Author Archives: rob.haynes

By Rev. Dr. Robert Haynes

People sometimes ask me for advice on how to get more young adults to come to church. Frequently, their church is warm and friendly, but is made of up older and/or elderly adults. They sometimes speak passionately about their desire to see their church not die off as members age. These conversations usually occur with church leaders in parts of the world where the church attendance is in decline, particularly in the West.

When I ask them what sort of things they have tried, they tell me they are thinking of putting ads in the newspaper. Or they hung signs up outside inviting people to come to church. Or they held an event and they hung up fliers in places like the post office. They seem disappointed that the response to these has been poor.

At this point, I try to steer the conversation away from these passive, impersonal efforts at “outreach.” None of these require a great deal of time of true investment in people. Effective ministry takes work, a great deal of hard work. It takes an investment of time, of love, and of self-abasing service. While no single formula provides a simple solution to increasing the spiritual involvement of young adults, I will offer a few principles for fruitful ministry.

Pray. This seems so basic, but it cannot be overstated. Pray for God to open your eyes to those you are to serve. Remember that prayer not only changes the one who is the subject of your prayer, but it changes the one who offers the prayer. Pray that God will set your heart right to minister to others.

Check your motives. Simply wanting young adults to come to church merely because it will keep your particular congregation alive is disingenuous and unbiblical. People will see right through it and be turned off. Rather, the gospel calls us to share the love of Jesus because it changes lives, transforms relationships, sets free those enslaved to sin, and heals the broken hearted. If that is your focus, the church will grow as a natural result. If you seek maintenance of an “institution” without prioritizing mission, you will get neither.

Seek Community. Research continues to show that today’s younger adults are looking for an authentic community that will help them discover the meaning and purpose of their lives. There is no better place than the community of vibrant Christians faithfully living out the gospel to aid in that discovery. However, true community looks much different than the institutional nature of many churches, and young adults, generally speaking, do not trust institutions. They have grown up watching banks “too big to fail,” fail. They do not trust government because they see political acrimony everywhere they turn. They see the institutional church racked by scandal again and again. Hence, they will not give blind loyalty to an institution, as maybe the previous generations have done. In order to help them see the good news of the gospel, authentic relationships in a dynamic community of Christians dedicated to scriptural holiness must be developed to provide a healthy picture of the church.

Prioritize Belonging. Too many times the church has told people that they must behave and believe before they can belong. However, this is not the pattern Jesus models. In Luke 19, Jesus is passing through Jericho. When he sees Zacchaeus, Jesus publicly invites Zacchaeus into the community of faith. Picture it, Jesus offers a notorious cheat and swindler a place in the community of people of faith. The members of the religious establishment immediately disapproved. But notice that the result is Zacchaeus’ confession and repentance. Offering community where people are free to belong and can honestly share their doubts, struggles, and questions about faith and have them answered with the transforming love of the gospel is a powerful agent of change.

Celebrate multi-generational ministry. In many parts of the world, young adult Christians are a minority in their peer group. Anecdotal evidence and academic research alike show that young adults want relationships with Christians of older generations to help them navigate life. This does not mean that the older adults need to have all the right answers every time. Rather, young adults tend to seek someone who will say, “I’ve have been walking this road a bit longer. I do not have it all figured it, but I will walk this road with you.” I know I am thankful for the mentors who came alongside my wife and me to help us learn how to be better parents, buy our first home, or take on new community projects. We received invaluable friendship and wisdom from people of several generations.

Be authentic. Young adults value genuine relationships that demonstrate sustained authenticity. Putting on a false front or a fake persona will only hurt ministry. It is not necessary to dazzle them with fancy lights, sound, smoke machines, and mirrors. Do not prioritize another slick event to get people in the door. Leave these things to the entertainment industry. Similarly, do not rely on the latest, trendy program to solve everything. Share your struggles and successes alongside one another, just as the New Testament churches did. Live in community, devoting yourselves to the apostle’s teaching, sharing meals with one another, and sharing as any has need (Acts 2). When a church operates this way people, communities, and the world are radically transformed.

Practicing principles like these in your ministry can help reach people for Christ of all ages, particularly young adults, in your community. The work of World Methodist Evangelism provides even more resources and events to equip your church for ministry. Contact us today to learn more.

