I once heard someone say, “Set your sights upon a vision that can only be accomplished by God’s divine intervention.” 

Well, that’s exactly what we have done.  We have built a ministry model that will not succeed except God makes it happen.

We have the mindset:  “Pray as if everything depends upon God; work as if everything depends on you.”  We have worked hard at developing “power tools” that help empower the Body of Christ.  We firmly believe that these tools are God-inspired. 

Our company, which we define as a marketplace ministry, crossed the threshold into a whole new realm of biblical dynamics a couple of weeks ago.  We came to a crossroads in our journey of faith and mission. 

Further discussions with the investor revealed that he wanted controlling interest in our company, and he wanted to bring another person in to oversee operations.  We also learned that all he wanted was our technology and big profits.  He did not share in our ministry purposes or mission.

Call us crazy, but we simply turned him down.  We did not want to “sell our souls” and sell-out our ministry passion for the sake of money.  We believe that you cannot buy God’s favor with man.

We believe God was testing us.  I believe we passed the test. 

A well-established and very influential Christian ministry called us wanting to partner with us in the future development of their ministry and ours. They also want to work together with us in building internet ministry tools that will soon impact the lives of millions of people, worldwide.  We will pool our resources and covenant to work together in creating synergistic solutions for building up the Body of Christ.

We will share more, as plans unfold.

How many times have you had someone call your home and say, “I looking for so-in-so (a member of your family)?”  When you replied: “He’s not here.  Can I help you?”  The caller would then say, “No, it’s personal.”

The phrase “it’s personal” is used a lot in communications today.  The office receptionist will often hear this from a wife calling to talk with her husband.  When given opportunity to pass along a message, the wife simply says, “No, it’s personal.  Have him call me at home."

Credit card companies will call people at home looking for the cardholder.  When asked what the call is about, the bill collector will say, “it’s personal.”

A nurse from the doctor’s office will often call their patient at work with lab reports.  If the person is not there, the nurse will say, “Please have her call me.  It’s personal.”

We might consider “it’s personal” as a way to cut to the chase and get one-on-one with people.  In terms of relationships, “it’s personal” means I’ve got something only me and you need to discuss.  Yes, it’s that important!

I find this true especially in terms of our relationship with God.  When God wanted to cut to the chase and really get personal with mankind, He sent Jesus, who taught us the value of one-on-one relationships.  Jesus was God manifested in the flesh.  Jesus enabled people to get one-on-one with Almighty God.

The apostle Paul understood this kind of relationship when he said, “May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all (Rom. 15:5, MSG).”

God wants this kind of personal relationships with each and every one of us today.  Jesus makes this possible.  Jesus enables us to cut to the chase; bypassing all the religious noise.  We can now experience mutuality in an “it’s personal” relationship with our Heavenly Father.

He’s now saying, “It’s personal.” 

Please…pick up the phone.

Back in the mid 90’s a friend of mine, named Les Hayes, approached me with a request.  He asked if he could bring to my house a computer for me to use.  My immediate response was “No thanks, I’m too old to learn something new.”

I continued my argument with “Why would I even need a personal computer now; after all, I never had a need for one up to this point in my life?”

Les wouldn’t take no for an answer.  His argument for having a computer was much greater than mine.  I agreed, and the computer was in my home a few days later.  Les did a great job of explaining the value of the computer.  He showed me how different programs worked and soon I was off and running.

For several months I continued to grow in my understanding of the computer and how it saved me time in getting work done.  Soon I was deeply entrenched in its value; so much so, it became an indispensable part of my life, even to this day.

While I was first becoming acquainted with the new computer, I did not realize what impact this computer was having on my little boy, Isaac.  While Les was training me, Isaac was constantly looking over our shoulders to see what was going on.  I later found out while I was away from home, Isaac was at the computer – checking it out.

Isaac was like a sponge, soaking up all there was to know about computing.  He also learned how to take them apart and put them back together again.  In less than two years Isaac surpassed my understanding of computers and began teaching me "new tricks."

