Read and Grow

Do you ever feel like your mobile owns you, and not the other way around?

Through DMs, mobile messages, and social media notifications, you are connected with hundreds of millions of people around the world. Each ping from your mobile is a demand of your attention, and every post, comment, and message you send comes from a desire for attention back. Instant attention from anonymous people on the other side of the world.

Thanks to the internet, our society is hyper-connected. Whether you like it or not, we are plugged into the largest communication hub ever known to man. But the cracks are starting to show.

We are bloated with hyper-connectedness yet we hunger for a connection that is true, genuine, and personal.

Humans are hardwired for genuine connection. And it’s in that space Jesus calls you to share him with the world.

After His death and resurrection, Jesus gathers his disciples together and sends them out, saying, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Notice the progression of Jesus’ instructions; Jerusalem followed by Judea and Samaria, and finally the ends of the earth.

For the disciples, Jerusalem was the immediate area, the centre of their culture and society. Judea and Samaria were regions beyond the immediate, and the ends of the earth were… well, as far as you can go.

So if you’re looking for a way to share Jesus, start in YOUR Jerusalem.

Start in your immediate area where you are already personally connected. Start with your friends, family and the people you see every day. Cultivate a friendship that is personal and genuine and share Jesus in that space. It could be as simple as starting a conversation with your barista or someone at university, or in a friendship you already have but want to take deeper.

As you grow your friendship, find ways to demonstrate the fruit of the spirit. Let peace, love, and joy shine out like a light on a hill pointing to Jesus. In the context of your close relationships, follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and take opportunities to open up conversations about Jesus, church, and faith.

People are hungry for genuine connection.

Share Jesus by limiting your hyper-connection with the world and explore true, genuine connection with the people already around you.

Who can you reach out to in genuine connection today?

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References
https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/the-human-connection/201912/making-real-connections-in-the-age-social-media

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Galatians 5:22-23

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Acts 1:8

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Social media has changed the landscape of how we share Jesus forever. It used to be rallies, cable TV shows, and church outreach events, now you can reach large crowds with your social media account. Of course, it’s not always that simple.
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Social media isn’t always an effective space to talk about things like faith and Jesus. Have you ever wondered why you can post a picture of your cat falling off the couch and it basically goes viral, but a post about your faith makes you feel like people are scrolling with their eyes shut?

How can you leverage your socials to share Jesus in a way that’s effective and engaging?

To do this, it’s helpful to understand the nature of the environment in which you’re communicating.

The Social Space

When posting online, the first thing to recognise is you’re operating in a ‘social space’. A social space involves a large audience, for example, a lecture, a church service, or even a YouTube video. Information can be shared with a large audience, but often at the expense of meaningful engagement and personal transformation.

The Personal Space

Talking about Jesus in a way that results in ongoing life change is most effective when you’re operating in the ‘personal space’. A personal space takes place in one on one conversations or small group interactions. Here emotional guards can be lowered, trust can be built, and meaningful life transformation takes place.

We can learn a lot from observing how Jesus communicated in these two spaces. Although He operated in both spaces, he invested heavily in the personal space. Most of his time was dedicated to his 12 disciples and as a result they were the most impacted by him and had the most meaningful life change. We still experience the effects of this investment over 2000yrs later.

So how does that apply to posting about Jesus on your socials? Here’s a helpful strategy: speak to the large audience of your social media space, but prioritise drawing people into your personal space to share Jesus with them.

Here are 5 tips on how you can maximise meaningful engagement with your social media account.

1. Be a Normal Person

- Intersperse your posts about Jesus, with posts about your everyday life. People are primarily interested in who you are as a person. Your relationship with Jesus is best shared in the context of your everyday life. Also, if people always scroll past your Jesus posts, the social algorithms will cause them to eventually not see your posts at all.

2. Ask Questions / Polls

- Engagement is gold! There’s plenty of engagement tools built into social platforms like questions, polls, sliders and video replies. Draw people in by asking intriguing questions and utilise polls in your stories for interaction.

3. Challenge The Norm

- You can grab people's attention by using language that challenges normal cultural ideas and their perceptions of what it means to be a Christian.

4. Speak To Need

- There are many needs out in the community. Raise the topic and share how Jesus, church, and faith intersect with those needs.

