others conversations when he wasn’t asked. Speaking as if he knew exactly what was going on and how to do whatever was being discussed. He always had a story to go with every situation, bigger and better than the one told before. He was quickly branded a liar. People in the south take great offense of this especially if the person is from up north. His speech was no worse than the other guys were. Using GD, MF as if they were all one word and could be to be used more than once a sentence.
I saw a need in Bryan and decided to befriend him. And when the opportunity came try to lead him to the Lord. First of all I did not join in on the jokes and trash-talk that was heaped his way. The others made a habit of twisting every word he said to make it seem he was lying and called him stupid and dummy to his face. Break-time became a bash-Bryan party. Second, Anytime I needed help from a dockhand, I grabbed Bryan to get him away from the rest of the crew and just tried to be nice to him and show him a little respect. But it seemed the more I was nice to him the more know-it-all and smart-mouthed he became to me. He became very hard to work with.
Then one day he did not show up for work. We all though he had skipped town or was in jail. The guys continued to talk about him even after he was gone. I had failed to find a time to speak with him about the Lord, but in my heart I was relieved that the strain of trying to befriend him was gone.
After about a week or more I was greeted at work with, "Hey, Wayne your buddy is back and they hired him full-time". I knew exactly whom they were talking about. Although I got a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach, I was glad I would get a second chance to witness to him. While he was gone I was involved with a discussion group on the internet about the best way to witness at work and the prevailing answer was to just live your witness and be an example. They told me that tracts and straightforward witness was to judgmental and did not work. So I was glad to get another chance.
Again I tried to befriend him and help him out. He returned just as cocky because now he was fulltime and thought, "I must be as good as I think I am". He quickly became the bunt of jokes by continuing to be a know-it-all smart-mouthed food and cigarette bumming creep. But I knew the Lord loved him just as much as He loved me and He could do something great with Bryan.
Anyway, on his first day back he came in mouthing off to me and I started to reply with a quick comeback when I felt inside to remain quit. He then looked on the break table and saw a Bible lying there amongst the newspapers and candy wrappers left by the other workers. He picked it up and asked me if it was mine. When I said yes he asked if he could look at it. Of course I told him yes and when he cracked open the pages he quickly laid it down as if it reminded him of something he didn't want to remember. It was time to go back to work so we all took off to our jobs.
After he grew worse in appearance and conduct I tried to get alone with him and try to share the gospel with him. But the opportunity never came or I did not try hard enough.
Then one day he got off the phone and told me that he had lost the hotel room he was staying and did not know were his wife was. As we were leaving for the day he turned to me with a smile and said that he would have to sleep under the Reeves Street bridge tonight and that it was to late to make it to the rescue mission. Seeing that it looked like it was going to rain that night I told him of a place near our church were he could stay and be out of the rain and cold. Not to mention it was a very dangerous neighborhood, mine. He stated that he didn't mind. He like sleeping out doors and he already knew some of the guys who would be there. He talked as if he was going to a party and was well satisfied with the way he wanted to live. So I said no more. I had passed under that bridge many times and never noticed any signs of homeless people sleeping there. And I look.
That was the last time I saw Bryan. The guys at work told me that they saw his picture on the news after a couple of days. It turned out that he was an unregistered sex offender. The news report said that he took a job near a daycare, which was against his probation. Not registering as a sex offender in our area is a very serious crime. I'm afraid even when he gets, he will not stay in Dothan since his picture will be mailed to everyone within a three mile radius of were he lives.
This is a true story and I wanted to share it because:
1. Was my "witness" by being an example enough for him to make a decision for Christ on his own later if the Lord lead?
2. Did I miss an opportunity to confront (with love) him with the gospel?
3. Will anyone or I else continue the witness?
4. When I stand before the Lord, will I have to give account for this failure? Is his blood on my hands?
If number four is true. Then I can repent because I know the grace and forgiveness that the Lord has in abundance. It is sad that Bryan did not hear about this before he left. All he knows is that Wayne is a nice guy who goes to church and reads his Bible.
I heard Joyce Myers say on the radio the other day, "We are here to impact not influence". How so true this is.
(this is a repost)

Boynton Beach Martyrs

In this April 2010’s of Christianity Today there was an article about two men shot to death in Boynton Beach, Fl. for witnessing on the streets. This surprised me because I had not heard of this before. Why I was surprised I do not know. So I looked it up and here is what I found.
Back in January 2010 two Christian men were witnessing on the streets and stopped to witness to one young man, the young man received a cell phone call and after answering it shot the two men while they were walking away.
There are rumors that the incident was gang related, but according to West Palm Beach News the killer reported to the police that he shot them because they were preaching to him.
Stephen Ocean (second Pic) and Tite Sufra (first Pic) were two young Christians with some reported spotted backgrounds before coming to Christ. A lot has been made of their past and how it may have ended in the cause of their deaths. We being “born again” as new creations like the Bible says, our past is behind us but I can tell you from experience the past has a way of catching up. Until the world we live in comes under the rule of Christ, it will always be so. We can not sow weeds and pray for a crop failure.
But I did not want to get into this or the fact that if two Muslims were shot CNN (Fox did have a small spot buried) and all the networks would be all over it. I wanted to share with you that we need to keep these people in our prayers. You may not like the street corner preacher on his bull horn and you may think he is wasting his time and giving all “good” Christians a bad name. I’ve done street ministering in the 80’s and 90’s and I’ll tell you there will be a special place in Heaven for them all. If you know of a group that is involved in this ministry, see what you and your Church can do to help. Get on their email mailing list. Take them some boxes of tracts (with your church address on them) Take them some cold water or heck just yell out your car window that you are praying for them. Do something that you feel the Lord would do instead of criticize.
I hope to go back to the streets again. I may be posting more on this and posting updates on a local ministry called “Street Lights” to bless them. Watch for “Street Lights Updates”.
But let’s remember the two young men that gave their lives.

