by Jason Joyner | Jan 16, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions
(So no one noticed that this post is listed as Tuesday, yet it is coming out late Wednesday, right? Good.)
The series of Seven Spheres of Influence has the Media for a prayer emphasis on Tuesdays. I’m sure that many people would say that Christians should have a presence in the media. Then I’m sure that an equal number of people would say that we don’t need another Fox News or Rush Limbaugh. I’d say that both are true.
I don’t have anything against Fox News. Rush? Another story. But Christians in journalism and the media shouldn’t be shrill junkets that can’t speak credibly. Being called into the media as a mission field means that it will take great wisdom to speak truth. I would love to see reporters who can speak critically of things that deserve it, even within the church. Of course it will be nice to have people who come from a Biblical worldview when speaking of issues that deal with faith, but they really need integrity to speak accurately even when “our” position may be in the wrong.
One more day. Any guesses what we’ve missed?
by Jason Joyner | Jan 16, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions
(So no one noticed that this post is listed as Tuesday, yet it is coming out late Wednesday, right? Good.)
The series of Seven Spheres of Influence has the Media for a prayer emphasis on Tuesdays. I’m sure that many people would say that Christians should have a presence in the media. Then I’m sure that an equal number of people would say that we don’t need another Fox News or Rush Limbaugh. I’d say that both are true.
I don’t have anything against Fox News. Rush? Another story. But Christians in journalism and the media shouldn’t be shrill junkets that can’t speak credibly. Being called into the media as a mission field means that it will take great wisdom to speak truth. I would love to see reporters who can speak critically of things that deserve it, even within the church. Of course it will be nice to have people who come from a Biblical worldview when speaking of issues that deal with faith, but they really need integrity to speak accurately even when “our” position may be in the wrong.
One more day. Any guesses what we’ve missed?
by Jason Joyner | Jan 15, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions
For those who may remember, there was a great book by Bob Briner that discussed the same topic I’ve been addressing lately: Roaring Lambs. I can’t believe it is from 1993! (How long ago was that again?) It may be hard to find now, but it should be well worth it. His idea was basically that Christians needed to be salt and light in the world. Definitely not a new concept, but it seems that God’s people constantly need reminding about getting out and reaching people. Just like the disciples who wouldn’t leave Jerusalem in Acts until there was persecution to force them out to Judea and Samaria.
Today’s sphere is the Family and the Home. This may not seem like a field that Christians would go out into as a professional, but there is no denying the influence that family and home has on culture in general and people specifically. We know that people can turn out well from broken households, and a good family is no guarantee of kids growing up well. Yet the vast majority will stay true to what they are raised with at home.
I think fields like counseling move into this arena. There’s a lot of secular ideology in the counseling and social work fields – all the more reason to have Christians who are strong in their faith and a Biblical worldview to enter this area to touch families where it is needed.
Everyday Christians can do a lot to minister to individual families of kids that come into their lives. Of course, prayer is a vital area, and this is one that we should not neglect. God longs to put the lonely into families – it is His heart, so it should be ours as well.
by Jason Joyner | Jan 15, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions
For those who may remember, there was a great book by Bob Briner that discussed the same topic I’ve been addressing lately: Roaring Lambs. I can’t believe it is from 1993! (How long ago was that again?) It may be hard to find now, but it should be well worth it. His idea was basically that Christians needed to be salt and light in the world. Definitely not a new concept, but it seems that God’s people constantly need reminding about getting out and reaching people. Just like the disciples who wouldn’t leave Jerusalem in Acts until there was persecution to force them out to Judea and Samaria.
Today’s sphere is the Family and the Home. This may not seem like a field that Christians would go out into as a professional, but there is no denying the influence that family and home has on culture in general and people specifically. We know that people can turn out well from broken households, and a good family is no guarantee of kids growing up well. Yet the vast majority will stay true to what they are raised with at home.
I think fields like counseling move into this arena. There’s a lot of secular ideology in the counseling and social work fields – all the more reason to have Christians who are strong in their faith and a Biblical worldview to enter this area to touch families where it is needed.
Everyday Christians can do a lot to minister to individual families of kids that come into their lives. Of course, prayer is a vital area, and this is one that we should not neglect. God longs to put the lonely into families – it is His heart, so it should be ours as well.
by Jason Joyner | Jan 14, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions
I have to say that I’m feeling pretty rushed through this little series, and I don’t feel like I’m always able to get my thoughts out the way I want. Before the end of the year, I’d post at lunch at work, and I had time to get my points together. Now I’m squeezing blogging into home and family time, and I fear I’m not coming across the way I want. But there’s nothing else to do but press ahead, for now.
One more thing to say in general regarding the Seven Spheres of Influence. Like I said originally, I learned this at YWAM. This teaching was meant to emphasize that we can be missionaries wherever we are called to. Not every one is meant to stay in YWAM – most aren’t in fact. The leaders there realized this, and began to work on training people to be missionaries in every field, not just under the specific term “missionary”.
Saying that, Sunday’s sphere of influence is actually the Church. Yes, the church needs people to come to it with the idea that they will do everything for God’s glory and to reach people with the gospel. It may be a sad thing to say, but sometimes this doesn’t happen. But it is also more benign than that. There is no denying that religion is a major sphere of influence in culture, and we need to recognize that.
I don’t pretend to have the goods to change the church in general. However, I hope my blogging can bring up issues that enlighten people to things they haven’t thought of. Also at church, I try to be a catalyst for things that God may be trying to show us there. Since I have had some varied experiences, I try to bring that to the table and offer it up for consideration.
We need to be as mission-minded in church as we are in any other endeavor we take on. It shouldn’t be overlooked just because it is our own backyard.
by Jason Joyner | Jan 14, 2008 | Biblical worldview, Blog, Christianity, culture, ministry, missions
I have to say that I’m feeling pretty rushed through this little series, and I don’t feel like I’m always able to get my thoughts out the way I want. Before the end of the year, I’d post at lunch at work, and I had time to get my points together. Now I’m squeezing blogging into home and family time, and I fear I’m not coming across the way I want. But there’s nothing else to do but press ahead, for now.
One more thing to say in general regarding the Seven Spheres of Influence. Like I said originally, I learned this at YWAM. This teaching was meant to emphasize that we can be missionaries wherever we are called to. Not every one is meant to stay in YWAM – most aren’t in fact. The leaders there realized this, and began to work on training people to be missionaries in every field, not just under the specific term “missionary”.
Saying that, Sunday’s sphere of influence is actually the Church. Yes, the church needs people to come to it with the idea that they will do everything for God’s glory and to reach people with the gospel. It may be a sad thing to say, but sometimes this doesn’t happen. But it is also more benign than that. There is no denying that religion is a major sphere of influence in culture, and we need to recognize that.
I don’t pretend to have the goods to change the church in general. However, I hope my blogging can bring up issues that enlighten people to things they haven’t thought of. Also at church, I try to be a catalyst for things that God may be trying to show us there. Since I have had some varied experiences, I try to bring that to the table and offer it up for consideration.
We need to be as mission-minded in church as we are in any other endeavor we take on. It shouldn’t be overlooked just because it is our own backyard.
