4-PRACTICE OF PERSUASION OVER PROPAGANDA

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I am working my way through five essentials that will assist us in de-Christianizing Jesus in order to get to our final destination of lifting Jesus up where He belongs. The 1st essential was the Preeminence of Jesus. The 2nd essential is the Presence of the Kingdom. The 3rd essential is the Power of the Few. The 4th is the Practice of Persuasion Over Propaganda.

There are two primary approaches to communication of any kind-persuasion and propaganda. Persuasion is moving people to action with proper reflection, so that the audience embraces it personally. Propaganda is moving people to action without proper reflection, just to get people to think, do and say whatever the propaganda calls for.

Propaganda is the basis for much of the political communication in our world today. Facts and fairness of information are not part of the process. Propaganda tweaks the facts to fit the premise being pushed. Propaganda speaks deductively, telling people what they want them to know. Thinking is not promoted within the propaganda process.

Persuasion is inductive and people-oriented. Persuasion grapples with the needs of the audience and walks them through a process of thinking the options through to find solutions.

In I Thessalonians 2 there is a powerful illustration of how persuasion works. There are three appeals when the act of persuasion is in action-ethical appeal, emotional appeal and logical appeal. Ethical appeal answers the question: "Can I trust you?" Emotional appeal answers the question: "Do you care for me?" Logical appeal answers the question: "Do you know what you are talking about?" NOTE how these three questions are answered by Paul, Silas and Timothy with the Thessalonians.

CAN I TRUST YOU? 1 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. 2 We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. 3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed-God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for praise from any human being, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our prerogatives. 7 Instead, we were like young children among you.

DO YOU CARE FOR ME? Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. 9 Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. 11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT? 13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

When they received the word of God, they accepted it not as a human word (just another religious experience or teaching), but as it actually is-THE WORD OF GOD-which is at work in you who believe. Because Paul, Silas and Timothy incorporated ethical and emotional appeals, those who heard from them fully accepted and welcomed the word of God as the real, authentic, and active word of God. Now, that's pure persuasion!

The de-Christianization factor here is based in the fact that persuasion's goal is to fully invest in another's life appealing to them to examine Jesus and embrace that relationship uniquely and personally. Persuasion only wants to stick to the message with great credibility, compassion and common sense. Propaganda is mostly interested in controlling the thinking of others. Persuasion is inductive with a desire to get you to think for yourself. This is why we want to introduce people to Jesus-to advance the conversation of Jesus. He will handle everything else in a person's life.

Propaganda is deductive with a desire to get you to think as they do. Persuasion assists you in developing the truth. Propaganda wants to dump the truth on you-their truth. Persuasion attracts. Propaganda promotes.

The practice of persuasion over propaganda goes a long way in de-Christianizing Jesus. You see, persuasion is people-centered and propaganda is content-centered. So when you are into propaganda, you are most comfortable with a content-centered approach that sells others on your set of beliefs-your content. When you are into persuasion, you are totally into people and therefore a personal relationship with Jesus makes more sense. Christianity tends to be mostly about doctrinal issues and a set of beliefs to buy into. Jesus is all about relationship. This is why we use the terminology that we use-JESUS PLUS NOTHING.

3-POWER OF THE FEW

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I am working my way through five essentials that will assist us in de-Christianizing Jesus in order to get to our final destination of lifting Jesus up to where He belongs. The 1st essential was the Preeminence of Jesus. The 2nd essential is the Presence of the Kingdom. The 3rd essential is the Power of the Few.

The primary example of the "power of the few" is found in Jesus' method of operation. Instead of using "Madison Avenue" marketing methods, Jesus launched His movement with a few-just three to be exact-Peter, James and John. He then selected nine more, then He sent out 72 in a 2 by 2 formation. Although Jesus spoke to large groups from time to time, He mostly hung out with a few at a time.

Jesus obviously believed the "few" were more powerful than the masses. Why is this? A long-time friend and mentor, Dr. Ed Neteland, used to say that he envisioned the concept like a rocket ship. In order to achieve blast off the power must all be put in a very small space.

Jesus not only practiced this principle faithfully, but He instructed His disciples to do the same. He sent them out in small groupings. And, even after the resurrection, we see the disciples of Jesus practicing this same principle.

The classic example is the threesome that walked into Thessalonica for about 3 and a half weeks. Their relationship was a powerful little fellowship of followers of Jesus, so powerful that the impact spread throughout Asia Minor. We miss the fact that all three men wrote the letters to the Thessalonians. We always think Paul did the writing, because most translations put that ascription at the beginning of the books. And, those notes and headings throughout the many translations are not Scripture, but man's interpretations and many times miss the real point of the passage.

