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Tool for the next generation We are witnessing the infancy of the most advanced information-exchange tool man has devised. It will be the single greatest means of conveying the gospel to the masses that what I call "The Church of God: The Next Generation" will utilize. This tool unites past champions of mass evangelism into one dynamic package. It can transmit video (as with television) and audio (as with television and radio) information to and from a location. It's capable of two-way, real-time voice communications (like a telephone). It can send and receive text-based data to an addressable destination where it waits for review at the recipient's convenience (like postal systems). It can deliver image and text information simultaneously to one or many locations where a paper copy, in black and white or color, can then be generated (just like magazines and newspapers). Fifty million U.S. users adopted this revolutionary mass-communication method faster (in just five years) than either television (13 years) or radio (38 years)! As of 2004, 75 percent of the American population 2 years old or older has access to this technological wonder (says the Nielsen and NetRatings report of last February). The use of this new tool is also growing in other countries. There are already 80 million users of this communication method in China. Japan boasts 100 million users. Estimates are that in 10 to 15 years one half of all users of this technology will live in India and China! This remarkably versatile, evolving and expanding means of humans connecting with humans around the world is the Internet. An idea bearing fruit on its forefront is the use of electronic mail (Email) to spread the gospel. E-mail allows Christians unprecedented access to people around the globe who are hungry to know God and what the Bible says about problems and other issues they face daily. It offers those outside the church's ministerial class a meaningful evangelistic role and an affordable opportunity to personally serve the public. And it gives the Churches of God another way to adapt to the newly interconnected world of the 21st century and again play a dynamic part in the great commission of Matthew 28:19-20. Opening Day In the spring of 2002 I talked with Norm Edwards, editor of Servants News. During our discussion the Bible Study.org Web site's need for volunteers to answer questions was mentioned. Until then no regular assistance from brethren was available to launch such a question-and-answer service. After our talk, unbeknownst to me, Norm decided to create a short article mentioning the Web site and its need for help. He ran a notice in his May- June 2002 edition. It wasn't until E-mails started arriving offering a helping hand with site questions that I discovered what he had done. Within a short time several mature Church of God folks volunteered their talents and time. The fast-approaching fall season meant there was little pre-Feast time available to create the necessary pieces for this new service. The laptop computer I took to a Florida Panhandle Feast site allowed developmental work to continue. Progress on the project advanced so rapidly that near the end of the Feast the answers-to-Bible-questions outreach was ready to go. The completed Web-site files were loaded onto the Internet while I was still in Florida. The "Personalized Answers to Bible Questions" section of Bible Study.org had its Internet debut on Friday, Sept. 27, 2002. Amazingly, when I arrived home in Michigan on Oct. 1, 27 questions were awaiting answer. The unexpected flood of requests so soon after the service became operational was so overwhelming that the link from Bible Study.org's main Web page to the question-submittal form had to be removed for a time. The removing and restoring of this link, just to catch up, occurred several times in the first year of service. This proved people around the world are still hungry for biblical answers to life's questions. The Email Evangelists The term "E-mail Evangelists" describes the labor of hardworking COG folks in advancing the gospel. Through their answers and interaction with visitors via E-mail, they zealously evangelize or otherwise introduce new people to God's truth. E-mail evangelists represent the enormous dedication and love of the most powerful yet under-appreciated resource the Church of God possesses: the brethren. More than 25 people have willingly given their time to answer Biblical inquiries. They average 20 to 30 years as Christians, with some converted for 40 or more years. The E-mail evangelists comprise a wide variety of church brethren who are all mature in the Christian faith.
