One Million YouVersion Users

YouVersion.com reached an exciting milestone this week as we passed one million unique users on the iPhone/iPod touch through the YouVersion Bible App. Among people who own an iPhone, 1 in 28 has downloaded the Bible App.

We’re humbled by the velocity and momentum YouVersion is experiencing, and celebrate the fact that each new user represents one more person who’s engaging with Scripture. In fact, since the launch of the Bible App, users have spent 407,000,000+ minutes reading God’s Word. That’s 326,388 days, 21 hours and 20 minutes of Bible engagement! We’re thrilled to see so many people connecting the Bible with their daily lives and thank you for the part you’ve played by talking about YouVersion on twitter, blogs, and in conversations with friends.

There are some cool developments in the works for the YouVersion.com site, and we look forward to sharing them with you in the next few weeks.

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Preaching a Dangerous Message

Pastor, you are called to preach a dangerous message.

(Notice I didn’t say an “edgy” message. There is a big difference between dangerous and edgy.)

• Preaching the Gospel of Christ is offensive to men. If you’re being criticized for your sex talks and creative marketing and never for preaching Christ, something might be wrong with your preaching.
• Preaching God’s standards will make some people mad. If your sermons always make people feel better about themselves and you never confront their sin, they won’t likely see their need for a Savior.
• Preaching about the miraculous power of God stirs people up. If your typical message is five steps to a better life, you may be overlooking the one step of truly taking God at His word.

I pray our messages become more Spirit-filled, Scripture-packed, and God-annointed!

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De-baptism?

I just returned from a visit to the UK and saw this article about people paying for certificates of “de-baptism.”  Basically, people in the UK and other parts of the world are publicly denouncing their Christian baptisms.

So here are a couple of questions for you all:

• Is this the result of humanistic cultural influences? Or is this the outcome of “religion”?
• Is this happening in the US? If not, how long until it is?

Tags: de-baptism, religion

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Dangerous Churches

I was talking to a guy on a plane about God. When I asked him if he went to church, he explained politely that he wasn’t interested. I asked him why he wasn’t and he said matter of factly, “Because I’ve already been and nothing happened.”

Maybe he went to a “safe” church. In a safe church:

• The message makes you feel better.
• You’re never confronted about your sin.
• No one rocks the boat.
• You don’t have to change.
• You may never truly encounter our Holy and Life-giving God.

When I read about the New Testament Church, it was filled with people with a dangerous faith. While we certainly should make our environments welcoming, our message should remain dangerous.

• We’re called to leave everything to follow Christ.
• We’re invited to believe God for the impossible.
• We’re told to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.
• We’re told that to find our life we have to lose it first.

There is nothing safe about that message. May our churches become a safe place to encounter a dangerous message.

What are some of the ways you offer a welcoming environment while presenting a dangerous message?

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Featured Site: The Strip Church

The Strip Church is doing some pretty aggressive things to reach into the heart of Las Vegas with the message: Jesus loves Sin City. As an outreach of XXXChurch.com, the Strip Church is not only serving those at brothels, strip clubs, and adult trade shows, but also ministering to the many visitors who flow through the Las Vegas Strip.

Craig Gross and his team just launched a new site at http://stripchurch.com to share their efforts and offer some great opportunities to get involved. They’re partnering with churches and individuals so groups can come and serve on the front lines of their mission.

Craig is a great friend to LifeChurch.tv and we’re excited to see how God uses the Strip Church to reach the people of Las Vegas and the many individuals who come from around the world to visit.

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Town Hall for Hope with Dave Ramsey at LifeChurch.tv

Yesterday, Dave Ramsey announced on his radio program a national event called Town Hall for Hope.  We will be partnering with Dave by hosting and broadcasting this first-of-a-kind event from LifeChurch.tv.  This will be an awesome opportunity to help bring a message of hope to our nation in these uncertain economic times—and your church can participate for free!

On April 23 at 7:00 p.m. CT/8:00 p.m. ET, thousands of churches will be joining us in hosting the live town hall via a simulcast web stream. Dave will be answering questions from people across the nation via video, phone, twitter, facebook and more as we learn more about what’s happening with the economy, how we got here, and where we’re going. The Town Hall for Hope is free to attend and free to host, which can make it an incredible outreach event for your church.  In just the first 8 hours since the event was announced, over 900 churches signed up to be a host site!  There are a ton of exciting details coming in the coming days.  You can learn more and sign up now at http://www.townhallforhope.com.

I believe that in times like these, the Church has an enormous opportunity to provide Hope to a world that is searching for it.  It’s an honor to partner with Dave for this event, and we can’t wait to see how God uses it to transform lives!

Tags: Dave Ramsey

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God Determines the Seasons

God determines when a season begins and ends. Scripture says, “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. 21 He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them…” (Dan 2:20-21 NIV)

Jesus seemed very aware of God controlling the times. He said in John 2:4, “…My time has not yet come.” Later in John 17:1, he prayed confidently, “…Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”

It is helpful to remember that there is a purpose in every season.

• Paul waited for months before God opened the door for ministry.
• Elisha followed Elijah for years hoping to get what Elijah had.
• Joseph spent years in prison before being promoted to the palace.

I try to remind myself that I can’t skip a season and every season is important.

If you seem stuck in a non-ending season, find comfort in these verses:

This vision is for a future time.  It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled.  If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place… Habakkuk 2:3

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Gal 6:9

What are some of the most important seasons you’ve experienced?

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Don’t Force Spring When It is Winter

Every planet on the solar system has seasons. On Venus, seasons are very short. On Uranus, a season can last for 20 years. (No Uranus jokes, please… haha! )

You might feel like you are in a prolonged winter. And you might be correct.

• You are praying with few answered prayers.
• You’re witnessing and seeing few conversions.
• You’re laboring tirelessly and seeing minimal results.

If you’re in winter and waiting for spring, remember God is working in winter too. During the cold months, the tree and plant roots grow deeper and stronger. In this season, God is often doing an unseen work preparing His creation for spring. He does more internally than externally.

It is helpful to remember, you can’t have spring without winter.

How has God worked during the winter seasons in your life?

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