Is Anyone Called to Witness on the Streets? by Larry Rosenbaum

In my last message, I gave statistics that have shown, in a dramatic way, the spiritual decline that has taken place in the U.S., especially among youth who claim to be “born again” Christians. The majority of these youth, while claiming to be certain of going to Heaven because of a personal commitment to Jesus Christ, do not believe that Jesus lived a sinless life on this earth or that it is impossible to get to Heaven by good works. According to pollster George Barna, while 9% of Americans have a biblical worldview, less than ½ of 1% of Americans aged 18-23 have a biblical worldview.
This lack of a strong Biblical foundation in many Christians reflects itself in their attitudes towards evangelism. Every year, hundreds of thousands of Christian youth spend millions of dollars on “mission trips” that involve work projects and food distribution, but no mention of God’s plan of salvation. In the U.S., countless Christian youth are involved in giving out food to the homeless and similar “ministries” that don’t involve talking about Jesus. Many Christians, it seems, believe that people will be saved if we pray for them and live a good life in front of them. They think there is no need to share the gospel with unbelievers.
As our nation becomes increasingly hostile towards Christianity, Christians are looking for new methods of “evangelism” that will avoid any possibility of being rejected or persecuted. Perhaps, they think, if Jesus and the apostles had used our new “evangelism methods,” they would never have been persecuted. I often hear from Christians that not everyone is called to witness on the streets. Sometimes, however, I wonder if anyone is called or, rather, if anyone is responding to God’s call. I’m exaggerating, of course. There is a small group of Christians who faithfully witness with us. And there are other Christians witnessing throughout the country. But the laborers are indeed few, and they seem to get fewer each year.
Last April, in an attempt to recruit Christian youth to work with our ministry, I went on Facebook. Almost every day, I have been adding young Christians from Bible colleges and other Christian groups to be my “friend.” I now have over 7000 friends, most of whom are under 30. Occasionally, I let them know about our ministry house. Less than 10 have expressed interest, and, so far, none has moved in. I certainly did not expect all 7000 Christians to respond to my appeal. All we need are three or four Christian men to live in our house. But, so far, we have not found one. As far as I know, there is no other house like the one we have, where Christians can live with others who are interested in doing street evangelism. Most Christians who want to witness on the streets find it hard to get other Christians to join them. A few people may come one week; nobody the next week.
Eventually, street witnessing teams tend to die because they lack consistent involvement from Christians. By having a core group of Christians who are committed to witnessing on the streets regularly, and who hold one another accountable to this commitment, we have been able to maintain a regular street outreach for over 30 years in San Francisco. One reason that it is difficult to get Christians to do street evangelism is the hardness of many people’s hearts towards the gospel. If I could guarantee a Christian that every time he witnessed at least one person would be genuinely saved, we would have no lack of workers. There are witnessing “methods” that can get a lot of people to “say sinner’s prayers.” Unfortunately, when we try to follow-up on these people, we find that few who recite these prayers are truly converted. It is far more satisfying to us to witness to a person who really wants to get saved, than to someone who is hardened to the gospel message.
But are we witnessing to make ourselves happy or to obey God and reach the lost? It is hard for us to walk by faith and trust God to use our witness to work in people’s hearts. We want to see results, and we can’t see what God is doing in someone’s heart. I haven’t given up on Facebook. It is a great way to let thousands of Christian youth know about our ministry and encourage them to witness for Jesus. In the past, I would call churches and Bible colleges, and try to set up meetings to share about evangelism and about our ministry. Almost all would say no. A few times, I have had an opportunity to speak to Christians at a Bible college chapel. The Christians who attended, it seems, soon forgot about us. We saw no response from any of these meetings. With Facebook, I can invite almost every Christian in a Bible college to be my friend, and continue to share with them about our ministry, and about evangelism. But it seems that the task of finding a few Christian youth to join our ministry will be harder than I originally thought.
Please pray for us that God will give us guidance in this matter, and meet our need.
Larry Rosenbaum

What is a Marketplace Christian?

Although I post on many subjects. Marketplace Ministry is my Primary subject. Articles and resources for the Marketplace Christian. So you may ask, "What the heck is a Marketplace Christian". What is the difference?

To some in the Christian circle of followers the MC is a person who starts a business and then tries to bring his or her faith into that area of life. This is not entirely wrong.
Just as David Wilkerson in the 70's & 80's coined the phrase,"Street Christian" to describe those converts that feel a call to ministry. But unlike the standard believer that believes they must serve in the church loop. These Christians felt they needed to stay on the streets so they could reach their own.
Like wise I feel the Marketplace Christian is a person called to ministry, but feels they need to stay in the workplace to be the light the Lord intended them to be.
Not all are called to this area. The need for Church Pastors is a great need. The need for over seas missionaries is even greater.
There are many who live as a Bi-Vocational Minister, Lay-Minister or just a pastor of a small church that needs to work part time to support their family. I am speaking of a Christian called to reach their co-workers and does no desire to be supported by the Church. The Apostle Paul felt this way. He earned his way as a missionary for himself and those who traveled with him. He did this as long as he could. Although he did receive offerings and help from others, he did not charge for his teachings. Now I must say that this is not a rule. Not every Pastor or Missionary is called to support him or herself. Peter and the other Apostles it is believed were supported by the Church in Jerusalem.
The point is that it is a calling, a choice.
So in explanation that is what this blog was set up for. To supply resources for the MC. But because the number of called is so small, I've spread the range of the articles I write.

Prayerfully, you should find something you like.