Dr. Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism and the author of Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage. He is an ordained member of The United Methodist Church. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org. To learn more about, or to order, Consuming Mission, visit www.ConsumingMission.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_facebook][vc_tweetmeme][/vc_column][/vc_row] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

By Rev. Dr. Robert Haynes

Some years ago, I learned that a name is a powerful thing. For example, while working to complete my undergraduate degree in education, on various occasions my professor would observe us as we taught lessons in classrooms at nearby schools as we prepared for the time when we would have our own classrooms. On one particular occasion, I was teaching a group of students whom I did not know very well since I was only at the school a few times and only for short periods of time. As a result, I did not know the students’ names. My professor picked up on this immediately. In her critique of my teaching, she admonished me for my lack of connection to the young people. “Rob, you cannot reach them if you do not even know their names.” That lesson has resonated with me for over twenty years.

Everyone and everything have been given a name. These names signify an actuality, an existence, a being. The one who gives us our names has a certain power over us. Many of us receive our names from our parents. The names that my wife and I gave our own children came through careful prayer and reflection. The naming of our children was a sacred act which we took seriously. If someone were to come along now and try to change their names for some reason it would be an attempt to disrespect not only our son or daughter, but also to undermine the parental role of name giver. A name is a social reality. Referring to someone only by a racial category, by a class identity, or by a statement of (in)ability can be an attempt to de-humanize the individual. Categorizing them as such without recognizing their individual humanity can be a move towards mere objectification. Consider the biblical accounts when a person’s name is removed as a signal of a “social death” and even an attempt to remove their existence from the community (e.g. 1 Sam. 24:21; Ps. 9:5; 109:13).

In a world where evangelism and discipleship are increasingly personal and always highly relational, truly loving someone in Christian ministry means knowing, and using, the person’s name. It may seem like an easy thing, but I encourage us to be honest with ourselves. How many times, at least in our own minds, have we referred to someone as “the lady in the back pew” or “the guy with the beard who comes to the soup kitchen”? They have names that are precious to them and to those who gave it to them. We honor their humanity when we actively work to learn—and remember—their names. The use of someone’s name acknowledges them for who they are, it brings honor to them, it signifies a personal respect, and it recognizes their humanity. Referring to someone in a manner that does not use their name can objectify that person. For example, calling him “the guy next door” all the time or merely referring to her as “the lady in the wheelchair” fails to embrace the individual who is created in the image of God that is before us. People are more than the titles we try to impose upon them.

Leaders, pastors included, may sometimes try to disconnect their own name from the title and role they hold. There is a great example in the American television show, The West Wing. In this fictional story, the President of the United States is faced with a difficult moral decision. He calls his life-long priest to the Oval Office to advise him. The priest, who has known President Jed Barlett since he was a child, is in awe by the powerful position that Jed now holds and does not know how to properly address him. He asks whether to refer to him as “Jed” or “Mr. President.” Bartlett’s response in poignant. He asks to be called “Mr. President” so that he can be reminded of the separation of the person he is and the office he holds. The decision before him is difficult and he does not want to be personally held responsible. Therefore, at least in President Bartlett’s mind, being called “Mr. President” excuses him personally from what he is about to do. Those who serve in Christian ministerial leadership do well to remember that we bear a Name that cannot be separated from our own. By our baptism and our call, we bear Christ’s Name in our ministry. We have a new status: we were once dead, now we are alive. While we may not have been given a new name, we do bear Christ’s Name in a way that cannot be separated from our own being (e.g. Rom. 6:2; 1 Cor. 1:2; Acts 11:26; 2 Pet. 4:16).

There is just something about a name: our own names. There is a beauty in the Name that we bear. And there is a beauty in looking past what we see on the outside of the person before us, and instead see the name they have been given. We have been called to reach them with the love of Christ, and we just will not be able to reach them until we know—and embrace—their names.

Dr. Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism and the author of Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage. He is an ordained member in The United Methodist Church. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org. To learn more about, or to order, Consuming Mission, visit www.ConsumingMission.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_facebook][vc_tweetmeme][/vc_column][/vc_row] [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

By Rev. Dr. Robert Haynes

With the coming of spring and the anticipation of summer, many churches in the United States are preparing for the Short-Term Mission (STM) “season.” Churches frequently use a domestic or international STM trip as a standard part of regular programming for youth and adults of all ages. STM has been billed as a way for American churches to spread the Good News to those in impoverished and underserved areas of the world. The wide-spread and growing practice deploys teams that are often comprised of church members with willing hearts, ready hands, and a desire to bring about a change. However, the role of evangelism in Methodist STM deserves further examination.

