I am an Expert

Do we need experts to help us make decisions about life? Not usually. This is why I tray to train Peers how to be more effective as Helpers. First, they are more likely to really understand your issues.

Second, they won't usually over think things and give philosophical ideas but real practical ones. Third, they are far less expensive. Fourth, they are readily available.

Listen to me. I am an expert on these matters.

Read Nicholas Kristof's insights in the New York Times.

Needed: Entrepreneurs

Christians must stop thinking like those in Sixteenth Century European villages. The focus back then was to raise up a few educated Priests and Pastors who would tell the village what to think, what to do and what to eat.

The situation has completely changed since the Dark Ages and the Protestant Reformation. It is time we started thinking about how to raise up thousands of Spirit filled entrepreneurs to fill the seats of science, education, medicine, politics and business. Gone are the days when a local Priest was the only person who could read and write or who had travelled outside the village walls.

Take a look at the video on leadership by the Washington Post. It clearly lays out a model for us to follow and I am expecting the Seasoned Believers of the world to lead the race.

Gary Sweeten

Those Controversial Gifts of God

I am of the conviction that those who fail to exercise their God given spiritual gifts will get spiritually, emotionally and physically sick. Not as a punishment from God but as result of failing to fully utilize the spiritual energy that resides within them.

It is a mystery to me why so few ministers, ministries and churches teach about or encourage their people to discover and use the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

It is clear that the Bible teaches that every Christian has the Holy Spirit within them and that every Christian has spiritual gifts, yet George Barna, who is a top researcher on all things religious, has a report out on the confusion of Christians about the gifts. Here are a few of his conclusions.

Awareness of spiritual gifts was most common among self-described Christians who live in the South (75%) and West (71%), and least common among those living in the Midwest (63%) and Northeast (58%).

Such awareness also varied within the various segments of the self-described Christian population. For instance, 99% of evangelicals have heard of spiritual gifts, far more than the 74% among non-evangelical born again Christians and 58% among notional Christians. Similarly, there was a large gap between Protestants (75%) and Catholics (54%) in awareness.

Even within the Protestant community there was a noteworthy gap between those who attend a mainline church (68% awareness) and those who attend a Protestant congregation not associated with a mainline denomination (78%).

What do you think about the gifts? Do you believe in the gifts as outlined in I CO 12? Hit the comment button and let it fly.

Gary Sweeten

Go to Panera for Fellowship

Panera Bread is a great place to meet and have fellowship around the fireplace as we drink some tea or coffee and eat a sweet roll. This afternoon Karen and I went out to Milford to get the kids from school while Julie and Dave celebrated Dave's birthday.

I needed to download a patch from the Internet but I did not have the password for Dave's WI FI and I was stuck. What could I do? I was frustrated for a few minutes before I remembered that there is a new Panera Bread in Milford and I jumped into my car and drove up to seek their free WI FI connection.

I stopped in front of the store and opened up my browser and was immediately rewarded with a connection. because it took so long I had to leave and pick up Lily from school but I returned to Panera and did my computing. while there I overheard two mature males discussing the Bible and Jesus. They carried on their chatting for thirty minutes and got up to leave, when I said, "sitting by the fire and discussing the Lord is pretty sweet isn't it?"

The two men stopped and we had a great little chat although we had never met before. With believers no formal introduction is needed and we exchanged cards, blog information and web addresses. The address for the leader's church is one I suggest you look up. http://www.prodigal180.com/ tells all about their vision and it seems very good to me.

Both of these men are Seasoned Believers who have served and followed God for many years. But now they are interested in getting off the "padded pews" and into some meaningful ministry.

I am fascinated by the numerous fellowships, groups and chatting societies that gather at Panera. Maybe we need to learn from the Bread Company how to develop an attractive space for people to gather.

Gary Sweeten

http://www.sweetenlife.com/

Learned Optimism

Photo of a Pessimist

I realize that I am an optimist. I tend to see the upside of things while many folks, if not most, tend to see the downside.

I have not always been as optimistic as I am now.

I grew up in a family that was dominated by pessimistic thoughts. My Maternal Grand Father was a "Worry Wart" of the first order. He was, in fact, so filled with worry and pessimism that it led him to deep hopelessness and depression.

