My generation experienced the election of the first African-American President, the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, Desert Storm, Iraq War, historic government bailouts, the passing of healthcare reform, and the greatest economic downturn since The Great Depression.  However, in my opinion, the greatest shifts we will experience in our lifetime are happening now!

According to next generation thought leader Blake Mallen, “most new online technologies have one root intention: to make it simpler for people to communicate and collaborate.”  Of all the tools and websites created to connect people, Facebook seems to be the most popular starting place for many.  With more than 500 million users (that’s right – 500 MILLION AND GROWING), we all have at our fingertips the tools to find, friend, and engage with people.  Imaging how churches can use this platform to expand the Kingdom of God!

Consider this:

To reach 50 million users, it took:

1. Radio – 38 years
2. TV – 13 years
3. Internet – 4 years
4. iPod – 3 years

FACEBOOK ADDED 100 MILLION USERS IN LESS THAN 9 MONTHS

Source: United Nations Cyber School Bus Document/Mashable

Additionally, according to a Grunwald Associates National Study, “at the end of 2010 Generation Y will outnumber baby boomers…96% of them have joined a social network.”

QUESTIONS

Considering this social trend, how will the church respond and leverage social media to help expand the Kingdom of God?

How will business owners leverage social media to market their goods and services?

How are you leveraging social media?

Have you ever been distracted at church even when you came wanting to worship God? Distractions during worship can minimize the powerful impact worship can have. We are easily distracted people. Upon further reflection, I’ve come to believe we have a very low tolerance for distractions (including pastors).  Additionally, I’ve discovered that pastoring a large church presents its fair amount of distractions and challenges.  It has been said that “confession is good for the soul.”  Therefore, it’s confession time for me.

One of the greatest distractions for me: CELL PHONES.

Each week during the sermon I hear cell phones ringing.  I wonder how many of these calls have been emergencies?

Let me guess – PROBABLY ZERO!

Cell phones are a great tool for communication but please consider how important it is to get that “important” phone call during church, a movie or anything else where the phone can be a horrible distraction to others.  God may speak to you during worship; however, he won’t call you on your cell phone.  Here are some alternatives; silent/vibrate mode, off button or leave the darn thing in your car.

While you’re at it go ahead and take the Bluetooth earpiece out of your ear…
it looks ridiculous during worship.

The longer I serve as pastor of a thriving church, the more I realize how VITAL prayer is!  Prayer is the link to a vibrant and fruitful ministry.

What if God granted you an opportunity to go back in time and speak to the wisest people who ever lived (people such as Moses, Apostle Paul, Solomon, Sojourner Truth, Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and Fredrick Douglass)?  However, once you reached your destination, you sat at their feet and proceeded to do all the talking?  Would it be a worthwhile endeavor?  Did the aforementioned people need to know all you had to say?  Upon leaving would you wish you had talked less and listened more?  Incredibly, many people enter God’s holy presence in prayer and then do all the talking!

What God has to say to us is infinitely more important that what we have to say to Him, yet we generally monopolize the conversation. God already knows everything we plan to tell Him, yet we continue talking rather than allowing Him to tell us things we don’t know.  Why?  Our American individualist mindset tricks us to believe that we can dominate our conversation with God. Prayer is two-way communication, but it is not communication between two equal parties.

Tonight (7PM) we’ll gather @ the Mars Hill Baptist Church for our 1st Wednesday Worship.  This worship experience allows us to spend more time worshipping God and listening to the Word.  During tonight’s service, I will pose 5 Questions that will revolutionize the prayer lives of those in attendance.  The questions are as follows:

1. What is Prayer (the definition may surprise you)?
2. Why Pray (it’s not what you think)?
3. To Whom Do We Pray (is it God, Jesus, or The Holy Spirit)?
4. What Do God’s Answers Look Like (it’s more than, “God give me a sign”)?
5. What If There Is Silence?

Please come and join us!