Bucking the Trends: Reaching Men

Men: Bucking the Trend, Part 1

I ended my last post with the following bold suggestion: we have created church environments that are effeminate-positively off-putting for most real guys. Let me look at a few ways in which we have allowed this state of affairs and then propose some moderate steps of improvement (though the real men will despise my moderation; here's hoping anyway).

Corporate Prayer

Do you have a church prayer meeting? Who comes? Are there lots of men? Would you go if you weren't the leader? Often these are attended by women (whose husbands "sent" them), a few faithful men, and a handful of "eccentrics." I am extremely glad for all the women attending our weekly prayer meetings, but I am haunted by Paul's words: "I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarrelling." (1 Timothy 2:8)

A robust prayer meeting is a place to see true masculinity on display. If that seems unlikely go back and read Acts. In fact, I was so eager to aim for this that when it came to launching our Saturday morning prayer meeting a couple of years back, I started with just men. I wanted a manly meeting, so I handpicked some blokes to join me each week at eight o'clock in the morning-about 25 to start with.

For a while it grew unofficially under the radar, like a Gnostic cult (except the pastor was running it). I'd have guys in their twenties trembling and whispering the request, "I have heard about this prayer meeting. Do you, ahem, mind if I join?" I'd say, "Who told YOU about it?!" It felt like the movie Fight Club where the one rule is, "No one talks about Fight Club." Some called the meeting "Prayer Club!"

It was perfect: a testosterone-fuelled and Holy Spirit-filled set up for the weekend, and when we got the momentum we wanted, we knew we were ready to invite the whole church. Now, I am usually confident that guys will take a strong lead, praying for the gospel to be successful every week in our city (we barely ever get knocked off this focus). And if key guys are not vocal, they get mercilessly picked on afterwards!

Intentionally gather guys to seek God. They will rise to it, and the church will follow.

Preaching

Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was asked publicly why the churches of his day had so few young men in the pews. He instantly shot back, "Because there are so many old women in the pulpits." Preaching should either send men away angry or turn them in heartfelt repentance. The one thing it must not do, but too often does, is dull them.

Jesus gathered men by preaching straight, and so did Chrysostom, Luther, Wesley, Spurgeon, Moody, and Billy Graham. If you want to reach men, follow their example and preach boldly. Men get nauseated by preachers who apologize for every point they make, sharing platitudes and leaving sinful get-out clauses for every application. My favourite encouragements come from guys who spend the first two-thirds of the sermon wanting to hurt me, and then come to repentance before the day is over. It means a great deal more than, "That was a nice talk."

Originally posted by Joel Virgo, a church planter, lover of Jesus, and a real man. - Pastor Jeremy

Things that Begin to Exist are Caused to Exist

In my last post, I gave this argument:

1. Anything that begins to exist has a cause.
2. The universe began to exist.
3. Therefore, the universe has a cause.

I. A Word About Logic

So everyone is on the same page, I want to define what I mean by "argument." I do not mean what everyone usually means. I don't mean "fight," "debate," "verbal dispute," or anything like "heated discussion." When I use "argument," I mean:

Argument =df. At least one statement, the premise(s), that serve as a reason(s) to think that another statement, the conclusion, is true.

Think of an argument like this. Let's say I claim that abortion ought to be outlawed. This is a rather controversial claim, so it's likely that someone will ask me why I think my claim is true. They will ask why I think abortion ought to be outlawed. Then I would say, "I think abortion should be outlawed because it is wrong to murder, murder is taking the life of an innocent human being, abortion takes the life of an innocent human being, so abortion is murder, so abortion is wrong. Further, murder is outlawed, abortion is murder, so it ought to be outlawed."

Notice that I gave several reasons why abortion ought to be outlawed. All of those reasons are my premises, and the statement I'm trying to defen as true is my conclusion.

According to this definition of "argument," the three numbered statements above constitute a argument. (1) and (2) are the premises, and (3) is the conclusion. I am trying to prove that (3) is true by citing (1) and (2).

There is a standard strategy one uses to prove this kind of conclusion. The first part of the strategy is to show that the argument is "valid." A valid argument is valid if, if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true. A valid argument gives you a guarantee that your conclusion will always be true if your premises turn out to be true. The second part of the strategy is to show that the argument is "sound." A sound argument is valid and it has actually true premises. This means that the conclusion must be true (the argument's being valid guarantees a true conclusion only when the premises are true, and a sound argument is a valid argument with true premises, so the conclusion must be true).

