Thom Rainer posted this on twitter a few weeks ago…

Just 6% of Millennials believe the Bible is the written word of God…

Wow!

Just 6%!

I don’t know what kind of poll was taken by Rainer and his organization, but regardles this is alarming.

It’s alarming for me as a young person to think how few of my peers really believe that the words of God are real.
It’s alarming to older generations because it means they haven’t done the best job of teaching the importance of scripture.

Of course, my number one question about this stat is ‘WHY?’

Why is it that so few of us believe in the Word?

I’m not saying I have the entire answer or all of the answer comes down to this, but I do believe that,
we’ve done a bad job of showing the power of scripture.

We haven’t lived it out and displayed its beauty and life changing truth.

You see, I know this about my generation. I know that we want to see to believe. We want to know that what we’re doing matters and is making a difference. We want the truth, but we want it verified.

After all, if it really is the word of the Almighty, it should change lives and countries and generations.

But,

I think we’ve dropped the ball on verifying the truth of scripture.

The love.
The Grace.
The Beauty.
The Power.
The Mercy.

of God… of Christ.

What do you think? Why do only 6% of young people (millennials) believe scripture to be the Word of God? Would love to hear your thoughts. 

[I wrote 3 tips for reaching young people here.]

What Young People Think About the Bible is a post from: JonathanPearson.net

A few weeks ago, I threw out this question on twitter…

What’s the one podcast you’d recommend to anyone?

Here are the top 10 responses I got back (keep in mind, I haven’t listened to all of these and can’t endorse any of them)…

1. Boundless Show

2. EMS Leadership

3. Village Church

4. Straight Thinking

5. Wally Show

6. Andy Stanley Leadership

7. This is Your Life

8. Daily Shorts & Spirit of Adoption

9. Bethel Church

10. Perry Noble Leadership

and my addition…

11. Conversations with Pete Wilson

Your turn…

What podcast would you recommend to anyone?

[The App Store has a great free app for podcasts here.]

10 Best Podcasts from Twitter is a post from: JonathanPearson.net

Want to live an easy life that involves sitting behind a desk or at home and doing absolutely nothing that makes any kind of real difference in the grand scheme of life or eternity?

Here’s the secret…

Do nothing and be around people that do nothing.

It’s really that easy. If you don’t want to be stretched, don’t ever try anything new…

• You can have ideas, but never act on those ideas to try to make them a reality.
• Have dreams, but never share them with anyone else that might push you to shoot for them.
• Be around people that are just like you, not people that challenge your thinking.

Now, I know that you or I never one would really take this seriously,
we’d never admit that we didn’t want to do anything significant,
but I sure live like it some time.

I have great ideas, but I’m too lazy to follow them to completion.
Sometimes, I dream dreams, but I’m scared of the consequences of going for them.
I like people that are like me and that only build me up.

But that’s not what I’m called to do.
That’s not being a good follower of Christ.
That’s not being a good steward of ability.
That’s not being a good leader of self or other people.

Don’t be afraid of stepping out and trying what’s new.
Don’t fear what ‘might’ happen, anticipate what COULD happen.

Don’t be afraid to make an impact.
Don’t be afraid of being stretched.

What keeps you from stepping out? Fear? Comfortablity? What is it?

[For more about getting out of your comfort zone, read my post here.]

How to Ensure That You’re Never Stretched or Challenged is a post from: JonathanPearson.net

One of the common asked questions I hear goes something like…

“How do you find enough stuff to blog about?”

Well, it’s not always easy to recognize, but blog ideas are really all around us all the time. I think this is true of sermon ideas, creative ideas, and any ideas you need. They’re all around you. Here are some of the places I find things to blog about…

News sites. – There’s always a crazy news story or something out there that has a hidden lesson or conversation topic in it. The key is finding the right ones that you can easily talk about.

Quote sites. – We’ve all googled “great quotes” or something to that effect to find something good to tweet. Why not do it to find something good to blog about? Find a good quote and expound on it some for your readers. Find something that goes with your topic and run with it.

Other blog sites. – Yep, the best place is to sometimes find someone else that you can gain inspiration from. This is often the case whether we realize it or not. People’s ideas are often sparking our own. Just look for it.

Sports T.V. – Not all sports stories are about spoiled rich people making way too much money… there are ‘blogable’ sports stories out there. Things that are worth gleaning from.

Conversations. – Everyday conversations often help us think through things we wouldn’t normally think about. When you step away from the conversations, make a quick note of it so you can blog about it later (caution, don’t share personal information that was trusted to you… a blog post isn’t worth causing distrust).

Music. – Different music lyrics and styles can cause ideas to come to our mind. Use a few lyrics and make them a blog post.

Newspapers. – Kind of like the news sites, newspapers make great thought provokers.

Bible. – Duh!

Movies. – Of course, there are tons of hidden life lessons in all movies. Use these to write blog posts… if the idea has less to do with them movie, you don’t even have to quote the movie… that makes it easy to jot down and write about later.

While driving. – Driving is when some of my best thinking occurs. Maybe that’s because there’s really nothing else to do, but it births a lot of blog posts. Get a passenger to jot them down or speak them into a voice recorder… just make sure you capture enough of the thought that you can remember what was going through your head at the rich time.

OK, add to the list. Where do you get your best blog ideas or sermon illustrations?

[You can read about my social media and blogging strategy here.]

10 Times to Get Blog Ideas is a post from: JonathanPearson.net

[See all the 8 word posts here.]