STM began and grew as a populist movement with roots in evangelistic motivations. Some of the first short-term trans-national mission trips began in the 1950s. Under the guidance of groups like Operation Mobilization (1957) teams of young people from the United States headed overseas to minister to those who had not yet heard the Gospel. Many of these teams departed with suitcases full of Gospel literature and a burden to share the Good News of Jesus Christ. They distributed hundreds of millions of evangelistic materials in countries throughout Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

STM, which I define as two weeks or less, has continued to grow. Today, approximately 2 million Americans, from 100,000 churches and thousands more non-profit agencies, participate in STM annually. This multi-billion dollar venture involves millions more in their targeted countries of service. However, do contemporary STM teams retain the evangelistic fervor with which some of the first teams set out? My own research of United Methodist STM indicates that often times STM participants can overwhelmingly affirm the value of the trips for them personally, yet often struggle to define their role in the larger Mission—are they missionaries, evangelists, friends, servants, or something else?

One possible reason for the ambiguity of the purpose of the trip may be that frequently STM trips are to places where churches are already established. In general, STM trips are to places that are already new centers of global Christianity. Seven of the top ten destinations for American STM teams are in Latin America or the Caribbean, locations that have a long history of active church ministry and which has seen important growth in recent years. Additionally, because these international service trips, done in the name of mission, often work in established church communities, many STM team members see themselves as now free from the directive to engage in faith-sharing endeavors that historically accompanies missional service. In fact, many American STMers perceived a greater faith in their hosts than they themselves possessed. This leads to an interesting outcome. Team leaders and members often do not feel a need to share their faith because, “Everyone’s already a Christian, anyway.” Because there is a strong perception of the Christian devotion in the mission hosts surpassing that of the STMer, for many, there is an expectation that the devotion in others would lead to a deeper devotion in themselves. They expected to grow in their own faith while on the trip in part by what they observed in their mission hosts.

This can occur for a variety of reasons and in a variety of service contexts. John, a pastor colleague, recounted the time he was serving as a long-term missionary in Eastern Europe during the 1980s. When the radical political changes of the late 80s and early 90s opened Eastern Europe to travelers from the West, his ministry was flooded with requests to host STM teams. After just a few teams had come and gone, he quickly realized that people were coming not to primarily serve in ministry, but to “do some good” while touring places that had been closed for generations. John had to then train his European staff members to evangelize the American STM team members who were coming to be “missionaries” in their own country. Could the same be true today?

I am not suggesting that people stop traveling, stop serving, stop learning, or stop building meaningful relationships with churches around the world. Quite the opposite. However, anything done in the name of Christian Mission should seek to faithfully engage the biblical foundations of mission it claims to embody. Doing so means that two important principles should be embraced: 1) Evangelism is mission, but 2) Mission is not merely evangelism. In other words, through careful biblical training pastors and other mission leaders should prepare their STM teams to share their faith with both their mouths and their paintbrushes. Under the explicit direction of their mission hosts, STM leaders should provide tools for their team members to engage in culturally appropriate faith-sharing—just as they should do at home.

Dr. Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism and the author of Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage. He is an ordained member in The United Methodist Church. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org. To learn more about, or to order, Consuming Mission, visit www.ConsumingMission.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_facebook][vc_tweetmeme][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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By Rev. Dr. Robert Haynes

From the earliest days of my pastoral service my leaders and mentors encouraged me to lead and develop short-term mission (STM) trips. They assured me that these trips would provide life-changing opportunities for those in my ministries. In addition, the people in the communities we would serve would receive the benefits of medical care, children’s ministry activities, or the construction of a new facility. This seemed like an easy decision to make.

However, few significant, lasting changes were made. The deeper I went into the practice, I began to wonder just who exactly the STM trip was to benefit.

My new book, Consuming Mission, is a product of asking what happens on a STM trip, who serves whom, what are the expectations of STMers on their trip, and what theologies shape and inform their activities.