If I can show that the above argument is sound, the it must be the case that the universe has a cause. Of course, there is more work to do to get to the existence of God, but that is a bit down the road. What I want to do now is to defend each premise over two posts, beginning with this one. As for validity, the argument is clearly valid. I just need to defend the premises, so that's what I'm going to do.

I'll start with (1).

II. Defending (1) Anything that begins to exist has a cause.

Now (1) may seem so self-evident that it's hardly worth defending. True enough, but I want to be clear about what (1) does NOT claim. First, (1) does not claim that everything that exists has a cause. It claims only that if something has a begining then it has a cause. This is important because a common criticism of Christianity is that we require that everything has a cause. If that is so, then God must have a cause. Then they nail us with the uppercut, "So what caused God?" If we make the weaker claim that things with beginings are things with causes, then we can deny that God has a cause because he has no beginning.

Second, (1) does not make the extremely strong claim that every true statement requires an explanation or reason. Again, this may seem reasonable. Nevertheless, it is false. If we took all the true statements in the universe and put them together in one long conjunction (e.g., if we let lower-case letters a-z stand in for statements, then we could take statement a, statement b, ..., and statement z and make one long statement a and b and ... and z), then we would have one long super-statement that was true and in need of an explanation. But the explanation would be a true statement in the universe. That statement would already be in the conjunction itself, so it can't explain the entire conjunction. In fact, there would be no true statement that was not already in the conjunction so there could be no explanation or reason for that long conjunction. so the strong prinicple that every true statement must have a reason or explanation of its truthfulness is false.

(1), on the other hand, does not have any of the immediate problems of its two false cousins. So that is at least some evidence in its favor. However, some claim that quantum physics says that there are uncaused entities that begin to exist. If this were true, (1) would have to be false. It's a good thing that these people misunderstand the issue. Quantum physics says that there are indeterminite events, such as the unpredictable generation of a fundamental particle. However, it does not follow from an entitie's beginning being indeterminite that it must also be uncaused. We need some further reason to suppose that there is no cause; the burden of proof is on the objector to show this.

Thus, since there are no logical problems with (1) like there are with "every true statement must have a reason or explanation," and there are no theoretical problems with (1) like there are with "everything has a cause," and since (1) is unaffected by the putative objection from quantum physics, I think there is very good reason to think that (1) is indeed true.

Next time: The universe had a beginning.

Reclaiming MANhood

What we lack is a biblical image of redeemed masculinity that attracts, inspires, galvanizes, and steadies fellows into fruitful manliness. The place to start is Jesus, but even here we need to remove some cobwebs. Many aspects of his personality are obscured in popular perception by his safer, more sympathetic qualities.

Pagan men in my city are surprised to find out that Jesus spent a lot of his time ignoring protocol, defending the weak, electrifying multitudes with his words, upsetting hypocrites, speaking the blunt truth to politicians, giving his best friends nicknames (including "Satan" on one occasion), and getting very angry.

Culture Shapers, Leaders, and Warriors

Here I am only unfolding the idea of masculinity launched in the Bible's opening pages. Adam, from day one, was soberly called to a life of industry, responsibility and, when necessary, conflict (Genesis 2:16-17). In fact, it was his sheer unwillingness to engage in conflict (with the serpent in Genesis 3) that led to his ultimate failure.

The fact is that men are the principle—though not exclusive—culture makers. Statistics prove that if you win a man to Christ, his wife and children are many times more likely to follow than if the woman is converted first. Of course we want to see women and children saved, but I'm saying that we will reach them too by aiming for men.

The three core callings of culture shaper, leader and warrior, while not only held by men, are certainly weighted towards them. And it is the Bible, and the worldview it teaches, which provides this dignifying and inspiring identity for men—an identity only attainable by virtue of creation in God's likeness and redemption in Christ through sheer scandalous grace. Guys will work at, lead and fight for whatever the church does; it's only through the gospel we preach that these God-given and sin-tarnished characteristics can be deployed rightly.