Not only did Jesus use the power of the few most effectively and His disciples followed His example, but today it is so important that we catch the picture. This essential can be most helpful in getting our minds off of the massive shows and demonstrations of Christianity and focus on the life transforming dynamic of hanging out with a few in the name of Jesus. Jesus promised that He would show up whenever two or three gather together in His name.

I've spent so much energy producing the best possible communication to the masses. However I always knew that there are some universal principles at play in that sort of dynamic. Only 5 % really get it-a given message, 15% think they get it and 80% remain somewhere in the fog with no idea what was said. Oh, they will remember an illustration or two or a joke or two, but miss the essential point of the message. Now that I am into the power of the few, I am discovering that the few really, genuinely get it and embrace it for themselves. You see, when someone really gets what it means to walk with Jesus in His Kingdom presence, the message becomes contagious. To me, the power of the few is very effective in de-Christianizing Jesus and is a must for all who are serious about following Jesus.

The power of the few is what we have always sought within the organized church when we promote "small groups" of any kind. But even a small group may not get the results that we're talking about in the "power of the few". The real dynamic of the "power of the few" is genuine fellowship-participation in one another's lives in such a way so as to develop a personal support system. This support system becomes so strengthening that it serves as your inner security system. I am stronger as I live my life in relationship with other brothers and sisters.

For instance, this last weekend I had the assignment of speaking to about 400 high school and college students from all over the world. Since teens are not my normal audience, I was very concerned as to whether or not I could resonate with them. The small group we walk with agreed to pray for me. I went to this event in San Diego last Sunday, but I didn't go alone or just with my wife, I went with great strength from the fellowship standing with me with a prayerful concern and enjoyed a terrific response from these teens.

Now, whether we are talking about events such as these or simply moving through our day, we all need the powerful, interactive, relational support of other followers of Jesus in our lives. THE POWER OF THE FEW. You see, Jesus said that where two or three are gathered together, He will show up. The power of the few is the dwelling place of the presence of Jesus, Himself. Now, if you were convinced that Jesus was going to show up some place, wouldn't you go and make yourself available to see Him? This is why you will want to do whatever you can to participate in the power of the few. Either make the commitment to participate with a few and enjoy the power of Jesus in your life, loved ones and livelihood or ignore the power of the few and lose what you have.

2-PRESENCE OF THE KINGDOM

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I am working my way through five essentials that will assist us in de-Christianizing Jesus in order to get to our final destination of lifting Jesus up where He belongs in our world. The 1st essential was the Preeminence of Jesus. The 2nd essential is the Presence of the Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of heaven are used interchangeably. Even though Jesus teaches so little on the church (mentions it twice), He spends lots of time teaching about the Kingdom. Today the Kingdom concept has escaped our notice, even though Jesus places so much emphasis on it. It's not that the Kingdom has been rejected, but reduced. There are, at least, 5 ways that we tend to reduce the Kingdom. FIRST-It is MYSTICAL. If it's mystical, then it is very difficult to explain and understand definitively. It's sort of other-worldly. SECOND-It's HEAVENLY. This is a lot like the first. If the Kingdom is heavenly, then it has little, if any, application on earth. THIRD-It's APOCALYPTIC. This means it isn't for today, but is relegated to a time in the future when Jesus will set up His Kingdom on earth. FOURTH-It's EQUATED TO THE CHURCH. Many see the Kingdom as the local church and therefore it's limited to whether it's a good and healthy church or not. FIFTH-It's a SOCIAL CONCERN. To many feeding the poor and doing charitable deeds among the needy of our world is where the Kingdom is.

All of these are a little bit true. However, what has been missed or ignored is that Jesus makes it very clear that the Kingdom is here. In Jesus' first message He says, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

Then, after emerging successfully from the 40 day experience in the desert where He was tempted by the Devil, Matthew records: From that time on Jesus began to preach, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."

When Jesus sent the twelve disciples out for their first mission He said, "As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'"

Jesus carried this same theme of the Kingdom beyond His disciples. According to Luke 17:20-21, Jesus was addressing His remarks to the Pharisees: Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, "The coming of the kingdom of God is not something that can be observed, nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is in your midst." Another way of saying this is, "The Kingdom of God is in you or among you all." I think what Jesus is saying is that He has brought the Kingdom-the presence of God to earth. You see, where the King is, there is the Kingdom.

On several occasions Jesus gives clear requirements for entering the Kingdom of heaven or the Kingdom of God. We will go through each of these next week. I suppose "entering the Kingdom" is most often considered as "getting into heaven", however the point I want to make here is that when Jesus spoke of entering the Kingdom, He seems to be saying you can enter it right now! So, you might say "heaven" (if that's what you call it) begins as soon as you enter it here. Or, "eternal life" begins at the point of entering the Kingdom.