Former E-mail evangelists include Dr. Jack Lane, Calvin Lashway, Dave and Trish Manning, Ed Oettel, Eddie Staggs and Allen Turner. How it works How does the site process a question? It begins when a site visitor completes a simple form. It requires only his E-mail address and question. When he presses the submit button, his question is E-mailed to me. Most of the brethren, when they offer their services, send brief biographies. The bios contain information like church experiences and history, family life, jobs, hobbies and whatever else they wish to convey. They also define Bible subjects the E-mail evangelists feel knowledgeable about and comfortable answering. Each question is reviewed and, using information given by each evangelist, is matched with a volunteer whose knowledge and experience are judged best suitable to help the person in need. When the answers are complete, they are sent directly to the questioner, with a copy sent to me. This allows me to review the answers, note possible ways of improving the service, and save the E-mail for possible inclusion to the site's "Personalized Answers" section. Public Benefits Some of the benefits the public receives from the site's online answering service and factors that have contributed to its popularity are:
To boldly preach
Volunteer Benefits Why would a person want to answer Bible questions electronically? What unusual advantages are offered for COG folks performing E-mail evangelism through the Bible site? Here are a few of them:
Fruit yourself
Most Common Comment The most frequent remark COG brethren make after the personalized answers service is described, and its fruits delineated, is a version of "How do you insure correct doctrine is taught? How are you sure all the answerers speak the same thing?" These comments deserve exploring before we arrive at an answer as it relates to the evangelists. Underlying these questions is the major assumption that a human can guarantee a set of beliefs will be understood and expounded a certain way by other humans. Can such unity occur? Can any person make others understand and teach the Bible as he does to such an extent that they act as if they have one mind? Let's assume unity is achievable. Since this lofty spiritual goal is, let's say, possible, the most logical place we'd expect to find at least one example of it occurring should be among groups composed of the most mature, powerfully used of God leaders in the church. The top eight COG organizations (the Big 8) in terms of income possess some interesting characteristics. All of them receive more than half a million dollars in yearly donations. They collectively received in 2003 approximately $47 million in support. This figure is easily more than 95 percent of all the money contributed to all the known Worldwide Church of God (WCG) splits. 175 Splits and counting Together, the Big 8 comprise the overwhelming majority of all ministers and other members within the splits. Within their ranks are a high percentage of perceived mature and powerful leaders within the greater church. But what do we find in terms of unity? The Big 8 have spawned 175-plus splits. The largest organization of the eight had more splits (30-plus) within its first six or so years of existence than any other COG group, past or present, for the same period. Two of the Big 8 had splits that created half of the other six big groups! The part of a church where unity is most critical would, one could argue, be between the recognized head of the organization and the small set of leaders entrusted to help guide the group. These are not only the closest advisers to the group's head man but also are to be his chief supporters. Yet men who previously headed a COG group, but were shoved out of the organization by such handpicked advisers, created three of the five top Big 8 groups! Research of 300-plus splits has shown me that no leader or group of ministers has achieved true biblical unity by their efforts. Merely having ministers act as if all is well doesn't make it so. The pattern of kicking out those in disagreement, punishing others and dangling veiled threats of correction over those not feigning conformity creates only a mirage of unity. Unity doesn't happen All illusions disappear, however, when differences possessed for years bubble out and help create a split. Our track record shows it is not reasonable to treat unity as a minimum requirement for a church or outreach and as our foremost concern, when no one has been able to bring it into existence. Certainly, as COG brethren, there exists a common body of biblical knowledge and understanding among the E-mail evangelists. They are mature COG brethren with years of Bible study under their belts. God has given them the character to handle some pretty tough questions. Simple guidelines That said, I know some evangelists (and no doubt all) at times disagree with certain material on the site, or with each other's doctrinal stands. They are under no enforced commitment to refer visitors to materials they do not agree with. What is required is that they love those they serve and do what they can to help them along their journey in life. Before a volunteer begins serving via E-mail, he or she agrees to a simple set of guidelines. One of these is that below each answer is included a version of the site's Bible-study philosophy, which I state as follows: "As the Bible is the written authority of truth given by God, we encourage you to check out our answers with God's Word. Don't ultimately believe us (or anyone else, for that matter) just because we (or they) say so. Believe your Bible!" Referring people to their Bibles, on their knees before God, is one of the best policies any church or outreach can promote. Finally, what's my answer to comments about how I insure that correct doctrine is taught and that volunteers speak the same thing? I can't. That's God's job. Unity is an awesome goal but one best left in the hands of the only Being able to make it happen. Interest in Baptism Can God use the Internet to lead people to be convicted of sin, repent and want to be baptized? Can