8 on 8′s – DOING GOOD is a post from: JonathanPearson.net

The above picture is from one side of the mall in my small city.

It was built about 15 – 20 years ago with gusto and a huge vision. Someone had a vision for this area of land that was beyond what I’d venture to say most believed was possible.

And so they acted on that vision. They took the initial step to see it through and built the mall in little Orangeburg, SC.

As you can see from the picture, that vision has lost its steam.

There’s a large department store location that sits empty, a parking lot that is usually void of cars, and storefronts inside that have gates over the doors year around.

What happened?

I’m not sure, but I have to believe that this isn’t what was dreamed up when the place was constructed.

Somewhere, the vision was lost…

Maybe it was in the follow through of the location,
Maybe the team in charge of developing the building dropped the ball,
Maybe the ground work wasn’t done well before it was constructed.

Whatever it was, there was a vision roadblock along the way.

The vision died.

That can happen with us too if we’re not careful..

The vision for our lives,
the vision for our family,
the vision for our church,
the vision for our marriage,
the vision for our startup business,
can die quickly if we don’t work through the road blocks and put peole and things in place to see it through.

It can’t die with you or with the initial implementation.

We have to push through,
we have to see it through.

What kind of vision roadblocks have you experienced? How can we avoid them? Share in the comments.

[I outline 5 reasons people quit in this post.]

Vision Roadblocks is a post from: JonathanPearson.net

The millennial generation (those of us born between 1980 and 2000) has been referred to as an apathetic generation by many of our elders. The fact is, however, when motivated to do something and after seeing the real need to participate in a cause, we’re actually quite the opposite. In fact, millennials are people that usually want to participate in something big, they want a part in something bigger than themselves.

With that being said, here are 3 ways to motivate a millennial (or anyone really)…

1. Speak to their potential.

When leading a millennial, speak to their potential, not their mess-ups. It’s really easy to criticize anyone (especially and young person) for what they’ve done wrong, but the real way to prevent it in the future is to correct them and speak to their potential. Tell them why it’s not acceptable, tell them that they’re better than that. If you want a millennial to feel motivated, speak to what’s ahead of them, of how they are needed, and of what special things they have to offer.

2. Speak your vision.

Speak a compelling vision. To anyone, if you want to motivate them, speak vision, show them what they’re working towards. If I told you that I wanted you to swing a hammer all day, carry shingles up a roof, and sweat in the hot sun for 2 months, you’d probably say ‘no thanks.’ If I told you that I wanted you to have an integral part in building a home for a family that is in desperate need of feeling some love and needs Jesus, that would change your perspective on doing it. It’s the same way with the vision you’ve been given. Whether you’re leading a millennial, an older person, a child, a classroom, speak vision.

3. Speak your life (mentor them).

There’s a deep longing for connection among the millennial generation. We want community and aren’t’ afraid of being helped along life. Most of us know that we have a lot of learning ahead of us and we desire to have someone teach us about it… in relationship. Motivate that millennial you’re leading by speaking life, by doing life… genuine life with them.

How else can we motivate people? Anyone?

3 Ways to Motivate Millennials is a post from: JonathanPearson.net

I found an interesting article on CNN.com the other day (found here). The article says,

More than a year ago, Steve Carter was browsing online and came across a missing children’s website. To his astonishment, after clicking through the pages, he found himself. What followed was a yearlong story of self-discovery.

The short story is that this guy discovered that he went missing as a child, but never realized it. He was really someone he didn’t even know he was.

Who are you?
Who am I?

I know what we like to answer. We like to think that we’re…

Kind
Loving
Humble
Gracious
Patient
Giving
Together
Faithful
Worry(less)
etc.

That’s what we display to the people we come in contact with throughout the day.

My real question, though, is who are you REALLY? What do you display?

Have we gotten so good at faking we’re someone we’re not that we’ve convinced ourselves of the same?

You see, I’ve noticed something about myself…
Until I realize and admit that I’m a lttle messed up, I can’t get any better.

So, who are you?

I’ll go first, I’m a little selfish and impatient.

{Note & Edit: Pierre brings up a great point in the comments… we ARE NOT defined by what we do, but our actions display what we mostly believe. So, maybe a better way of asking the question is.. What actions/attitudes do you have that fail to accurately display who you are in Christ?}

Who Are You? is a post from: JonathanPearson.net

Everywhere Jesus went, people had the opportunity to come near to him.

He was the walking, living, and breathing Son of God.
He was the Savior, the One.

But yet, not everyone believed.

Jesus called the crowds to him and said,

follow me ALL who are weary.

Jesus chose 12 people to invest in and raise up over the course of his 3 years of ministry.

He invited everyone, he invested in 12.

But not everyone followed him.

In fact, out of the 12 that he chose to spend the most of his time with, one failed enough that it lead to His death.

Jesus came face to face with the rich young ruler (Luke 18) and failed to have the young man completely turn and surrender to him.

Not everyone you try to show Jesus will accept him.

Jesus wasn’t perfect in getting people to follow him, you won’t be either.
I won’t be either.

But,

Jesus still died.
He still rose.

You and I have to keep going. Sure, that person that you’ve been trying to win to Christ may never accept, but keep trying. You won’t be perfect, but you can’t quit trying.

It’s your calling.
It’s mine.

Jesus Wasn’t Perfect, You Won’t Be Either is a post from: JonathanPearson.net

- Aiden Wilson Tozer

All of Him is a post from: JonathanPearson.net