Since Jesus is the King, His teachings and very presence brought the Kingdom to earth for us right then when He showed up with this Kingdom message. The primary action of the 8 parables about the Kingdom in Matthew 13 is the sowing of the seed and the seed is identified as the "message or word of the Kingdom". That's the good news message right here, right now. Those parables were describing what the invisible form of the Kingdom after Jesus had been rejected by the Jewish leadership would be-what it would look like from here on out.

Once you embrace the fact that the presence of the Kingdom is right here, right now, you can begin disciplining yourself to live in the Kingdom right here, right now. You embrace the Kingdom lifestyle by living out the teachings and principles of the King and His Kingdom. Jesus calls it following Him or doing the will of the Father or hearing His words and practicing them.

In other words, you can live in the Kingdom today, right now. When you embrace the Kingdom lifestyle, you will find yourself going against the grain and the natural flow of the world. Don't forget that the world system Jesus spoke so often about included the religious leadership of the day. You will find yourself caught up in the flow of the movement of the Kingdom of God or better yet, you will be caught up in the 21st Century Jesus movement. It's a revolutionary movement and Jesus is the one who leads it. So, see where Jesus is at work and get in there. See what Jesus does and says and then go mimic Him. You see, no matter your circumstances, you can practice the presence of the Kingdom and enjoy the presence of King-Jesus-right here on planet earth, right now.

1-PREEMINENCE OF JESUS

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This week I want to move through 5 essentials that are necessary for us to enjoy a relationship with Jesus and to embrace the Kingdom lifestyle Jesus presents.

Once we have completed these essentials, then I want to offer some recent thoughts I have on Jesus and the Kingdom, like how to follow Jesus and enter into the Kingdom right now.

The first essential is the PREEMINENCE OF JESUS. Let's begin with John 1 and Colossians 1. Within these two chapters you will find powerful references to the preeminence of Jesus.

John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all people. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God- 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.

14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only [Son], who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 16 Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God, but the one and only [Son], who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

Colossians 1:15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.

When Napoleon was exiled to the island of St Helena, he had plenty of time to think. This is what he wrote: There is something about Jesus Christ I cannot understand. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself have all founded great empires, but on what did these creations of our genius rest? Upon force. But Jesus founded his on love. This very day millions would die for him. I have inspired multitudes with enthusiastic devotion. They would die for me. But to do it, it was necessary that I should be present with the electric influence of my looks, my words, my voice. When I saw men and spoke to them I lit up the flame of devotion in their hearts. But Jesus Christ by some mysterious influence, even through the lapse of eighteen centuries, so draws the hearts of men towards him that thousands at a word would rush through fire and flood for him, not counting their lives dear to themselves.

Then, there is a writing called the INCOMPARABLE CHRIST: More than nineteen hundred years ago there was a man born contrary to the laws of life. This man lived in poverty and was reared in obscurity. He received no formal education and never possessed wealth or wide-spread influence.

He never traveled extensively. He only once crossed the boundary of the country in which He lived. But this man's life has changed the course of history.

In infancy He startled a king; in childhood he puzzled doctors; in man hood He ruled the course of nature, walked upon the waves, and hushed the sea to sleep. He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for His services.

He never wrote a book. Yet His life has inspired more books than any other man. He never wrote a song. Yet He has furnished the theme for more songs than all songwriters combined. He never founded a college. But all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students. He never marshaled an army, nor drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun. Yet no leader ever had more rebels surrender to Him without a shot fired.

He never practiced psychiatry. Yet He has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near. Though time has spread nineteen hundred years between the people of this generation and His birth, He still lives. His enemies could not destroy Him, and the grave could not hold Him.

Today, Jesus still stands at the highest pinnacle of all humanity. I'm fascinated that one of the best known of the Hindu culture, Mahatma Ghandi, was so adored by his people and he was called Christ-like. I'm amazed that the best known Buddhist, the Dalai Lama, said that he was unworthy of tying the shoes of Jesus. I know Muslim leaders who follow Jesus and call Jesus Lord. He is not limited to Christianity and this is why He must be de-Christianized, so that the world may know this incomparable Jesus. Jesus is the most irresistible person of all! He must have first place in everything all the time. This is what I mean by the preeminence of Jesus. We must learn to live our lives bowing our hearts and minds to His preeminence. Jesus trumps everything.