Today, my son and I are partners in a dotcom company.  Isaac is still “light years” beyond me in computing, but I can still hold my own (to a certain degree).  We owe all of this to Les Hayes, who the Lord used to invest something important into our lives.

I saw Les the other day.  We had not seen each other in over 7 years.  Life had got busy for the both of us and we simply lost track of each other.  I learned that Les had to put Sandra, his lovely wife of 43 years, into a nursing home in Birmingham, Alabama. 

Each week Les travels to Birmingham and spends two day with Sandra at the nursing home.  She does not recognize Les, or their children.  Their situation reminds me of the movie, “Notebook.”  I never thought that I would actually know someone who is living out that movie in real life.

As I listened to Les tell me all about his situation, my heart was deeply burdened.  He told me something that I will never, ever forget.  He said, “Spend as much time with your wife as you can.”  I knew exactly what he meant.

Les Hayes made a valuable contribution into the lives of my son and me.  When I shared with him what Isaac and I were doing now, he was very delighted.  I told him that we cannot tell the “full story” of Simon Solutions without referencing his contributions to our lives.

I will now contribute into the life of Les and his family with my prayers.  For those of you, who read this blog; please remember Les and Sandra in your prayers.  Thanks!    

Church websites that continue to look like “electronic brochures” will not reach the next generation for Christ.

Young people want more than just information about your church.  They want to engage and interact with your community from the comforts of their home, work, or school.

“The internet is the next generation;” this according to David Yonggi Cho, pastor of the largest church in the world in Seoul, Korea with 750,000 members.  Concerning the future growth of his church, Cho says, “Use the Internet - it is better…I have already announced to my people and ministers that the next step is to go into total cyberspace ministry.”

More and more young people are becoming disenfranchised with traditional Church.  According to Barna Research Group (www.barna.org), “61% of today’s young adults - had been churched at one point during their teen years but they are now spiritually disengaged (i.e., not actively attending church, reading the Bible, or praying)…For most adults, this pattern of disengagement is not merely a temporary phase in which they test the boundaries of independence, but is one that continues deeper into adulthood.”

Just because young people are disengaging from church activities, doesn’t mean they are not “spiritually hungry.”  They are now turning to the internet; looking for spiritual significance.  The internet is fast becoming the new “mission field.”

Another study by Barna Research Group shows that, “among the growing number of Americans who use the Internet, millions are turning to the digital dimension to get them in touch with God and others who pursue faith matters. The report projects that within this decade as many as 50 million individuals may rely solely upon the Internet to provide all of their faith-based experiences.”

So, how can the Church break the bonds of disengagement and “re-connect” with the next generation?  With millions of young people plugging into the internet each day, Web 2.0 websites can help.

Here are three “non-negotiables.”

1. Make sure your internet presence is not “cheesy.”  Today’s young are imagine or wow-driven.  If they like what they see, they will go deeper into your site.  Remember the old saying, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.”  Don’t get a novice to do your website.  Get a professional.  Remember, you get what you pay for.  This will speak volumes to visitors.
   
   
2. Make sure your site has interactivity.  There must be way for young people to “virtually connect” with your community.  Web 2.0 technology makes this easy through forums, media sharing, IM, and more.  Not all web developers know how to make this happen.  Find the ones who do it well.  The investment is worth it.
   
   
3. Build an online community that is safe and easy to use.  Web developers who are experts in Flash development can create for you an “online gated community” experience that provides peace of mind.  Online community development capitalizes on the enormous popularity of online “social networking.”  Web developers can provide community-building tools that are simple to learn and easy to use.

The days of “electronic brochure” church websites are over! 

If we cannot speak the cultural language of their “online world,” how will we communicate the good news of Jesus Christ to the next generation?

Back in the late nineties a group of Christians wanted to build a dotcom company, exclusively for Christians.  They went out all across America and found people who were working in technology and business.  They formulated a viable business plan, cast their vision to investors, and began fund raising.