I nursed my Grand Father for several years and that developed a strong resistance to pessimism. However, I found my own thoughts wandering in that direction with great frequency. And, since I had no training in how to renew my mind, I would often end up angry, distressed and behaving like a "Wounded Water Buffalo". (Now all you "Friends of the Wounded Water Buffaloes" do not need to email me cause I apologise in advance.)

Then I learned how to renew my mind and take pessimistic thought prisoner to rational, positive thinking. Wow! What a relief. Thank God for His wonderful words of comfort and growth.

I began this post with some reflections on the unemployment figures for Ohio and the USA. However, my introduction became so long I am going to close this post and do another one on the malaise in America.

Thanks for the Memories

The Norwegian Flag

We launched a new ministry focus this week, and it was a great success. Two friends came from Oslo, Norway and assisted us in casting a vision for ways Seasoned Believers can be of great benefit to younger men and women. It was awesome.

Our friends have had distinguished careers in public service and health care for many years in Norway. That, along with servant leadership in church and community groups allows them to challenge Americans to invest our lives in passing the baton to the next generations of servant leaders.

Their talk hit just the right spot for us and I am looking forward to learning more from them. Norwegians have much to teach us.

For Such a Time as This

George Whitfield First Great Awakening & Mother Teresa-International Heroine in the Fourth Great Awakening

When Believers are in the midst of a revival, a reformation or an awakening they often miss it. One reason is that humans get so caught up in the affairs of daily life that they miss God’s Spirit moving. It is easy to get confused about when God is on the march when we do not see any evidence of revival in the culture. We are surrounded by so much junk in the media and so much trauma in society that it appears as if God's Spirit has been removed from our country.

But make no mistake about it, God is moving in a big way. In my view, He has a plan to make some great changes. In fact, revivals and awakenings are all about change so conflict rather than peace is the hall mark of the Spirit. Think back about the stories in the Bible. Every time God was about to make a big move we hear about the debauchery and evil in the society.

I am sure you remember the stories about the conflict between David and King Saul. David was chosen and anointed by God to be the future King of Israel. This made the current King Saul very jealous. The result was an all out war by Saul and his troops on God's anointed successor. They were out to murder him.

The times were desperate. It looked pretty grim for David. We know how the story ends but David and his friends did not know the final chapter during those terrible times. David had no army to fight against the overwhelming odds of Saul’s mighty army but he believed God's word and set out to fight Saul.

David was able to recruit some mighty warriors to fight with him. In I Chron 12:32 we can read how one group called, "The men of Issachar" threw their lot in with the future King. They took a huge risk. Had they lost the fight, everyone who supported David would have been killed.

Why would they take such a risk? A verse in I Chronicles tells us why.

"The men of Issachar were people who understood the times and knew what Israel should do." This is what is always needed for God's people to succeed. They must understand the times and the seasons. They need discernment. God inspires those people we call entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs understand the times and know what it is that the church should do. They know what to do and how to do it at the right time in the right way. Now is the right time for Seasoned Believers to rise up and change the world. We live in a unique time with unique opportunities to make a difference in media, politics, business, education, family life, medicine and the arts.

There are millions of Seasoned Believers who are followers of Christ and filled with His Spirit. These men and women are wise in their professions and skilled in the Word of God. All they need is an opportunity to join with other like minded Believers and release their talents and gifts.

See my web page for more information.

http://www.sweetenlife.com/

Seasoned Believers Must Act Now

In the book, The Boomer Century 1946-2046: How America's Most Influential Generation Changed Everything by Richard Croker there is an article by Dr Thom Rainer, a hugely regarded researcher on Christianity. Rainer says:

“Most cutting-edge ministries in the church for the past 40 years have been aimed at reaching the younger generations. And if something does not change in our churches, this age wave will pass by with millions never connecting with the church, and with millions never responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“Most leaders admit that they have not even thought about the issue, much less strategically planned to reach this older generation.”" As a result of the negligence of Christian leaders, "About two-thirds of the 76 million boomers are unchurched, which means they attend church no more than twice a year."

These builders and boomers have the largest accumulated wealth of any group in America’s history. But their wealth is not restricted to money and materials. They also have an enormous reservoir of experience in education, science, industry, business and practical Christianity.

