Ministry Strategy

My ministry strategy involves a four-fold objective. In whatever medium I happen to be working in I take the following steps:

1. Show people what they believe. Many people base their lives on unexamined presuppositions about God, the universe and the meaning of life. I expose those presuppositions and get people to think about the big questions of their existence.

Mostly this involves framing the issues that people talk about everyday in a different way then they are used to. Instead of looking at only the political, sociological or psychological aspect of current events, I show them the theological and spiritual side. Instead of the temporal, I try to get them thinking about the eternal.

2. Break down false presuppositions. Most people believe things about the big questions of life that are simply untrue. I show them that. After framing the issue and getting people to realize what they believe about eternal issues, I expose the weaknesses of that false worldview.

3. Clearly explain the Biblical truth of the matter. C.S. Lewis said that much of the doubt he encountered regarding Christianity was quite understandable, given the doubters lack of knowledge about what the Bible actually teaches. I think that typifies much of the problem today. In every discussion or sermon, the doctrine that correctly answers the big question of life being discussing is clearly explained.

4. Do steps 1 through 3 in a place and a manner that is effective in a given culture.

In every society, there are certain places in which ideas are publicly disseminated and discussed. In New Testament days, for example, Paul went to the synagogues and marketplaces of the cities he visited because that is where people were listening and talking (Acts 17).In more recent American times, idea centers of a community have been the church, the classroom, the newsroom and the barber shop. That is still the case, to some extent, but things are changing.

People no longer trust the mainstream newspapers or the network five o’clock news to provide reliable information or commentary, so those newsrooms have lost some credibility. Instead, people are turning to talk radio and the internet. Millions tune into Rush Limbaugh and log on to The Drudge Report each day while newspaper circulations lag.

Not many people hang out at the barber shop anymore, either. However, a lot talk with their friends via email and internet chat rooms. And a lot of those same people are producing and reading blogs.

I try to proclaim the light of truth in these new idea centers. This is where people are listening and talking, so this is where I aim to be.

I also attempt to get as often as possible into a couple of the more traditional American idea centers. Colleges are still great places to discuss ideas, although recently the truth hasn’t been getting much of a hearing. Today’s public universities are notoriously anti-Christian and part of the reason is we are not in there battling. I want to be.

And churches, at least those than are focused on the Word, remain tremendous places to proclaim and discuss ideas, so I take to a pulpit any chance I get. Whether it be a Sunday morning, a weekend conference or a week long camp, I go wherever God beckons.

Of course, books and pamphlets can be taken anywhere and are still highly effective, even in today's less visual culture, so I write both.

As for international ministry, traditional evangelistic festivals are still effective in many parts of the world, so I hold those as often as possible, usually in conjunction with a pastors conference for local leaders.