It isn't you not you - it's me

Dear Blogger.

Thanks for agreeing to meet with me for coffee. Ohh sure we could have done this somewhere more private, but, well... having people around... it's nice isn't it!

Things have been... strained recently, haven't they?

Yes they have. We started out having fun, I'd post on you, a few friends would comment. Good times.

But then things started getting weird. All of the sudden I wanted you to pretty yourself up and you refused!

And now I need to drop the bombshell. There's another blog. I've been posting on it. You know my compost series that you said was dumb - well Wordpress loves it. It's more user-friendly – more attractive.

So blogger, I think we need to... break up.

Ohh please don't sob, we knew it was coming.

No I'm sorry, my mind is made up.

That's just it, I'm not sure you can change. There just aren't the same hassles with Wordpress.

No I'm sorry, if you're going to be like that I'm just going to leave right now. Goodbye blogger.

World-Views - making it better

In my last post I explained how the world views evangelistic tool works, now I want your help in making it even better.

The actual survey that I've used in the past was created by UCCF, which is the UK IFES member organisation. They developed not only the survey but the computer programme as well. Both can be found here.

Now here's the thing. The survey asks six questions and from those six questions tries to box you into a particular world-view (with inconsistencies anticipated). My concern is that some of the questions are a bit too simplistic and aren't nuanced enough. The survey does not make any distinction between post-modernity and existentialism or between eastern panthiestic monism and the new age movement.

This was something I had to live with until James Brennan offered to update the nuts and bolts of the survey programme to make it more user-friendly and adaptable. I'll explain more about that when I actually understand what he's wanting to do but for now what I need is your thinking caps on. Below are the survey questions. The survey contains other text explaining that we all come to life with a set of bedrock ideas and this survey aims to strip us back to that bedrock. It also explains that more than one answer is acceptable for the survey's purposes if they can't make up their mind.

Dependent on how you answer the different questions, you can either pop out as a Theist, Deist, Naturalist, Nihilist, Existentialist or Eastern-Panthiestic Monist. You should be able to figure out which answer will be for which. Got any suggestions for how to make it better?

1. ETHICS

1. Morality is relative to each individual & situation; therefore, whatever works best or seems right at the time is the right thing to do.
2. All moral abuses result from being out of harmony with nature.
3. There are no absolute standards; therefore, each person develops their own moral standard.
4. Morality is meaningless.
5. There is a set of absolute moral guidelines established by God that applies to all cultures and times.
6. None of the above.

2. HUMAN SIGNIFICANCE

1. I have significance and dignity specifically because I am made in the image of God.
2. I create my own significance in spite of the fact that there is no ultimate meaning or purpose.
3. I am significant because I am a human being, one of the most highly evolved forms of life on earth.
4. I am significant because of the god-like potential within myself.
5. As a product of directionless evolution, I have no more significance than a rock or a snail.
6. None of the above.

3. A HUMAN IS...

1. A physical being who makes itself miserable because (s)he asks pointless questions about meaning and purpose.
2. A higher animal; the grand result of millions of years of evolution and his/her immediate social upbringing.
3. A being who is incapable of moral perfection and who is therefore in need of God's forgiveness.
4. A being who has the capacity to create meaning and moral values for him/herself and then to live by them.
5. A spiritual being who should look within themselves for divine potential.
6. None of the above.

4. IN YOUR OPINION 'WHAT HAPPENS TO A PERSON AT DEATH?

1. They cease to exist.
2. They are judged and then rewarded or punished in an after-life according to their choices/actions in this life.
3. They come back in another form (reincarnation), OR pass from one state of illusion to the other.
4. None of the above.

5. THE BEST WAY TO FIND TRUTH IS...

1. Through experimentation on data observable through the five senses.
2. Through not only the senses & reason but especially through special revelation from God (Holy Scriptures, etc.).
3. God reveals truth only through the senses and reason, not through special, supernatural revelation.
4. Truth is subjective; it is whatever I decide it to be.
5. Through mystical experience (Yoga, meditation, visualisation, chanting, astral projection, etc.).
6. Because our brains & senses are the products of directionless evolution, we cannot trust our own perceptions of reality; thus, the concept of truth is meaningless.
7. None of the above.

6. GOD IS...

1. The Creator of the universe. He has concern for and is closely involved with his creation, especially human beings.
2. A being who designed the universe and "set it in motion" but who remains uninvolved or, at best, a distant observer.
3. Non-existent.
4. God exists in the minds of some individuals only for the purpose of creating meaning and value.
5. There is an impersonal divine force that exists within everything and everyone.
6. None of the above.

World Views evangelistic resources revised

Over the last 5 years or so I have been tinkering away with a resource called the world views survey. I’ve used this resource about 20 times and I have personally walked about 200 people through the gospel. After a bit of thinking, reading and pondering the new context that I’ll be using it I’ve decided it needs a bit of a review in a few directions. Before I go into that, I’ll explain how it works so we’re on the same page.

So, what happens is a bunch of people go to a spot where people hang out (e.g. a park)

Then one or two members of the team walk around handing out surveys that have six multiple choice questions on them about things like truth, God, death, ethics, etc.

Once people have completed the surveys they come over to our table to have their results “analysed”. The participants bring their sheets back and one of the team members enters their answers into a specially created computer programme. The computer programme calculates their answers and exclaims at the end "You are an…” (e.g. “You’re an Existentialist" or "You are a Deist" or "You are a Theist").

The data entry person then gives the participant a sticker with their worldview on it. This sounds dorky but people seem to love it.

Not a lot of evangelism going on yet, I know. But here’s where it all begins. Very few people know what a deist is, though they may be practicing deists. So we have team members sitting in chairs with a sticker on that says "Talk to me if you're a…” (e.g. “Talk to me if you’re a Nihilist" or "Talk to me if you're an Eastern Pantheistic Monist") stickers on their shirt. The participant then sits down with those team members and that kicks off some amazing conversations that invariably lead to the gospel.

There are many great benefits of this kind of evangelism.

a) Firstly it is “cold contact” (i.e. it is rare that you’ll actually evangelise your friends, participants will most likely be total strangers). As over 40% of Sydneysiders don’t know a Christian, this ministry is really important if we’re going to reach these people.

b) Secondly, although it begins cold, it is relationally intense. Within a few seconds of chatting you are dealing with the most significant of life issues: death, truth, ethics, human dignity, God. Best of all a huge component of this style of evangelism is listening (The participant shares before we do!)

c) Thirdly, a by-product from all this evangelism is that the world-views survey is just that: a survey. In doing it we get to better know the people around us, their thoughts, needs, and the assumptions that sit behind those thoughts and needs.


Got it? Cool. Now I need your help. Come back tomorrow and I’ll tell you what I mean.

Walk up in Newtown

Cold-contact evangelism is a gospel necessity in Australia. With frightening stats floating around about the high percentage of people in our cities who don’t know a Christian (A Christian!) it is time to suck it up, relinquish our pride, our fear, our shame of the cross and begin relationships with people who are dying in their sin for the express purpose of introducing them to Jesus - the only source of life.

Our church Resolved in Newtown (we’ll tell you all about it later) is still enjoying the curiosity of the new. We are regularly getting 5-10 visitors a week, but without wanting to be too pessimistic, that will soon dry up. What will be left is the work of building relationships with people from the ground up.

So what I want to think through is how do we do that in our context. How is doing “walk up” in Newtown different to doing it anywhere else? What things do we need to be careful of? What opportunities can we exploit for Christ?