Sundi Jo: What inspired you to write Our Last Great Hope?

Ronnie: For most of my ministry, I have been very passionate about telling every person in the world about Jesus Christ and making disciples of all the nations. However, the year that I led the Southern Baptist Convention’s Great Commission Resurgence became a pivotal life-altering moment for me regarding the inspiration that moved me to write this book.

Sundi Jo: You say in the book, “There is one last great hope—for our world, our nation, our children, and our churches. That hope only becomes visible when we become honest, when we define reality rightly.” Can you elaborate on that?

Ronnie: I believe it is easy to deceive ourselves and think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think. Honesty about our spiritual condition is imperative. It is imperative for us personally and as a church. We cannot go where God wants us to go if we do not understand where we are today. We do not need to re-define the reality of our condition, but face the music about where we are today. When we reach that point, we will have the spiritual capacity to go forward with God in an unprecedented manner.

Sundi Jo: What would you say to those who think we need to stay on “our own land” before taking missions overseas?

Ronnie: The world is here in America, but not all of it. The number one issue is not “Who is more lost – someone in Africa or someone in America?” Both are lost. Therefore, THE #1 issue is ACCESS. Each person in the world deserves the privilege of having access to the Gospel. This is why we must go to all the nations, the people groups of the world. We must do all we can to share with them about Christ and, when possible, plant Gospel churches that can carry forth this message for generations to come.

Sundi Jo: How do you handle the opposition from that?

Ronnie: Biblically is the best way to handle opposition.  Jesus has told us what to do. Who are we to debate that?

Sundi Jo: You talk about being the child’s model of what it means to believe in God. What changes could parents make in their lives today to make sure that’s happening?

Ronnie: Parents need to be discipling their children. They cannot lead their children to spiritual growth if they themselves are not growing spiritually. A child needs to “catch the faith of their parents” as much as be “taught the faith of their parents.” If we want them to get it, it will be caught more than taught.

Sundi Jo: In a world full of technology and social media, how can these be used as a tool to bring others to Christ, not only in the United States, but also all across the world?

Ronnie: We have access to the world. We need to use it. Gospel opportunities can be created on the web. Gospel communities can be created on the web – groups of people who have questions about God and are seeking the Lord. War rooms can be set up by churches and denominations for the purpose of strategizing to reach the world. Instantaneous interviews can happen globally at any time with missionaries around the world, all for the purpose of creating an appetite to win the world to Christ.

Sundi Jo: You said, “Jesus didn’t teach casual discipleship. He taught that it had a cost, that it required painful decisions, and that at times we need to walk away from other things we might have intended to do.” Have you experienced this – having to walk away from something else and make that painful decision?

Ronnie: I believe any growing Christian pays a price to serve the Lord. We may have to walk away from our own interests, relationships that are non-productive for the Gospel, or habits we inherited or created that have gotten in the way. As people grow, our hearts change, our priorities change, and our desires change. Being a disciple always has a price tag.

Sundi Jo: You’ve authored 20 books. That’s quite an accomplishment. Do you have a favorite?

Ronnie: I have two favorites . Our Last Great Hope  is my heart for the most important thing, the Great Commission of Jesus Christ. Ten Things Every Minister Needs to Know is my heart for equipping leaders, and this book has helped thousands of leaders globally.

Sundi Jo: Your story of The Invisible Harvest gave me chill bumps. What would you say to those who think sharing Jesus with others is too hard or won’t have an impact? Or those who don’t feel adequate enough to share the Gospel?

Ronnie: If they will do it, their lives will change. I have just returned from Brazil. I saw college students, high school students, an elite attorney and his wife, and many others share the Gospel and win people to Jesus Christ. Many of these have never had that experience before. God has the harvest ready. He wants us to participate in this harvest. We can pray. We can go. We can win. We can mobilize others to do the same.

What are you doing today to share the Gospel? What tools have you utilized to do so? Comment below…

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I’m a 28-year old college student in a college algebra class with 18-year olds who talk about beer bongs and late nights, while I avoid a nap and dread another talk about log functions. Someone stop the insanity! I think for a moment that maybe I should join the insanity, but memories from my high school partying days make my stomach turn and I’m quick to change my mind.