This age wave includes tens of millions of men and women who want to make a difference in their older years. They have pursued many paths to happiness, and the unchurched boomers tell us that none have proved satisfactory. These new "senior" adults do not perceive themselves to be older adults, and any organization that communicates to them that they are old will quickly lose their allegiance.

In Greater Cincinnati we have almost 800,000 thousand men and women over age 45. If 2/3 are unchurched, and I think they may be, it is a huge untapped group of almost 600,000 people who are just waiting for some church of para-church organization to care for them.

How to Make Good Great

One of the foremost writers on leadership is Jim Collins. I suggest you go to his web page at www.jimcollins.com and read his analysis of leadership.

I was particularly struck by this short summary of his "Levels of Leaders".

If you want to grasp the essence of the type of leader who turns good into great, just keep in mind Darwin Smith. It turns out that every good-to-great company in our study had a leader from the Darwin Smith school of management at the helm during the pivotal years. We eventually came to call these remarkable people “Level 5 leaders.”

The term “Level 5” refers to a five-level hierarchy. Level 1 relates to individual capability, Level 2 to team skills, Level 3 to managerial competence, and Level 4 to leadership as traditionally conceived. Level 5 leaders possess the skills of levels 1 to 4 but also have an “extra dimension”: a paradoxical blend of personal humility (“I never stopped trying to become qualified for the job”) and professional will (“sell the mills”).

They are somewhat self-effacing individuals who deflect adulation, yet who have an almost stoic resolve to do absolutely whatever it takes to make the company great, channeling their ego needs away from themselves and into the larger goal of building a great company.

It’s not that Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-interest. Indeed, they are incredibly ambitious—but their ambition is first and foremost for the institution and its greatness, not for themselves.

Do your look for selfless leaders? I don't mean co-dependent leaders who treat you like a victim but a person who will tell you the truth to set you free.

Who in the current gaggle of Presidential candidates is a Level 5 Leader? Who will you choose to be the next person to lead this nation? Do you want a Santa Clause who promises a lot of goodies and toys or a person who will face the tough choices that are here?

Training Opportunities

Cincinnati Vineyard Northwest has some great training programs coming up in the near future. Go to http://vcnw.org/ to see what they are doing.

It is rare for a church to sponsor a series of training programs and open them up to the community. However, VCNW is different and opens its doors and arms wide to support folks in need of God's touch.

Go take a look at what they are doing.

Starbucks Evangelism

I have been talking and interacting on the Internet with an old friend the last couple of weeks. Steve Sjogren, founding Pastor with wife Janie of the Cincinnati Vineyard Community Church and the Father of Servant Evangelism. Steve, Janie and son Jack are down in Tampa, FL now planting another church called, Coastland Tampa.

I suggest you look in on Steve's doings at http://www.stevesjogren.com/ Steve is often controversial, usually misunderstood and never dull. Boring he ain't!

Steve came up with some truly new creative ideas about outreach evangelism. He is one of the truly original Christian thinkers of the 20Th Century. Steve is not written about as much as some others because he is not political as the people who are popular in the Evangelical and national media.

When TIME did its most influential Evangelicals he was nowhere to be seen. The folks from the national media are obsessed with politics.

Steve went back to the beginning and recaptured some important biblical principles for evangelism. These principles place his approach in a unique position among Evangelicals.

First, Steve focused on the fruit of the Spirit. He did not use emotional or rational arguments to get the attention of "Pre-Believers". Despite the fact that Jesus and Paul both emphasized love and kindness as the key to winning hearts and minds conservative Christians preferred to focus on fear and legalism.

Second, Steve emphasized action over talk. In fact, most of the time he told his people not to talk very much during outreach activities. To Fundamentalists Servant Evangelism looked an awful lot like the "Social Gospel" but to Steve it was being servants of Jesus and then servants of people.

Third, Steve refused to use serving people as "fish bait" to hook unbelievers into the Vineyard. He was clear that it was to be "Love with no strings attached." When was the last time a preacher did something for you without having a string attached? He did not care if those being served ever came to his church.

Fourth, he had fun in all things. Serving was fun and often off the wall in the things he did to serve people. (Here is a secret. I was with him in England and met a group of homeless folks who longed for a smoke. Steve and his team bought cigarettes for them.)