Written for pastors, mission leaders, seminary students, and professors, Consuming Mission is an illuminating ethnography of current STM participants and is representative of the wide age ranges and demographic backgrounds from which STMers come. Since STM is a grassroots movement, hearing directly from the STM participants to understand their theologies and motivations for service is key to understanding the current practice and how to shape it for the future. It is the product of in-depth interviews with United Methodist STM leaders and practitioners from four different states and four different annual conferences.

A biblical motivation for mission is foundational to Wesleyan Methodist theology. Therefore, I asked team members and team leaders about their biblical motivations for STM.

Surprisingly, this was one of the most difficult questions for participants to answer. Participants often hesitated to answer and apologized for not being more familiar with the Bible when trying to recall a verse or story. Answers to this line of questioning varied and were among the most difficult to elicit during our discussions. Some pointed to verses where Jesus’ followers are command to “go” and to “serve.” Many team members and leaders referenced Scriptural principles that pointed to aid and comfort for the STM participants themselves. However, generally speaking, scriptural references in regard to service in the name of mission were slow to come from the interview participants.

Additionally, none of the teams in the interview pool reported using a cohesive Bible study or mission text to help shape their pre-trip planning or in-country service. Most recalled using Bible verses as a part of the pre-trip meeting devotionals, but these devotionals were but a small part of the meetings, which were usually consumed by logistical planning.

When there is a vacuum of biblical and theological missional training, something will fill that vacuum of motivation. For most STMers, the vacuum was filled by the desire for an “experience.”

Consuming Mission gives an in-depth examination of the role “experience” plays in the American consumer culture and missions. Many economists say that we are living in an “experience economy” which is driven by the high value placed upon things like experiential encounters, vacations, and everyday activities. Consider the high prices commanded at theme parks like Disney World and Universal Studios. Diners pay a premium price for meals in restaurants with walls covered in music or movie memorabilia. Tour companies are offering vacations to increasingly exotic places in an effort to satisfy the yearning of their customers who want to top last year’s adventure vacation.

The influence of a desire for an experience is pervasive in the interviews with STMers in Consuming Mission. Such an influence can be seen, for example, in some of the responses when I posed a common question around STM, “Why not just send the money?” Many with whom I spoke rejected the idea for fear of missing out on the “experience” for themselves.

The experience they were seeking for themselves was frequently seen as the chance to grow in their own faith. Many people expected to be influenced by their mission hosts and the perception of a superior faith on the part of those hosts. When talking about their STM activities, participants often describe their time, money, sacrifice, and service, applied in the name of mission, as a way to purchase an experience akin to personal growth commonly sought by pilgrims.

Historically, a pilgrimage is an event when people travel to another place where they understood God to have worked before, could work again, and they expected God to work in their lives while they were there. They expected to come home different than when they left. They expected to be transformed by the experience.

Consuming Mission illustrates that many people are using STM to do just that: to use acts of service, done in the name of mission, for self-edification that functions as a pilgrimage. In STM, the cathedrals and shrines of historical Christian pilgrimage perceived as sites of the miraculous are replaced with what is perceived as substandard housing and malnourished children.

Many ministries have developed STM programs with the primary goal of consuming an experience for the implicit, and sometimes explicit, benefit of the participants. Yet, this is not a motivation for mission service demonstrated in the biblical text nor in Wesleyan theology. Rather, a cruciform attitude towards service, exemplified by Christ and taught in Wesleyan missional theology, displaces self-fulfillment as a motivator for activities done in the name of Christian mission.

To address such issues in this approach to mission, we must move beyond simply trying to correct a few “best practices” and move deeper to their underlying causes. Developing appropriate mission theology is important because theologies shape motivations and motivations shape practices. If we want to make a long-lasting change to the practices, the theologies that shape them must be further developed. Through the careful engagement with biblical mission theology, I point out the ways in which the missio Deishould be the “consuming mission.”

At its best, STM seeks to address many real-world issues. However, STM is failing to realize its potential due to a lack of robust theological reflection by its leaders and participants. The STM movement can, and should, function as an instrument of the missio Dei to strengthen the church around the world. When the practice moves away from pilgrimage towards a more robust practice of mission, it can begin to embrace such possibilities.