5. Follow Up In DMs

- When people engage with what you post in meaningful ways, follow up with them in DMs, or ideally, in-person.

Let’s follow Jesus’ example of drawing people from the Social Space into the Personal Space.

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

Matthew 4:19

Keep in mind that while it’s nice to get a lot of likes on our posts, every number is a person. Be intentional and prayerful about taking people deeper, even if it’s just one person.

Brian is a normal guy who loves Jesus and wants to share his love with people he meets every day. A chance encounter at a petrol station became an opportunity to share Jesus in a miraculous way. Brian was prepared for that opportunity because he made one simple life choice…

The other day I was at a petrol station. I noticed a person who seemed to be limping, he looked like he was in pain. So I went up to him and I said “Hi, can I pray for you?” he replied, “Sure, yes, you can pray for me.”

It turned out he was a Muslim so he wasn’t bothered by me praying for him at all. I prayed that all his pain would go away. At first, nothing happened but after a few moments, he turned back to me and said that his pain had gone away! I said “That’s because Jesus loves you and cares for you.”

It was a super quick moment. He didn’t trust in Jesus at that moment but it planted a seed. And maybe further down the road, he’ll be open to hearing the Gospel.

An easy way I’ve found to start talking to people about Jesus is to ask “Hey, does that hurt?” because there are people everywhere who are in pain. I don’t always have the right words to say but I just try to build their connection to Jesus.

There is one decision I’ve made that has been very helpful in sharing the Gospel, when I go out into the world I simply keep my eyes open. Too often we’re so focused on ourselves we miss opportunities that are right in front of us. Sometimes there are things going on around you that the Lord wants you to see. He might want you to intervene in someone else's life. Right there at that moment. We need to learn to take our blinders off and ask God “What are you doing in this place around me?”

Very soon when you do this, you’ll start to see the needs of those around you. Everywhere you go, there's someone who needs a word of encouragement, kindness, an act of charity or healing through the gospel.

Anyone can do this.

You’ll be amazed at what comes across your path as you simply begin to move about your world with your eyes open.

How can God use me in my secular workplace?

Have you ever felt like you’re not living a life “on mission” because you work in a secular career? Perhaps you have a burning desire to make a difference in the world, but you feel confined by your day to day responsibilities of work/study.

As Christians, it’s easy to develop a mindset that our “Christian life” is separate from our “Monday-Friday life”. Sometimes we can have the perspective that the spiritual practices in our life are important to God, but the secular ones such as going to work, don’t matter (or at least, not as much). We can assume that God is nearer when we’re doing spiritual things, but not as close when we’re going about our day-to-day lives. But God is omnipresent; He is with you wherever you go, and He cares about every aspect of your life. You don’t have a “spiritual life” and a “secular life”- the Holy Spirit lives in you, so your whole life – including your career – is spirit-filled!

Your job can be your ministry and your workplace can be your mission field.

You don’t have to be a missionary to be on mission. You might be the only Christian that your workmates encounter, so that’s a great opportunity for you to be an example of Jesus. This could look like making choices to act above reproach in all circumstances, including at work. Or not engaging in office gossip, choosing to be a peacemaker when conflict arises, or being kind and generous to those you work with. These are good examples but the opportunities are almost endless for you to be an influence for the gospel within the arena of your career. As you grow in awareness that your workplace is your ministry, you will naturally begin to notice opportunities to share your faith.

Know that your gifts are God-given; therefore, do everything as if you were doing it for God. God isn’t just with you in the big moments; He is with you in the everyday, mundane tasks of life. You can serve Him in everything you do! In the book of Romans, Paul puts it like this:

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life - your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life - and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him Romans 12:1

God created you with individual gifts, talents and skills, to be used for His glory. So whatever your sphere is, own it! Do great work - be an amazing IT specialist, graphic designer, carpenter, nurse etc. Allow your dedication and the beauty of your craft to be an act of worship.

3 tips to owning your sphere:

1. Spend some time in God’s presence on your way to work. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you opportunities to be Jesus to your workmates.

2. Write out a mission statement which highlights your purpose/values in the workplace (hint: ask yourself “what do I want to be known for after I leave?”)

3. Reflect on your gifts, talents and skills. How could you use them for God’s purpose?

Whatever sphere you find yourself in, you can be an influencer for Jesus. How can you own your sphere this week?