So how has the worldview, with the most tantalizing and rewarding design for manhood, managed to alienate men so successfully in our day? Wherever have we gone wrong? I tentatively suggest (and I may need to be less tentative and more manly) that we have created church environments that are effeminate—positively off-putting for most real guys.

Post from Joel Virgo - church planter in the US

The Kalam Cosmological Argument Part 1

Here's a nifty little argument:

1. Anything that begins to exist must have a cause.
2. The universe began to exist.
   
   Therefore...
   
   
3. The universe had a cause.

The first thing to notice is that the argument is valid. That is, if the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true. So, two questions are obvious: are the premises true (that is, are (1) and (2) above true)? What kind of cause is necessary?

In the posts to come, I'll tackly defending both premises, and then I'll move into analyzing what kind of cause has to be responsible for the creation of the universe.

Zombies Part 3

This is the latest installment of the zombies posts. There will be one more.

The key things to remember about zombies are: (i) zombies look alive, even if their bodies are severely damaged or corrupted, but never forget that they're really dead; (ii) they have to consume the living in order to stave off their impending doom; (iii) those that don't get eaten but are merely wounded eventually become zombies too.

In Part 1, we saw how Jesus calling the Pharisees a bunch of "whitewashed tombs" was essentially calling them zombies. The Pharisees preyed on their disciples and used self-righteousness as camouflage. It was an effective means by which to suck the life out of others, and there are those INSIDE THE CHURCH that use the same M.O.

In Part 2, I expanded the notion of what it meant to be a zombie. This was never intended to be a series about false teachers or hypocrites. Rather, this part showed how we are all, and we always will be, zombies. I'll spend a little more time reviewing this because I want to make sure the point is clear.

Humans are not self-existent beings. We rely on outside sources to fuel our lives. This not a result of the Fall. God created us this way. Even in the Garden of Eden, despite having all we needed to live forever, most of what it took was outside of Adam and Eve. Like the zombies in the movies, Adam and Eve had to get life to stay alive. God granted them and endless supply of the very life they craved. He gave them access to the tree of LIFE. They had unmediated access to God--the limitless source of all life. There was no need to prey on other finite organisms to feed on their life.

After the Fall, humans were separated from God and the Garden. All of the sudden, Adam and Eve had to find their own life. Remember, the Serpent told Eve that she would be like God, and that's what hooked her and Adam. God booting them from the Garden is almost like he's saying, "You two think you can be gods? Let's see how well you can handle being self-sustaining!" Obviously, that's not something anything in the biological world can do. We were doomed.

One result of Jesus' atonement is that as individuals and as a species (through the church), God is redeeming us, restoring us, and making us what humans are supposed to be: dependent on him as our source of life.

Is it any surprise, then, that Jesus promises the gift of ETERNAL life? Is it any surprise that he called himself the LIVING water? Is it any surprise that he called himself the bread of LIFE, or even the RESURRECTION and the LIFE?

If it is life we need, and we need an infinite supply, and it is life that our sin and rebellion has blocked us from getting, doesn't it only make sense that the Atonement provide the means by which humans are put back in right relations with the One they need most?

Vital Signs of a Church's Health

Vital Signs
By Bill Easum

However you describe your church – missional, emergent, vibrant, healthy, thriving, biblical – good health boils down to six traits:
- Biblically grounded - Mobilizes and equips the laity
- Culturally relevant - A community built on trust
- Exists to transform lives - Structured to grow disciples

The problem in most churches is that either one or more of the traits are missing or the church doesn’t know how to measure each one and thus it falls short in the execution of that trait. Determining how to measure each of these triats is crucial to the life of the church. Honestly answering each of these questions should give you an accurate health assessment.

1 – The best way to determine if a church is biblically grounded is by observing the way it makes decisions. Do prayer, discernment and Scriptures guide leaders in their decision making?

2 – A culturally relevant church exegetes its surrounding community to the point that all of its ministries emerge out of that exegesis. Do all of FHCC’s ministries have their origins in the hopes, dreams and needs of the surrounding community of nonbelievers?

3 – The trait, “existing to transform lives,” is the easiest to measure. How many adult baptisms are occurring and how many spiritual giants are being raised up and seint into some form of regular ministry? Are FHCC leaders disappointed if a week goes by without someone giving their life to Jesus?