If you want your preachers nice and neat with pear shaped tones and traditional approaches, do not go to http://www.stevesjogren.com/ but if you like Jesus presented as grace and truth with a lot of seasoning thrown in, try it.

Hi Tech Needs Something More

We live in a highly technological world. I am in contact with people all around the world through email, telephone and TV. Before long we will have a way to talk with our people via a video link. That is amazing.

My mother in law, Hazel, was born in 1916. She is presently 91 years of age. She has survived many wars, pestilence called the Flu Epidemic of 1918, poverty and the Great Depression and saw the growth of technology beyond anything we could imagine.

Hazel lives near us now and it is a delight to have her. We have long talks and lots of laughs. We love to play pinochle and she is my partner. Technology cannot replace Hazel's laugh or her stories. She is unique.

That is why we need people. We need to touch and be touched.

Technology alone leaves us that way: ALONE! Remember this dictum:

Hi Tech needs Hi Touch.

Because radio, TV and the Internet have grown so much people are starving for human contact. People need to relate deeply without taking advantage of others. I call it, "Non-Possessive Touch".

We need quiet places where we can talk and most importantly, listen.

This is one reason that missionaries on the ground are essential to authentic outreach. God is personal. he came down as a man and was incarnated. Thank God He showed us the best way to live together.

Why Seasoned Believers?

From Cruising to Caring.

I just received a note from Steve Sjogren, http://www.stevesjogren.com/ who, as usual, asked a good question about a new focus of my ministry. "What is your goal for Seasoned Believers?"

The way I see it, most dynamic and growing churches are rightfully focused on outreach to younger people. They are "the future of the church," it is said. But that can lead unimaginative folks to adopt "Tunnel Vision" and neglect the older, wiser and more experienced Seasoned Believers out of the mix. That is a deadly mistake.

When Steve was "riding the wave" of an enormous surge in growth at the new church he had planted in Cincinnati, I gave him some sage advice: "Go recruit Seasoned Servants who can walk along side you and provide pastoral care, wisdom, finances and balance."

Steve quickly responded and invited Larry and Ellen Chrouch to join his team. They prayed about the invitation and soon heard the Holy Spirit tell them to accept the "job offer" as "Dollar a year" lay ministers. One of the reasons Sjogren has been so successful as a planter and leader is his willingness to break the molds around who can minister.

My goal is to inspire thousands of leaders and millions of Seasoned Believers to break the Certification Ceiling to leave the life of passivity and enter or re-enter some aspect service for Jesus. Our Movement will develop ways to inspire and Season the Souls of Christians tired of the padded pew and the cruise ship of living in a gated community and who long for meaningful ministry.

Ps. Order my book, Hope and Change for Humpty Dumpty" if you want to learn how to be an influence to others.

What is Next for Boomers?

Barna says,

Within the local church, Boomers rule the roost. Boomers are:

61% of Protestant Senior Pastors
58% are current lay leaders
50% of the money given to churches (More than double any other generation.)

In his book, Revolution, Barna says it is time for the Boomers and Builders to retire, get out and give everything to the younger leaders. Is that good stewardship? Is it biblical? Will it work?

Barna completely ignores what those millions of Boomers and Builders will now DO with all their time, money, wisdom and experience. Golf? Vacations in Hawaii?

More Seasoning for the Seasoned

I like my food with a bit of seasoning. Over the last twelve years or so I have traveled to Asia I have taught my palate to accept spicier foods, even when it makes me sweat.

I also like my teachings to include a bit of spice. However, as you may know, most Christian literature is so basic that we have heard if dozens of times over the past years of Sunday school and church sermons. A few posts ago I asked readers to send me the things they were doing to spice up the bland teachings at their places of fellowship.

I received not a single comment. I did get one e mail from a great preacher friend who asked me several good questions. Maybe he and I can get together and discuss this issue soon.

Does that indicate that no one is teaching their people to think and act more deeply? I do not know. However, I am still looking for ideas, and while talking with my sister-in-law this morning I heard one from her.

The Sunday school class of their church, Village Baptist in Bowie, Maryland, has started using an electronic study guide that looks very promising. Click http://www.thewiredword.com/

Each week the class receives an e mail with some story from recent news. The authors then choose pertinent passages of the Bible for the class members to read and then ask some good questions so a dialogue will be started. That sounds great to me.