Today I’m guest posting over at Single Roots. Click here to read the rest of the story.

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I’m convicted – I know that.

photo credit: shannonyeh.photography (creative commons)

Last night I learned that an old friend of mine from high school was arrested in a drug bust. We’ll call her *Suzy*. She’s a mom. Though I’ve never seen her be a mother, something tells me she is a great one. I remember her heart – she had a big one. When I heard the news, flashbacks of our last day of “friendship” went through my mind and I could feel the stabbing pains in my heart.

I missed her. I prayed for her. I felt horrible.

Today I’m asking myself how much responsiblity I must take for Suzy’s actions. I understand she is responsible for her decisions, as we all are, but that doesn’t mean my choices didn’t affect where she is today.

You see, my selfishness led to the end of our friendship. It was nothing she did. It was all me. My desire to please others. My focus on what others thought about me. My complete stupidity.

In high school our friendship grew pretty tight. We spent a lot of time together. She came from a broken home and I had a mom who loved to be everyone’s mother. She was at my house all the time. She grew to trust me. She told me secrets she didn’t tell others. I did the same. We did good things together, and we also got ourselves into trouble together.

Then came my junior year in high school. The “best” year of my high school life. More parties. More fun. Though I had always hung out with crowds of all kinds (I was a mingler), I started to put my focus more on the “cool” kids. That was never me before. I hung out with the “stoners,” the “preps,” and the in-betweens. But this year was different.

All of a sudden Suzy wasn’t cool anymore. She was in my way. I didn’t have time to be there for her. I didn’t have time to focus on her life, I needed to focus on mine. I saw that others didn’t like her, so I assumed that I couldn’t anymore either. Appearances and popularity started to look more appealing to me for the first time in my life.

I remember the day like it was yesterday and it’s been 12 years. She hollered at me down the hallway and I didn’t even acknowledge her. Three times she said my name, and three times I brushed her off. I remember her saying, “Ok, fine.” That was it. That was the end.

I bailed. I quit. I walked away. For what? Selfishness, pride, people pleasing – the list goes on.

I began to judge her. For what reason? I have no idea. She wasn’t good enough. I judged her actions as I sat in front of my friends’ house in the mornings before school getting stoned. I refused to make eye contact with her as I snuck vodka into the locker room before practice. I didn’t bother to wonder what her struggles were as I stood around a campfire filling up on liquid courage and doing what I did best, making others laugh by being a complete idiot.

I find myself asking, What if? What if I hadn’t given up on her? What if I could have stopped thinking about myself for a minute and remembered all of those intimate moments of friendship we had together? It was all about me.

I miss her. I have missed her for 12 years. Oh how I just want to get on my knees and beg for her forgiveness. To take back the stupidity of my actions. To hug her and tell her how much Jesus loves her. To hurt with her. To laugh with her.

I don’t deserve to be where I am today. I don’t deserve the love God has poured out on me. The forgiveness he has given me. The beautiful, safe friendships he has blessed me with. The parents that love me so much. The talents he has allowed me to use. The comforts he has given me.

I deserve none of it, yet he has given it to me anyway. Today I’m asking for God’s direction. I’m praying for Suzy. I’m begging for her to know God’s love for her. I’m pleading for her to seek God’s face. I desperately want her tomorrow to be better.

Never take your friendships for granted. Stop caring about what others think. None of it matters! It’s all stupid. It breaks hearts. It ruins lives. It causes destruction that could last through generations. It makes the devil smile and that ticks me off.

Have you been there? 

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It’s a choice, writing is. One that belongs to you and me. We get to choose it (or not) every single day. So whether or not the world hears your message — whether you leave the impact you were born to make — is entirely up to you.” – Jeff Goins

He’s right. This powerful statement doesn’t just pertain to writing though. It goes beyond putting the pen to the paper, or your fingers to the keyboard. It relates to our lives. Our hopes. Our dreams. Our goals.

We make a choice every day whether we will give up or keep going. 

To be honest, there are days I give up on writing, then I pick myself back up and keep going. Why? Because whether or not the world hears my message, writing is in my blood. It’s something I was born to do.

