Bob Hamp

For almost five years she was terrified just to leave her home.  She suffered in a prison built of her own fears.  A few months ago, I saw a video on her Facebook, she was singing onstage at a local church.  God is setting her free.

She reached out by e-mail, we sent her resources to begin her journey.  She courageously engaged and realized she had believed a series of lies.  Indignantly, she e-mailed one day to tell me she realized she had been lied to and she was going to overcome this trap.

Between e-mail, video and audio resources, face to face conversations, our group ministry called Kairos, a loving husband and friends, the ability to connect online, and the power of God, Amy has been able to climb out of her prison of darkness.

Several months ago, I wrote a series of posts on change.  The culture and the church are facing enormous change. We can resist it, or we can embrace it and use every tool offered by this cultural shift as we share the power of the Gospel to set people free.

As change is driven by cultural shifts and technological advances, the debates begin and the proponents of various viewpointss step up to the microphone, the blogs, the television, or You Tube and weigh in on the power or the evil of change.

Should the church embrace social media?  Is Twitter, or Facebook “the beast”?  I say we are asking the wrong questions.  We need to ask ourselves if what we are already doing is setting people free. Change happens every so many years. And far too often, we change the wrong thing. We change the method of delivery, change our marketing strategy, change our evangelism strategy…Let’s not fall for this again. Let’s be absolutely certain that whatever the method, that the message is the same one that Jesus offered.

The “old school” approach to church may involve sitting in a class or a sanctuary listening to a single speaker present a teaching.  The people gathered, respond by taking notes, or waving hankies, or saying “amen”.  They are then expected to take what they have heard and leave the room, and figure out how to live as changed people.

Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t.  This model has transformed a number of lives, and it has also produced its share of bored zombies.  Lives are changed by the power of the message, not the medium.

In the traditional method we can deliver dry and dead words, or we can deliver life to the dying.  Either one can come from behind a pulpit or podium.  And as the methods change, the same thing will remain true.  Some will become enamored by the flash, or become distracted by the medium itself.  Others will find a new way to deliver life-giving truth to a group of people who, for a variety of reasons, do not leave their home.  Or equally important, the truth becomes accessible to a group of people who may never enter the door of a traditional house of worship.

Admittedly, if technology and media ever became a substitute for real human connection it would be problematic.  Like any other tool, the internet and text driven world should serve us, not the other way around. Make no mistake, for years some people have stood behind pulpits as a substitute for real human connections.  Any tool can be used wrongly. Simply being in the same room is no guarantee that a relationship will happen.

Amy’s life is being transformed and displayed, as she connects to a body of believers, resources and experiences, through a wide range of mediums.  I don’t think she is interested in debating whether or not the computer is a valid way of spreading the Gospel.  She is too busy celebrating the Life that God has given back to her.

This week her Facebook Status read:

…had a TERRIFIC girl day with Stacie today!! Shopping, friendship and lunch…ahh, this is the life I remember not even 2 years ago staring out the window wondering would I ever be normal again, would I ever get out of my house and enjoy life, where would I start and what is it like to just live! Thank you, Jesus that I am learning to live with joy and peace and freedom!!!!!

This post published with Permission (and a smile) from Amy.   Celebrate with her!!