MAN-MADE DOCTRINES AND HERESY

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Yesterday I shared a few concerns on preconceived ideas and how they can easily get in the way of hearing and seeing Jesus clearly. Preconceived ideas tend to become a set of "doctrines." The problem with "doctrines" is that they tend to be man-made and not God-made.

You see, depending upon your upbringing, religiously, or where you have received your spiritual teaching, you will have embraced a certain set of beliefs. Surely there is nothing wrong with this in itself. The problem comes when you are taught or believe that your set of teachings is the only right set of teachings to be believed. In other words, you are right and all others are wrong or, at least, not quite right. This is what is known as "doctrine"-a certain set of teachings. The word "doctrine" is a set of beliefs or teachings. Now, here is the problem! What makes your doctrinal position or belief system the right one? What makes you right and others wrong? Can it be that you and what you have been taught are the only ones in the world who have it right? I call this the WE-FOUR-AND-NO-MORE way of thinking. We know and you don't!

When I had the privilege of serving as a faculty member of a highly respected graduate seminary, I had an interesting experience that is applicable here. I was the main speaker for a local church family retreat over the weekend. At a question and answer session at the retreat I was asked a question by one of the Board members of the seminary. I answered the question with, "I don't know, but I will look into that further."

On Tuesday I found a note on my desk from the chairman of the department that he wanted to see me ASAP. He referenced the retreat and then said, "I understand that Dr. so-and-so asked a question and that your response was to say that 'I don't know'." I agreed with what had happened and then he leaned across the desk and said, "A man who graduates from this school knows!" When he asked me why I answered that way, I said, "Because I didn't know." Wow! I went away from that experience feeling that it was my calling to know and that was the most important thing of all. The truth is I didn't know and no one can know everything all the time.

Since our tendency is to want to be right and want everyone else to buy into our way of seeing things, this feeds into our way of thinking about the teachings of Jesus. There are only a few things that really matter with respect to our relationship with the Lord. Where we disagree is about what does really matter.

I have struggled with this for years! In my youth I was taught that the only Bible to use-the only one that was truly inspired-was the King James version. The thinking was, "If it was good enough for Jesus, then it's good enough for us." It doesn't matter that it was first translated 1600 years after Jesus!

Then there is the constant division over prophecy. Some believe Jesus is coming again just prior to a seven-year period of tribulation. This is called the pre-tribulation rapture theory. Others believe Jesus will be returning in the middle of the seven-year tribulation-the mid-tribulation rapture theory. And then many more believe Jesus will not return until the end of the seven-year tribulation period, known as a post-tribulation rapture theory. People actually fight over these differing teachings. Early on I came to a new position. I believe in the pre-tribulation return, UNTIL the seven-year tribulation here on earth begins and Jesus hasn't returned yet. Then I move immediately to the mid-tribulation return of Jesus. Then after 3 ½ years into the tribulation (just after mid-night), if Jesus hasn't shown up yet, I change my belief system to the post-tribulation return of Jesus. I call it the pan-tribulation rapture theory of the return of Jesus. It will all pan out in the end anyway, no matter what I believe!

Here's the truth! Jesus doesn't even know the time of His return, so why should I think that I could have the prophetic plan all figured out. Even worse, people teach this plan (as I have done most of my life) to others as the absolute way the end of time will occur and the timing of Jesus' second coming to earth.

This same kind of thinking that you can be absolutely right about God and His teachings permeates so many areas of Christianity. From the importance of baptism to the activity of demons to how to do church to the definition of the Kingdom to the articulation of the Gospel, there are so many divisive teachings that go against Jesus' prayer in John 17 that all who are followers of Jesus might walk through life in unity.

When groups teach a set of beliefs or doctrines as THE doctrines to believe and practice, you can count on it; there will be several of them that are man-made. Doctrines or a set of teachings can easily turn into cultic or cult-like teachings. There is a term used to describe people who are horribly in error. It is heresy or heretic! But do you know what the word actually means? It's used primarily in the book of Acts and is used of sects or cultic groups that have developed a set of beliefs or doctrines that are off track with the teachings of Jesus. Heresy denotes "a choosing, a choice", then, "that which is chosen." It's an opinion-a self-willed opinion. Peter warns: But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies (or self-willed opinions-man-made doctrines) even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. (II Peter 2:1)

Simply put, Jesus just wasn't into man-made "doctrines" and "opinions". He saw them as empty and destructive. He saw them as divisive and a subtle distraction away from walking the relational walk with Him and with one another. Instead of filling your mind with your many doctrines and self-willed opinions, just learn to hang out with Jesus and His people. The only doctrine worth fighting for and the only opinion that has merit to it is this-JESUS PLUS NOTHING!