Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Finishing the task of the Great Commission


I am taking a great class at a local seminary: Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Some stats from my most recent class last night really made me think.


Did you know that right now in the world we have 1000 churches for every one unreached people group? (An unreached people group is a population of people bound by the same ethnicity and commonly location who do not have an established Christian church that can do the work of evangelizing their own people--a much more efficient effort than cross-cultural evangelism).

Wow. 1000:1. Can you imagine if say only 10% of these churches took the Great Commission seriously enough to send a missionary? That would mean 100 new missionaries reaching out to every unreached people group.

Almost makes it sound doable, doesn't it?

Check out www.joshuaproject.net for more information about unreached people groups.

Why not bring this information to your congregation and discuss the challenge of adopting an unreached people? Then pray, send, and GO!


Grace,
Harry Lee

Friday, October 22, 2010

Missions Conference this Weekend

Anyone in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area this coming weekend, join me at Covenant Presbyterian Church for their missions conference. Here's the link:

http://www.cov-pres.org/missionconf2010.php

Hope to see you there!

Harry Lee

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Soul Resuscitation

I often tell people that the non-fiction I write is what I need to read. I certainly don't write from a pedestal, letting all the small people around me in on some wonderful revelation I've had. I write about grace, because I'm a grace recipient and because I need grace every moment.

For some time now, I've been talking about the ABCs of soul resuscitation, moving from a need of the Gospel in my life to a place of joy, satisfaction, and peace (the grace-saturated life). I'm in need of the Gospel or in a state of "gospel debt" when I find myself in anxiety, guilt, fear, or bitterness (or any number of other negative situations) and in that state, I need to nudge my soul back into grace-saturation. I wrote about this in my book, Breathing Grace, so it may be a concept you've heard before. This past weekend, I was speaking on the theme of God's grace and soul resuscitation and the ABCs that are used as a little memory jog. This parallels the ABCs of physical resuscitation (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) to move a patient from oxygen debt or oxygen need to oxygen saturation.
The ABCs of soul resuscitation are A: Acknowledge your need, B: Believe the Gospel, and C: Communion, allowing the truth of the Gospel to circulate to every part of your life.
It occurred to me that I could use different labels for this resuscitation. Instead of ABCs, perhaps I'll just need to call it the 123s. Step one: Stop! Step two: Run to Jesus. Step three: Fall in his arms.
Maybe it doesn't flow off the tongue as easy as stop, drop, and roll, but the next time I find myself in need of a jolt of grace, (let's say I catch myself in a state of worry), I'm going to whisper it to my soul. "1. Stop!--I'm in need of the Gospel right now, Lord. 2. Run to Jesus--find in him everything I need. What part of the Gospel truth or Gospel fallout am I not experiencing or believing in my state of anxiousness? 3. Fall in his arms. I need to abide in his presence to experience his life flowing through me.

Just another way to combat a recurrent problem of mine. When will I live my life 24/7 in a state of grace-saturation? Maybe never this side of heaven, but I'm on a narrow path.

Come with me.

Harry Lee

Sunday, October 3, 2010

Meet me in Indiana!

I'll be at Howard-Miami Mennonite church October 15-17 giving a series of talks on grace! Here's a link to the church. Please join me if you are in the area: http://www.howardmiami.org


Harry

Friday, October 1, 2010

Interview on 700 Club right after my car accident!

I hydroplaned on the interstate yesterday and totalled my VW bug against the guardrail (I was going backwards down I 81!). I was on my way to do a TV interview on "Domesticated Jesus."


Here's a link to the interview I did just a few short hours after my accident. By the way, I was uninjured!

http://www.cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/vod/700Clubi_100110_WS

Grace to you. I hope you enjoy the interview.

Harry