4 – A mobilized congregation means that 80% of the participants are involved in some form of weekly or monthly ministry and the staff primarily equips others for ministry rather than doing ministry. Who does most of the ministry at FHCC – the staff of the laity? When people need their spiritual needs met, do they go to their small group instead of the pastor?

5 – Measuring the “trust factor” can be done by observing how quickly, without much fuss, decisions can be made; new ministries can be established; and the expected behavior of the leadership. Another way to put it is that bullies and would-be-controllers are shown to the door. Can any one of two people in the congregation derail something that most people want to see happen? Do you trust your leaders when they make a decision, even if it is controversial?

6 – People often ask why Mormonism is growing so fast. The truth is because they are structured to grow. Does FHCC eat, sleep, and dream about making disciples?

Worshiping on God's Terms

Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy are probably the most under-read books in the entire Bible. And that's a shame because, given how little most people (Christians included) actually read their Bible, that means virtually no one spends any time in them.

I'm certain that the number one reason people give as an excuse for not reading these books is that they are dreadfully boring. The tedious way in which God spells out even the most insignificant details of how the Israelites were to live and worship makes reading more of a chore than a pleasure. I'll be the first to admit that it ain't easy to get through these books, and I'm not going to be blogging about ways to make the reading less painful. Rather, I want to talk about why it's so painful.

If you think it is difficult to read, think about how hard it was to live out. If you were an ancient Israelite that took worship seriously, you didn't just have to read about taking all these precautions and doing everything just right at the risk of being cut off from the community, you actually had to take the precautions and do everything right if you wanted to stay in good graces with the state and God. Well, we know that it was an impossible task, and that's why Jesus came. We couldn't keep the law, and so we were not in good graces with God. But Jesus died and resurrected, and now the Holy Spirit has given us a new life, and we are now able to live pleasing lives before the Lord.

But look, we didn't, we couldn't have done this ourselves. That's one of the things the Law teaches us. But because of the enabling power of the Spirit, we can now come boldly before the throne of God.

So how does any of this apply to worship?

Well, imagine being Moses on Mt. Sinai while God was revealing what would become Exodus and Leviticus. If I were Moses, and I were getting all of these details, the first thing on my mind would be, "I'm in the middle of the freakin' dessert! Where am I going to get all the materials to make this stuff?!?" Even if I had the materials, I'd be thinking, "Who's going to make all this stuff? It's not like any of it's simple to make. Where am I going to get the kind of craftsmanship I need to get this stuff exactly like God wants it?"

The point is that Moses was being given an impossible task, and God was expecting him to complete it. And just to give you a glimpse of how seriously God took how the Israelites worshiped him, in Exodus 30:34-38, God gave Moses a recipe for the incense that was to be used in worship. God told Moses that if anyone used this recipe for any other reason than for it's specified purpose, that person was to be "cut off from his people." Exile was the punishment for misusing perfume. That's taking things really seriously. Moses had to get it right.

But it was an impossible task! This was a job that Moses could not do, let alone do well. God knew it, and told Moses:

I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, ... and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts--to make artistic designs for the work in gold, silver, and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of craftsmanship. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamach ... to help him. Also I have given skill to all the craftsmen to make everything I have commanded you[.] (Exodus 31:2-6, NIV)

God had to empower people with his Holy Spirit just so they could get the job done and done right. Otherwise, the Israelites would have been up a creek without a paddle. There would have been no worship the divine appointment.

The law is so hard to keep to reveal how dark and fallen we are--how utterly inept we are to save ourselves. We need Jesus. The regulations that govern worship are so hard to keep to reveal how dark and fallen we are--how utterly inept we are to worship God in the right way. The Spirit must enable us.

If we try to save ourselves, if we try to do salvation on our terms instead of God's, we end up with no salvation at all. This is Christianity 101.

What we often miss, I think, is that if we try to worship God on our own, if we try to do worship on our terms instead of Gods, we end up with no worship at all.

There is only one term that God has demanded regarding how his people, the church, worship him: We are to present ourselves as living sacrifices (cf. Romans 12). We are to give ourselves completely to God so he can do with us whatever he wishes. And what it is that he wishes is that we take up our cross and follow Jesus. But we know that following Jesus is impossible without the Spirit. So worshiping on God's terms, being a sacrifice that takes up one's cross to follow Jesus, is impossible without the Spirit.

