Tuesday morning evangelistic smackdown, viii

Cotton Patch Version of the Great Commission in Acts: “So those about him began asking, “Will that be the occasion on which you will take over the government?” He said to them, “You are not to get all worked up about timetables and events which the Father has under his own control. But as the Holy Spirit comes over you, you will get power and will be my agents in Atlanta and throughout Georgia, in the ghetto and across the land.”

Word study: “Several years ago, I pulled down the Encyclopedia Britannica to read the article on frankincense, and I discovered that frankincense comes from a tree…The plantation workers slash it. They take sharp, heavy knives or hatchets and slash the bark of the tree, then cut away the bark below the wound, and wait while the tree bleeds its sap. The encyclopedia used an unfamiliar words to describe the drops of sap, saying that they are expelled in ovate form…primarily “egg-shaped.” But it also means “tear-shaped.” So the tree weeps its sap. Then the sap is left to harden. When it has hardened, the pieces are crushed, ground to powder, and dissolved in a solvent. Only when the tree loses its own life fluid can it make the world a better-smelling place. As Christians, our lives are like that. We are supposed to be a sweet-smelling savor in the nostrils of God, but we can accomplish that only by surrendering our own lives for His sake. (Dennis Kinlaw, We Live as Christ)

Annual % of church growth – 1900-2000

France 0.0
Britain 0.1
USA – 1.3
Honduras 2.5
Afghanistan – 3.6
Zambia 8.5
Saudi Arabia 10.2
Niger 11.6
Rwanda 11.7
Nepal 14.2

Kierkegaard, again! “What is needed is not professors but witnesses. No, if Christ did not need scholars but was satisfied with fishermen, what is needed now is more fishermen.” (Journals and Papers, I, 44)

A favorite Wesley bit of Latin: Vive hodie! (Live today). Letter, 21/9/60.

Barna’s Cold Slap of Reality today: “A new study by The Barna Group (Ventura, California) shows that despite strong levels of spiritual activity during the teen years, most twentysomethings disengage from active participation in the Christian faith during their young adult years – and often beyond that. In total, six out of ten twentysomethings were involved in a church during their teen years, but have failed to translate that into active spirituality during their early adulthood.” (Barna.org)