I suggest that you take a look at it and see what you think. It cost about $80.00 per year and I find that to be quite inexpensive when contrasted with paper quarterlies.

Do you have any other suggestions for a deeper look at God's word, works and will? Click the comments link and let me know.

Sixties and Seventies Revivals

There is a great article in the Wall Street Journal electronic version today.

Take a look at it. http://www.opinionjournal.com/taste/?id=110010572

The author, John Wilson, noted that historians on the Sixties and Seventies write a great deal about it being "the hippie era" but fail to recognize that it was also the time of a great outpouring of God's Spirit. Millions of people encountered Christ and the Holy Spirit in life changing ways.

I did. Did you?

Mr. Wilson is correct, of course, but he is barking up the wrong tree. I responded to him by suggesting that we need to read and write our own articles and books. Christians must research and write for themselves and find academicians who are not so defensive about Christian life that they "edit" their reports.

I am reminded of an African Proverb: "Until lions have historians the hunters will always be the heroes." But one historian has gotten much of it correct. Robert Fogel, a self-confessed secular Jew, has researched and written about the impact of Revivals and Awakenings in American life. It has been his contention that it is through these spiritual movements that the economic and political history of America and the world have been radically altered.

Dr. Fogel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1993 for his ideas about Revivals and Awakenings. I must ask: "Why has no Christian preacher, teacher or historian even mentioned that to me? I simply stumbled upon the fact in doing research on the Abolition of slaves, a topic Dr. Fogel has written about in depth.

(I am sure you all know that it was Evangelical Christians who led the Abolitionist Movement and who brought freedom to the American slaves.)

I believe that we are being swept up by the Holy Spirit in the Fourth Great Awakening right now. We, products of the Fourth Great Revival, have matured and grown until we have the wisdom and wealth necessary to make significant differences in the world.

My new ministry thrust is all about Unleashing Seasoned Believers to Love and Enjoy the Lord. Love and Joy always come as a result of believers who are fully alive. We now have all the resources we need to develop innovative solutions to world problems, creative insights into intractable issues. Builders and Boomers have been the most dynamic and creative people in history and it is time we Unleashed the 50 Million Believers into more meaningful lives. We must do what we love and express ourselves from the deepest areas of our hearts.

We are holding our first Gathering of Seasoned Believers on Saturday, October 13 in Cincinnati to share, laugh, dream, network and see what is possible in the future. We want you there if you qualify as a Seasoned Believer who is wondering "What is next for me?"

We need your input and insights. Sign up today and make your plans to participate.

Norwegian Visitors

Jens-Petter Jorgensen with a Bishop of the African Inland Church at the Leaders' Conference in 1983

We are very blessed to have Jens-Petter Jorgensen and Oystein Jorgensen with us from Oslo, Norway in Cincinnati this week. Jens-Petter has been a leading figure in the Holy Spirit's revival since the Eighties. He, and several friends, led The OASE (Oasis) Movement that took Scandinavia by storm for three decades.

Jens-Petter was the Daily Leader of the OASE Movement when met in Kenya at a "Leader of Leaders Conference" in 1983. I went to Africa as a result of hearing the Lord call the organization I headed to "Foster a Second Reformation" that unleashed the works of God into the world. I fully expected God to connect me with a group of African leaders and call me to minister in that huge continent.

Was I ever wrong! Jens-Petter and I became friends and discovered that we both shared many of the same spiritual, psychological and relational convictions. One early morning I met Jens-Petter at breakfast and he announced to me that, "I heard the Holy Spirit speak to me last night."

"Wow!" I answered. "What did he say to you?"

He answered with a shocking statement that changed my life.

"He said 'You are God's man for renewing Norway.'"

I was stunned and protested but I soon discovered that God was right. I have had the privilege of ministering there since 1987 and have had many dramatic experiences, made numerous friends and developed a new approach to Christian care and counseling Scandinavia.

Last year I invited Jens-Petter to join our ministry board, making it truly international in scope. He is a wise and insightful friend who is helping guide the next steps of Sweeten Life Systems as we move into the Fourth Great Awakening.