I am not suggesting that people stop traveling, stop serving, or stop learning. Quite the opposite. An increased awareness of the work of God around the world can only lead to good things. A life-changing pilgrimage should be applauded. Coming to a deeper understanding of the cultures of other nations leads to a better worldview.

Yet, tensions remain. Deep problems arise when those who participate in practices deemed “mission” do so with the primary aim of bettering themselves or experiencing something new and exciting. Unhealthy practices in the name of mission (e.g. ethnocentrism, paternalism, and developed dependencies) come forth.

Consuming Mission takes steps to confront such traits in STM and calls upon mission leaders to reshape this ubiquitous practice to more faithfully reflect a biblical missional engagement in the Wesleyan Methodist tradition.

Post originally appeared on UM&Global on 06 February 2019.

Dr. Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism and the author of Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage. He is an ordained member in The United Methodist Church. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org. To learn more about, or to order, Consuming Mission, visit www.ConsumingMission.com.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_facebook][vc_tweetmeme][/vc_column][/vc_row][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

By Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes

Over lunch recently, a ministerial colleague and I were discussing the various ways local churches seek to use social media to promote their ministry. He and I have served in a variety of contexts, and we observed that similar conversations seem to happen in each situation: some people strongly feel that putting a great deal of time and energy into a catchy social media campaign will cure many of the ills of church. Properly crafted digital posts, some believe, will reverse declining numbers in attendance and giving; a dying church will become vibrant again. However, research about the way people use technology to connect to one another and to God may contradict such notions. While opportunities to use the tools of the digital age for mission and evangelism are present, their implementation needs more careful consideration.

In a world of always on, anywhere, how can church leaders capitalize on the potential of the digital age? The answer may be more complicated than we might think. First, consider this:

• More than 88% of Americans use the internet. 71% of Americans are on Social Media.
• The average American spends approximately 6 hours and 30 minutes on the internet via any device, daily. (both from We Are Social)
• The Internet of Things (IoT) will permeate everyday life and accelerate this connectivity. Not only are we connected by our phones, but the connectivity of everyday devices is on the rise. More and more people are connecting their thermostats, toasters, refrigerators, cars, lights, etc.
• Technology trade groups and business leaders forecastcontinued rapid growth of the IoT. Currently there are more than 11.2 billion devices connected to the internet. By 2030, 125 billion such devices will be connected, most of which will be consumer owned (as opposed to usage by businesses, hospitals, militaries, etc.). That is nearly 16 devices for each person on Earth.

Such connectivity also spills over into how we relate to one another. Globally, social media users are growing by hundreds of millions each year. The opportunity to connect and share will continue to grow in the near future. These applications allow us to share pictures of our holidays, our families, and our lunches. Social media users share their support for their favorite sports teams or their favorite political candidates.

However, it appears that Christians are not using these means as a way to share their faith. A recent survey from Baylor University found that faith-sharing and the internet still have a strained relationship. Less than 15% of Americans surveyed said that technology improved their relationship with God. Likewise, 77% of Americans reported having never shared their religious views online.

Clearly, even though people are increasingly connected, it remains vital to keep relationships personal beyond just the glowing rectangles of our devices. Church leaders should be cautioned against putting their faith in the latest device, the newest trend in apps, or the cleverest of selfies. Rather, the devices of our age should be considered as tools to share the life-changing message of Jesus with those who need to hear it. That means the message will need to remain personal and always sensitive to the needs of the hearers. It means that the need to cultivate meaningful relationships will continue. It means that relying on the next trend in technology apps will not replace the work of being involved in peoples’ lives in a very real way. Jesus’ example of a highly relational, deeply involved ministry should continue to be our model, regardless of the latest technological trends. That does not mean we cannot use such technologies to connect with others, but they should not be our only means.

Remember that lunch where we were discussing technology in ministry? It took us a few days of communicating by phone, computer, and a variety of apps to make the appointment. Yet all of those conversations could not replace what we really wanted. The end goal, and the richness, was sitting down to share a meal and to ask about one another’s ministries, families, hope, dreams, disappointments, and successes.

While technology is useful at keeping us superficially connected, it can never replace the need for meaningful connection. If you find yourself fretting your inadequacies to create eye-popping social media posts or super slick websites, fear not. Instead, put down your device and step into your community. Take a friend to lunch. Share a cup of coffee with someone who is down. Visit the sick. Minister to the friendless and the needy. Spend time with the lonely. Then you will know just what to say online and in person. May God richly bless you as you go.

Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism. His new book, Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Evangelism (Wipf & Stock) is now available: www.consumingmission.com. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org.

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By Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes

World Methodist Evangelism leaders are connected with schools and organizations on the leading edge of theological studies, not just in the United States, but also abroad. For example, both our Executive Director, Rev. Dr. Kim Reisman, and our Director of Education and Leadership, Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes, are Visiting Research Fellows at St. John’s College, Durham University, in Durham, England. Founded in 1909, St. John’s enjoys a distinctive relationship with the Wesley Study Centre and Cranmer Hall, which trains ministers for service in the Church of England and the “Free Church”. These three enjoy a thriving relationship through, in part, their Anglican Methodist student covenant.

This is just one of the many ways that the ministry of World Methodist Evangelism is unique. It is also one of the things that makes our Convergence Conference a particularly special opportunity. During the Convergence Conference, the complex dynamics of living missionally in a postmodern, post-Christendom context will be probed and dissected in the beautiful, historic setting of Durham. Learn more about Convergence here. Learn more about St. John’s College and see all the Visiting Fellows here.

Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism. His new book, Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Evangelism (Wipf & Stock) is now available: www.consumingmission.com. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org.

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By Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes

We live in a culture that wants to move faster and faster still. But, is faster always better? There are some things about going slow that you cannot get when you are moving fast.

When I was serving as a youth minister, I took the youth group hiking to the top of a small mountain. At the end of the trail was a vista with a beautiful view of the city below. I had hiked it before, and I was eager for the young people to see the breathtaking view for themselves. As we quickly unloaded the vans, I rushed the youth to the trail. Once on the trail, we were soon met with a large fog bank. It appeared that we were not going to get to see the beautiful view at the end of the trail after all. We hiked on, mostly to keep with our planned program of holding devotions there, though at a slower pace because of the fog. Because of that slower pace, and because I was forced to carefully watch the trail beneath me, I began to notice things that I had not seen before. I found the tiniest, most beautiful flowers. I marveled at fascinating trees that I had missed before. We reached the trail’s end and had our time of Bible reading and devotions in the thick fog. Afterwards, we all closed our eyes for a time of prayer. When we all said “Amen” and open our eyes, we discovered that the fog had lifted during those few moments of prayer. There before us, splashed by the colors of the setting sun, was the most beautiful view of the city. By slowing down, we got to see the flowers on the trail immediately at our feet and the beauty that was still far away.

Slowing down can have a powerful effect on Christian discipleship and on faith-sharing alike. When we slow down, it is not just the deeper connecting with Creation that we notice, like on my hike. Moving at a slower pace allows us to stop and speak to our neighbors, to meet new people, or to renew old friendships. Remember that Jesus and the disciples did not zoom in to a community, stay a few moments, and zoom out. Rather, they walked from village to village with one another. And once there, they frequently remained with the people. Additionally, many of Gospel accounts take place inside a relatively small area and mostly in small villages. You see, they were known to one another and the residents of those communities. Not only did the disciples know the townspeople, but they would have known their family members, how they made their livelihood, and what they enjoyed doing. Jesus and the disciples did not hide behind a busy schedule, a social media profile, or a forced public persona. Rather, the people of Galilee knew Jesus and the disciples to be people who lived what they preached and preached what they lived.

Admittedly, there can be something a bit unnerving about moving at such a pace. We might be afraid to let people know us for who we are. In our modern world, it is easier to hide behind the screens of our devices or the impersonal nature of emails or electronic posts. It is easier to hide behind the busy pace of life to not allow others into the spaces in which we dwell. But these are not the exemplar principles of the Bible. Rather, abiding in the presence of God, waiting for the Lord, and being still before God are what we are taught to do. In much the same way, being present with others is key to faith-sharing. Such a presence includes active listening, lived compassion, and embodied empathy. This sort of things can only come when we move at a slow and deliberate pace. This allows us to join God in what is going on in someone else’s life.

Moving at such a pace in the modern world—literally and figuratively—forces us to live out a key component of faith-sharing: integrity. Not only will you get to see people around you with great clarity, but they will get to see you with greater clarity as well. For this reason, personal holiness is a key aspect to any sort of social holiness in missional service and/or faith-sharing.