THEREFORE: God, let us be a people that has been called to you and redeemed from our rebellion by your Holy Spirit. God, empower us in a brand new way so that we can worship you on your terms. Lord, empower us to worship according to your standards

Reflections on Worship

Yesterday, the body of FHCC experienced a great time of worship during our Sunday morning service. Praise God! Pastor Jeremy preached a powerful sermon, continuing in Genesis 12. Check out the podcast (either through iTunes or through www.fhcchurch.com; click on “Listen In” and then launch the sermon player). Here is the gist.

In verse 7, God appeared to Abraham, and Abraham’s response was to build an altar. In verse 8, Abraham continued his journey, finally pitched his tent, and then built an altar and called on the name of the Lord.

This is what we can learn:

1. When we come face to face with God, all we can do is worship him. Notice how the same thing happens to Isaiah in Isaiah 6 and to Peter, James, and John in Matthew 17. Check out Revelation 5 too. God is worthy of worship because of who he is, not because he has done anything. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be grateful for everything he has done; it’s just that God didn’t do anything at all, he would still be worthy of worship--period. Further, when finite and frail humans are confronted with his overwhelming glory, worship becomes like digestion. Given the presence of food in our gut, we just digest it. No one ever had to teach us to digest food. Given the presence of God in all his glory, we just worship. No one had to tell Isaiah to fall down on his face.
   
   Yesterday, during our time of worship, God’s Holy Spirit moved in our congregation. Nobody had to teach those who spontaneously broke out in loud prayers of thanksgiving how to do it or why they should do it. Nobody had to teach anyone in the congregation how or when to have the kinds of emotional responses we saw yesterday. Rather, we were confronted with the living God, and we were overwhelmed by him. Our response to him was as natural as seeing green when you look at grass; there’s just nothing else you could do.
   
   And the fact that some were not worshiping is a sign of God’s grace. The very fact that he did not force his will on anyone that was unwilling to submit themselves gives us a glimpse into the heart of a God that respects the free will he gave to man--even when that will freely chooses rebellion. God is still holding out a hand of friendship, desiring that none should perish. But those that refuse will eventually submit; they’ll do it later rather than sooner.
   
   
2. Abraham’s coming face to face with God redefined him as a worshiper. He didn’t just have this nice passive experience with God and then go on about his business. Rather, in verse 8 we see Abraham proactively building an altar to worship God in faith, calling on him, instead of just waiting for God to show up.
   
   We can learn a lot from verse 8 as we move on from yesterday. Coming so close to God should make us worshipers, so let’s be worshipers. Let’s be the type of people that don’t sit idly by, twiddling our thumbs, hoping that, just maybe, one day out of the blue, God will just decide to show up. Of course, God is going to just show up one day, but it would be much better for us if we’d been worshiping him and following hard after him before that day.
   
   God pursued Abraham, revealed himself to Abraham, and turned Abraham into a man that lived a life of faith and worship. God pursued Abraham, and Abraham turned in pursuit of God. God pursued each of us while we were still in rebellion against him. We have been set free from our rebellion. We don’t have to run from God any more. Let’s now pursue him. The good news is that God is not very good at hide-and-seek; well he’s not very good at the hiding part. We serve a God that makes himself known. Everywhere we look we see evidence of his glory and power and majesty. And, he likes to be found by those he has redeemed. Those who can’t find him, fail to do so because they have closed their eyes to glory and splendor of his handiwork. Thankfully, he’s great at the seeking part: as he finds and saves more people, more people are called to seek after him.

Here’s what we do from here: (i) Thank God that he showed up yesterday and that we worshiped. (ii) Pray that we now run after him with everything we’ve got.