Jens-Petter is a friend, as well as a man of wisdom and insight. Pray for his ministry in Scandinavia and Europe.

Legacy

Over the next few years the current crop of Seasoned Believers and Seasoned Non-Believers will leave several Trillion Dollars to the following generations. What will they do with all that money? Can our kids and grand kids handle the pressure of wealth? Will they read and understand from Ecclesiastes that it is folly? Or, will it ruin them?

Bob Robinson recently said something striking about this group of Believers. "I want my generation to be 'The Greatest Generation"'. It can be if we leave a legacy of wisdom, love and truth and not just money.

We live in a unique era. Never before has the world seen a time when the ordinary working men and women who sit in the pews and coffee houses of America had more knowledge, spiritual insight and practical experiences than the people in the pulpit.

The Revival we know as the The Jesus Movement drew millions of young men and women to follow Christ, live like Christ and learn from Christ to be like Christ. These ordinary people completed their education and worked in jobs that opened up the world of science, industry, leadership and exploration. That group has reared and launched their kids and is ready to rekindle the fires of the Holy Spirit that inspired them two or three decades ago.

This will be the greatest generation if we can find a way to unleash these Seasoned Believers to leave their unbelievable wealth of compassion, skills and know-how. Think of the school systems, abandoned kids, inner city neighborhoods, burned out ministers and broken homes that need their insights and wisdom. And, this shall we do as God gives us the strength and abilities.

Non Celebritity but Famous

It is a shame that the large media spend so much time, money and space on famous celebrities who are famous for being famous. But, we must really like it and tune in or they would not do it.

In a refreshing break from beauty and rascally, Jonathan Alter recently wrote a great story in Newsweek Magazine about a man named Norman Borlaug who is estimated to have saved a billion people from starvation. WOW! When I read the headline I thought Newsweek had made a mistake but they intentionally meant to use a B rather than an M so BILLION was right.

See http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19886675/site/newsweek/

I can well remember when the gloom and doom nay sayers of the 1950s and 60s who were predicting economic and social disasters because the population was outgrowing the production of food. They had not considered the advent of scientific research to produce more food; lots more food. Alter writes,

The experts who said peasants would never change their centuries-old ways were wrong. In the mid-1970s, Nobel in hand, Borlaug brought his approach to Communist China, where he arguably had his greatest success. In only a few years, his ideas—which go far beyond seed varieties—had spread around the world and disproved Malthusian doomsday scenarios like Paul Ehrlich's 1968 best seller "The Population Bomb."

In 1960 about 60 percent of the world's people experienced some hunger every year. By 2000 that number was 14 percent, a remarkable achievement. But as Borlaug cautioned at the ceremony in his honor, that still leaves 850 million hungry men, women and children.

Mr. Borlaug is 93 and still thinking creatively. There are millions of Seasoned Believers who have the knowledge, ability and wisdom to make a difference in the world. It would be a stinking shame if they simply stopped thinking and serving to play golf or Canasta all day until they die. That kind of thinking that my friend Kim Terry called, "Shuffle Board Theology" is contrary to God's intention and call. It will lead to depression, hopelessness and early death.

It is time for us to start thinking about how we can FINISH WELL

Who are the Seasoned Servants?

Seasoned Believers in Singapore

When I tell people about being called us to Unleash Seasoned Servants to love and enjoy the Lord I often get a response like this: "Oh, that is not me. I am just a poor, lay person with no degrees in theology and I certainly cannot teach or preach."

Another common response is, "Haven't I done enough to please the Lord? I have served as a Sunday school teacher or usher or donor on the building campaign or worked in the kitchen for many years. What does the church want me to do now?"

The answer is, "We are not an organization that is recruiting people to do our thing nor do we have a plan for your life. We are not trying to get you to DO anything but to BE all that God has made you to BE!"

We are working to help Seasoned Christians find a new way to love and enjoy the Lord in whatever way is best for them.

The usual age of a Seasoned Believer is 40 and upward. it normally takes a few decades for people to learn about God's grace, mercy and love. Some have been believers all forty years and others came to faith in college. But all have served the church and ministry groups for two or more decades. They are not brand new believers.

Does this fit you? There are approximately 50 million such people in the USA alone and millions more in other countries.

Who do you nominate as a Seasoned Believer that has been Unleashed?