Their financial campaign yielded over 40 million dollars.  Needless to say, they had a “hallelujah party!”

They began operations – full speed ahead.  They worked hard, hoping to reach financial profitability soon.  They did “everything” right; or at least they thought they did.  After all, they were a Christian company, right?

Despite all their efforts, the company “bellied-up.”   As to what caused their demise, everyone had their opinions.  Whatever the case, this was a tragedy for all the people.  Disillusioned and disappointed, people scattered to the wind.  Other dotcoms came in and scraped up pieces of the company, including their technology.

I recently had a chance to talk with one of the leaders of that failed dotcom.  He is an extremely gifted person with great passion for God and his family.  Fortunately, he now works for a successful company that provides software for non-profit organizations involved in social services and ministry.  He told me that many lessons were learned from his previous dotcom experience.

Just recently we had a chance to learn a "big lesson!"  A wealthy investor, known throughout our community, approached us with an attractive offer.  He liked what we were doing and wanted to bring in other investors.  He offered us 5 million dollars.  We all had to take a moment, catch our breath, and think about the possibilities.

If you want to excel at building ministry, learn the value of carpentry.

Perhaps the best example of this, is my prayer a number of years ago.  I was a new Christian and very passionate about serving the Lord.  My prayer back then will most likely be the title or a chapter in my biography:  “I prayed to be more like Jesus, and He made me a carpenter.”

I spent the whole weekend writing the language of "cooperation".

I am a lot like Col. John "Hannibal" Smith of the hit TV series, the A-Team.  There was always a part in the show when Col. Smith would utter this phrase, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

This simple phrase best describes my philosophy of work.  "Plan your work and work your plan" is one of my mottos.  Some people might find this quite boring, but I don’t.  Actually I get great pleasure in it.

Larry (one of my ministry partners) said to me the other day, “Why don’t we start an online revolution in Christian ministry?”  

Larry has been talking with ministry leaders across the U.S. about internet technology, and its potential use for worldwide ministry.  He has talked with seasoned veterans in ministry who are quite passionate about new technology. 

Most of these guys work in strategic positions in large Christian non-profit organizations.  Some are pastors; others are speakers at major conventions.  The point is that these guys recognize the needs of the Church and the apparent challenges that face leadership.

They are strong advocates of change, progress, and growth.  They are also practitioners of effective models in ministry.  They believe that an unprecedented opportunity awaits churches and ministries who are ready to embrace new technology and harness its power.

This is especially true of internet technology.  All of the ministry leaders that Larry has talked with have emphasized the importance of using the internet for reaching people for Christ.

Greg (another one of my ministry partners) was telling me the other day that he has encountered a lot of people turning to the internet, looking for fellowship and community.  Some of our research suggests that over 100 million Christians are now turning to the internet for social networking.

Do I see online community replacing face-to-face community?  Absolutely not.  But I am seeing new ways for people to connect and build relationships using the internet.  It makes a lot of sense; especially for young people who are growing up in a techno-savvy culture.

Whether we like it or not, the internet is here to stay!  So, why not take full advantage of its rapid growth, enormous popularity, and economical cost.  Let’s harness its power of communication and influence.  Let’s start an online revolution in Christian ministry that young people can rally behind and effect change in the lives of their peers.

History has proven that God has used innovative tools (like the printing press) in sparking spiritual awakening, renewal, and revival.  I believe He is now using the internet for new paradigms in ministry applications.  He is using it for prayer mobilization and evangelism.

The online revolution that I am talking about is a “back-to-the-basics” organic approach in reaching out and touching people’s lives with a message of hope – the good news about Jesus Christ.  We have the technology to do this, and quite well, through online community development.

So, let’s start an online revolution in Christian ministry.  We might even find ourselves tapping into a powerful “revolutionary tool” that God has ordained worthy and very effective for ministry usage, worldwide. 

Perhaps the internet (instead of television as previously suggested) will be the instrument in God’s hands to reach the globe for Christ and usher in His Second Coming.