Building a Bible Library - Part II

courtesy of Mark Driscoll at "The Resurgence.com"

New Testament Surveys

• Carson, D.A. and Douglas J. Moo. An Introduction to the New Testament
• Gundry, Robert H. A Survey of the New Testament
• Guthrie, Donald. New Testament Introduction
• deSilva, David A. An Introduction To The New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation

Old Testament Surveys

• Hill, Andrew E. and John H. Walton. A Survey of the Old Testament
• Longman, Tremper, III. An Introduction to the Old Testament
• House, Paul R. Old Testament Theology

Preaching and Teaching the Old Testament

• Greidanus, Sidney. Preaching Christ from the Old Testament
• Clowney, Edmund P. Preaching Christ in All of Scripture
• Chapell, Bryan. Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon
• Goldsworthy, Graeme. Preaching the Whole Bible As Christian Scripture

Studies on the Old Testament

• Kaiser, Walter C. Toward Rediscovering the Old Testament
• Goldsworthy, Graeme. Goldsworthy Trilogy: (Gospel and Kingdom, Gospel and Wisdom, Gospel and Revelation)
• Pratt, Richard L. Jr. He Gave Us Stories
• Sailhamer, John H. The Pentateuch as Narrative
• Poythress, Vern S. The Shadow of Christ in the Law of Moses

One Gospel for All People

Be a Local Missionary

Here are eight simple suggestions (from Jonathan Dodson’s Simplified Missional Living):

Eat with non-Christians.
Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself.

Walk; don’t drive. Be deliberate.
Say hello to people you don’t know.

Be a regular.
Go to the same places at the same times.

Hobby with non-Christians.
Try city league sports. Teach lessons. Have fun.

Talk to your co-workers.
Show interest. Go out after work.

Volunteer with non-profits.
Spend time with your church serving your city.

Participate in city events.
Go to fundraisers, festivals, cleanups, concerts.

Serve your neighbors.
Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, or fixing a car.

All of us can serve the mission by living for Jesus on a daily basis. In this way, I encourage you to serve where you’re at, love those around you, and pray for the Holy Spirit’s work around the world.

Catalyst for Creativity

the following is from a friend's blog out in Oklahoma. He is the IT Pastor for a large multi-site church. (www.lifechurch.tv)

5 ways your church can make an impact online in a down economy.

By now, many churches have experienced the struggling economy either firsthand or close to home. You might be looking at layoffs, pay cuts, hiring freezes, reduced budgets, and decreased giving- and it can seem like a recipe for scarcity in your ministry. But what if this economic downturn spurred your church to become more innovative than ever? What if it was actually an incredible opportunity to come up with creative and strategic ways to reach your community?

It could be, but only if you embrace the constraints. Financial limitations become a blessing when we allow them to birth new ideas and new approaches that we’ve never considered before. By necessity, we’re forced to step outside of how we’ve always done things, right into the heart of innovation. You’re the best judge when it comes to identifying your community’s needs, but here are a few ideas your church can use to kick-start creativity without constraints.

1. Take your next mission trip online. Communities like Second Life, Facebook and MySpace offer you the opportunity to go (and make disciples) without a travel budget. You can connect with a diverse group of people who don’t know Christ right where you are. Check out VirtualMissionary.org for a handbook to guide you through evangelism in virtual communities.

2. Use free web tools to give your messages a broader reach. Leverage services like Mogulus, Vimeo, or YouTube to share your weekend teaching and broadcast live events to the world. Streaming video content online used to require a significant investment from a church, but today many services all you to stream video at no charge.

3. Get what you want for free. Search Craigslist for materials to build your next set. Use Twitter as a mini-consultant to get quick feedback and advice from peers. Find free resources from other churches at sites like OpenResources.org, crazychurch.com and OPEN.LifeChurch.tv/resources.

4. Go online with your promotions and communication. If you’re spending a lot of money on print, what are some alternative ways you can get the word out? Consider e-mailing your bulletin content. Or try video announcements and post them on YouTube or Mogulus. I visited a church that sent a welcome video to first time guests. By the time I got home, I had already received the video via e-mail. It cost them nothing and made a big impression. Why not use social networks and blogs to drive your next outreach campaign? Identify the most socially connected people in your ministry and build a volunteer team to get behind church campaigns. Empower them with graphics, blog badges, promotional copy, etc.

5. Reach out to the unemployed. In this economy, offering financial training and career help can meet needs and introduce people to your church. What if you organized an online career ministry? Individuals could post resumes; peers and professionals could offer tips for improving them; and potential employers could identify candidates for open positions. You could host online networking events, perhaps leading up to a physical gathering at your church.