I often hear people say that they are waiting on God. In a world that is moving at such a break-neck pace, maybe waiting on God is not so much about stopping and waiting for God to show up. Maybe waiting on God is, spiritually speaking, slowing down to God’s pace and walking together. A slow, deliberate, and faithful pace can impact our own discipleship, and impact those with whom we seek to share our faith.

Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes is the Director of Education and Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism. His new book, Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Evangelism (Wipf & Stock) is now available: www.consumingmission.com. He can be reached at rob@worldmethodist.org.

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By Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes

The word “relational” gets thrown around a great deal when discussing evangelism. Just what that means deserves a closer examination. Allow me to illustrate one way I have in mind. I had many questions about faith before I made a decision to follow Jesus in my early 20s. One of the things that compelled me to become a disciple of Jesus Christ was the honest and open engagement with Christian friends who cared about me. Just such a relationship was as much a force in my Christian conversion as anything else. Maybe I am not alone.

As I reflect on those days, one incident sticks out. I was out for dinner with a group of friends. As we sat out on the balcony enjoying a beautiful fall evening, we could hear someone preaching on a nearby corner. We could not make out much of what he said, but it was obvious that his message was one of condemnation for all in earshot. I listened to my friends ridicule him and the message he was offering.

A few days later, these same friends and I were having deep conversations about faith with a Christian neighbor. Her steady, calming, loving answers to our doubts and questions about faith told us that she cared about us. You see, my friends and I were not disinterested in faith, as our dismissal for the street preacher may have suggested. Rather, we wanted to engage in discussions of faith with someone who cared about us and was willing to be involved in our lives to prove it.

A recent survey (see Bryan Stone’s work at Boston University’s Center for Practical Theology) has affirmed that the role of relationships is paramount in faith sharing. Across all major streams of American Christianity: Mainline, Catholic/Orthodox, and Evangelical people frequently reported that making a decision to be a disciple of Jesus Christ is an inter-personal matter. The survey revealed that the three most influential things that lead to Christian conversion are:

               1.      A spouse/partner

               2.      A minister (especially that minister’s preaching)

               3.      A particular congregation

Near the bottom of the list were things like television/radio and evangelistic events. Notice that the more personal and relational aspects of the life of faith have a greater  impact on one’s decision to follow Christ. The more programmatic or impersonal seem to be less effective. I share this not to cast aspersions on the efforts of those who hold large-scale evangelism events or broadcast a Bible study over the radio. However, I do offer it to challenge some of the assumptions about who are the evangelists in our churches and our communities. It often is not the “professional” who is all but unknown to the members of the audience pushing people to make a decision. Maybe the cliché has credence: “People don’t care what you know until they know that you care.”

So how can we translate such findings to our own ministry contexts? First, the role of a spouse in the role of faith formation can be vital. For those of you who are praying for your spouse, keep it up! Be encouraged as you minister to your spouse and know that you are not alone. Lean on your pastor or a trusted friend to walk alongside you in this journey.

Second, if you are a minister serving a church, your relationships with the believers and unbelievers in your community (and the pews) are so important. Stone also reminds us of the importance of preaching in evangelism. The opportunity to preach week in, week out is a gift. While there are dozens of pressures that may demand your time each week, preaching is tantamount. Be intentional about the time you set aside for the sacred space of sermon preparation. Notice the difference between this type of preaching and one I mentioned earlier is the personal relationship of the minister. Take time to unpack your sermons through conversation in the public spaces: the coffee shops, soccer fields, and park benches in the community where you serve.

Third, the culture of the congregation is crucial. Many visiting a church will decide if they are coming back long before the notes of the first song are ever played. Rather, the greeting they received at the front door, the help they got finding the nursery, or the handshake they got as they found their seat all go a long way to helping them determine if they will return.

Thinking of faith-sharing along these lines also leads us away from looking for another off-the-shelf program to try next month in our churches. It encourages us instead to think of faith-sharing as a way of life. I am thankful for my friend who saw it that way. I pray that someone sees you and me that way too.

Rev. Dr. Rob Haynes is Director of Education and Leadership at World Methodist Evangelism. He may be reached at Rob@WorldMethodist.org.[/vc_column_text][vc_facebook][vc_tweetmeme][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]