Religion in America

"More Americans Say They Have No Religion," a Yahoo News Article was a sad read for me this morning. As a Christian. I believe that humans have a spiritual element that is an important part of human life. When we neglect the spiritual, we are diminished. For me, it is part of wanting to be the best human being that I am capable of being. Whereas I know I fall very short of being all that I dream, I have confidence that God through Christ guides my destiny, using even my mistakes to make me stronger and a better person.

I have to wonder if somehow we as Christians are failing in some way to show God's love to all people. I don't think we can badger people into becoming believers. I think we have to build our own relationship with the Father first. Then I think that His light will shine from our hearts.

I also believe that because we live in a technical world, we have lost some of our connection with the natural world around us. Agricultural societies know that they are dependent upon things outside themselves - weather, rain, hail, heat . . . All these things outside their control determine whether their crop or their livestock will flourish. In the technological world, we get caught up in thinking it is our own hard work (and yes, hard work IS important for success) that gets us ahead. We think we are the master of our destiny, we carry the illusion that we can plan and chart our destiny. But life has a unique way of humbling even the strongest of us. Even people who eat right, work out regularly, manage their stress,etc become ill with life threatening diseases. We are now facing some of the worst economic times in my life. People who have worked and saved all their lives are seeing their retirement funds wither as stock prices fall and home prices plummet. People with seemingly secure, important jobs are discovering that life is constantly changing, that job security can be an illusion as businesses fail or downsize.

I hope that this report on the state of religion in America is only a short term glimpse - not a long term trend. But as a Christian, I want my voice to be one of encouragement and faith and love as our nation and our world goes through this current economic turmoil. God is love . . . as Christians our voices must reflect that love to those around us - one person at a time. As Christians we need to pray asking for God to touch and open the hearts of those who no longer seek Him or for those who have never met Him.

Somalia

I was pleased to find a comment on my recent post about Somalia. I had to go back to see what I had said. I went and browsed through Pray4Somalia's blog. This young Christian wants to go to Somalia and spread the gospel there. That takes a lot of commitment and more especially courage and faith right now. The persecution of Christians there is one of the highest in the world. The links provided on this blog have some wonderful information about the history of Somalia, the Somali people, and ways to pray for this situation.

The summer before we went to Africa, I went to a presentation to our mission committee about evangelizing Africa. Several things remain in my memory. Preparing and equipping Africans to do the evangelism is a good thing for many reasons. They can do it more efficiently and they have ways of reaching more people. Reaching out to Muslims is more difficult for many reasons. At this presentation, it seems to work when Christians move in to Muslim areas to live and work. The association and influence gradually makes a difference. More recently in articles I've read, many times Muslims are surprised when Christian workers include them in the agricultural education or well drilling projects. I've also heard about some miracle stories where God has opened the eyes of Muslims and made them receptive to the Word.

So . . . for my Christian readers today, I hope you will take time and look through Pray4Somalia's blog and its links. But above all, please pray for Somalia. It is a war torn land, with corrupt war lords making life very miserable for its people. The needs are great . . . the difficulties for Christians to provide aid may seem insurmountable, but our God can do great things. May He touch other people's hearts with desire to go and help the people of Somalia, may He provide financial support for Christian workers and humanitarian aid, may He open doors for mission work so that Christians be allowed to come in and help alleviate the suffering there, and may He touch the hearts of the Somali people and its leaders so that their land can return to peace and prosperity.

Marketing Yourself

I will try to post more about the great continuing sessions on the art of promoting yourself. In many ways I think this is the most difficult part of being a successful writer. Publishing is a business. While Christian publishing houses exist to produce books and magazines that will help people grow closer to the Lord, they also must follow market economics in order to have the money to stay in business. If you are fortunate enough to get a book published, a first time writer is going to have to be active in marketing the book.

Part of that will be fun. It has been a long time ambition for me to become a Christian motivational or retreat speaker. One reason that I started writing the book was that I believed that getting a book out would give me exposure to people who might (just might) want to hear me. I've always tried to give God the credit - so many of my Bible lessons had new thoughts come through my brain and out my lips that were not part of my original preparation.

I went to a class that was media preparation - what to do when you get the opportunity to do a TV or radio interview. Instead of the fifteen minutes I had with the editor and the agent, the assignment was to do your pitch for yourself and your book in three minutes. Now those of you that know me well know that I am notoriously long winded. Since I still have friends, I guess they think I'm worth it. But . . . with the exhiliarating exhaustion of all the events, the preparation for the actual pitch's my practice TV interview did not get my best efforts. Yup, I bombed that exercise. I was thrown by one of the questions (and a reasonable one it was) and then found it hard to get the interview back on MY track for it. Since I'd had two appointments that I was pleased with . . . I can't feel too bad. But . . . if I do get a book published, I will HAVE to get more training in these quick "soundbites."

I can see another potential spiritual pitfall. And my scripture reading tonight was so appropriate. To get a book or magazine article published, you have to have confidence in your work, you have to write it, you have to be brave enough to submit it, you must be willing to face rejection, you must present yourself as an "expert" on your subject. If you get published, hopefully you will have people that like your work, praise you, and give you the credit for your talent and your efforts. I can see a lot of ways that pride can enter the equation. I think that God wants us to be happy with who we are - his creation. And I think a small amount of pride in our accomplishments is good. But the temptation arises when we lose track of who gave us the opportunties and talents.

My first verse in my Bible reading tonight:
Psalm 115:1
" Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness."

My prayer: Lord if I should be fortunate enough to get my books and work published, let me NEVER forget who made it all possible. Let me never get puffed up with pride. Let me keep my focus on God and his agenda.