it produce the same fruit as television or radio? Darryl, who builds grain bins in the province of Manitoba, Canada, thinks so. He lives in a remote area several hours from Winnipeg, which he once described as being "south of a bend in a river." He was the first person to submit a request to the site for someone to baptize him. After his baptism, in February, he E-mailed: ". . . I am glad that you have a wonderful Web site like this to help people on their way towards baptism. I truly believe the Lord led me to your site first, early in my conversion. " Before his baptism Darryl had corresponded several times with two COG E-mail evangelists who answer site questions. One of the pleasant surprises of preaching the gospel on the Net is that the fruits of one's effort can ripen unexpectedly. While visiting a COG Feast site in 2003, the leader of the group announced that in the spring three baptisms were performed at one time in Florida. He stated that the new folks were frequent visitors to the Bible site. They had visited the Bible Study site, then followed a link to this group's Web site, where they requested baptism. Recently Clay Willis, an E-mail evangelist, E-mailed that he knew of at least five baptisms in which the Q&A service played an integral role. New Ground Found New ground found Has the Internet allowed the Churches of God to reach places where they don't have an active fellowship? Can new ground be found where the seeds of the gospel can be scattered? In August 2003 Kin "Jack" Leung of Hong Kong E-mailed the site requesting a referral to a Sabbath-keeping church. He had been attending Protestant groups for years when he discovered the seventh-day Sabbath. This was Jack's first contact with the Church of God. A search of personal contacts anywhere near Hong Kong came up empty, so I began research to see if the top 10 or so of the largest COG groups had a fellowship or even a representative near Jack. Not one of these organizations had a contact within such a prominent world city. Even the Denver, Colo.– based Church of God (Seventh Day), which has a significant international presence, proved to be a dead end. Next I E-mailed 120-plus COG brethren and asked if they possessed a possible referral for Jack. Only one several-years-old potential contact was found. It also proved unfruitful. It looked like Jack's request would go unfilled. Continued Corresponding Something unexpected by the hand of God, however, would soon alter the situation. About two months after Jack's contact with our Web site, another Hong Kong resident, named Stephen, submitted some Bible questions. His Email went to evangelist Clay Willis. Although two months earlier Clay had handled Jack's inquiries, I sent him Stephen's questions simply because he was the next available E-mail evangelist. Although I didn't know it, Jack had continued corresponding with Clay. After a few weeks of exchanging Emails with Stephen, Clay took the Christian initiative and introduced him to Jack. Stephen and Jack soon began meeting for services and working together. A third person, Udaya, from Sri Lanka, joined them for worship in early 2004. Consider the potential; it could be easily overlooked: A COG member, from home, now has the power to do what multi–million-dollar corporate churches in the past couldn't. He can inexpensively correspond many times in a short period (no waiting for postal mail delivery) with people anywhere on earth. From nine thousand miles away, such people can connect up two people who are hungry for the truth and live in the same city. After Jack, Stephen and Udaya began meeting, God caused something wonderful to occur. Stephen asked Jack to perform his baptism! So, in the late part of March 2004, Jack, with Udaya as a witness, baptized Stephen Wong in Hong Kong. Sometime later Udaya requested, and received, baptism through Jack. New Web Site Stephen has become so zealous to spread God's word that he created a Web site called the Hong Kong Sabbatarian Church of God at hkscg.bravehost.com/index.html. Jack also helps Stephen translate some of the articles on the Bible site into Chinese. One amazing, timely occurrence needs to be added to this story. Late in 2003 discouragement concerning the Bible study site's future reached a peak. Because of inadequate site finances, apathy of the COGs toward new ideas and other reasons, I seriously considered closure and the auctioning of the site's domain name. While I was composing a notice announcing the end of the site's outreach, a postcard arrived in the mail. On the front, just above a picture of a city skyline, was the inscription "Hello from HONG KONG." On the back was a brief note stating how revealing and edifying the Bible site's ministry was to people. It included the invitation that, should I one day travel to the city, to look up the writer so he could be my personal tour guide. Though small, it was enough encouragement at the right time to keep me persisting a while longer. Who sent this unexpected postcard? It was Jack.
A shifting of gears We seem to be a church stuck in neutral. The greater Church of God has yet to fully shift gears into the power and potential of the new mass evangelism age. Many continue to cling to the status quo out of their fear of change and their desire to stay comfortable. But we must change. We need to reexamine our means and methods for carrying out the great commission. We need to honestly weigh and judge the fruits of our efforts against the resources needed to produce them. We need to stop our self-defeating denials and plan as if Jesus will not return for many more years. Whether you love it, loathe it or wonder what all the fuss is about, the Internet is here to stay, and we must deal with it. We have to think and plan for future harvests. If we are willing, our most productive years need not be behind us, but before us. We must risk again, dare to dream again, invent and initiate and be invigorated again. The possibilities are endless because we serve an awesome God with whom nothing is impossible. May God bless His church.
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