In Jeff Goins’ new ebook, You Are a Writer (So Start Acting Like One), he’ll give you a few good punches in the gut with his authenticity and proven steps to not only calling yourself a writer, but actually acting like one.

My gut punch came when I read these words:

At some point in your journey, you find yourself writing for the approval of others, not for pure love of the craft. You’re no longer satisfied with your passion, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

He read my mind in the process of writing the book. Not long ago I found myself writing for the approval of others. My passion was turning into the need to please others, to live up to unmet expectations I had placed on myself.

But there was something I could do about losing my passion. Stop writing for others and starting writing for myself. So I did that. I quit following the rules.  I feel so much better!

Some other topics Jeff covers in the book:

Fear of Failure

Real artists risk failure every time they release their work into the world. If your words are going to matter, you will have to do the same. You will have to let go.”

Branding Yourself

A brand is who you are. But it’s more than that. It’s your truest self. The part people remember.”

The Deception of Multitasking

Multitasking is a myth. You can either create or react. But you can’t do both. Choose wisely.”

Being You

You have to be yourself, to speak in a way that is true to you.”

The book is pretty great. You get the idea. Read it for yourself. Don’t just take my word for it. You won’t regret spending the $4.99.

Here’s my review in short:

Great book full of practical steps and great truth! Whether you’re struggling to call yourself a writer or pursue any dream, You Are a Writer will motivate you to get your butt in gear and stop messing around.

What choice are you making today? To give up or keep going? 

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But then you grow older and this appreciation you’ve always known existed deep inside starts to work its way up to a more active level.

I love my mom and sometimes I don’t always tell her. I’m not showing my appreciation for her today because it’s almost Mother’s Day, that’s just an added bonus. I recognize her today because God has shown me just how truly blessed I am.

Here are 17 reasons why I’m blessed to call my mom my mom:

1. She’s willing to sleep in the most uncomfortable chair known to man in the middle of the night at the ER as she watches her 28-year old “little girl” be filled with fluids and shots, and watching her cries of pain. Her comfort is set aside for the comfort of her child.
2. She hates most vegetables, yet she’s willing to make baked kale because I love it.
3. She’s learned to keep her frustration silent when she steps into the madness of my car that looks like I’ve been living in it for years. Of course I know the conversation she’s having in her head, but she keeps it to herself – most of the time.
4. She blow dries my hair when I don’t have the strength to stand after a shower.
5. She loves Jesus.
6. Her sense of humor is contagious.
7. I think she secretly enjoys going to the grocery store.
8. We used to be dirt poor and I never knew it. Those were some of the richest days of my life.
9. Her laughter makes me smile.
10. She’s tough.
11. She’s learning she doesn’t have to be so tough.
12. I’m convinced she could kick anyone’s butt in a crossword puzzle.
13. She has a heart for serving others that’s contagious.
14. She was a prison guard for 10 years and I’ve seen her make grown men cry with a simple twist of the thumb. (You should ask her to see it sometime.)
15. During my childhood, though I’m sure she wanted to, she never said a course word to me about my alcoholic father.
16. She’s a hero to many.
17. She’s my mom – it doesn’t get any better than that.

Unfortunately, there are still days I take my sweet mama for granted. I’m still growing. God broke the mold when he made her for sure.

Have you made your list yet? 

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I’m a single girl (currently accepting applications). Not only are many of their posts relevant to me, but the writers love Jesus. That’s the best part. I’m gaining great insight and building great relationships. Jessica, the genius behind the blog is quickly becoming one cool peep to chat with. Though she lives in Texas and I in Missouri, I have no doubt that someday in the future we’ll be sitting down to a nice cup of java and some Jesus talk.

Single Roots recently released their first FREE ebook, When Will I Get Married? (and Other Questions that Plague Singles). It was a great read – a great book for anyone wondering if marriage is in their future, how to ask a girl out, or even if you’re remotely interested in saying “I do.”

One of my favorite questions – What if I do not like the single ministry at my church? For some reason many people think that singles are to be segragated from the “married folks.” Who made that rule? Loved the answer to this question in the book: “Did Jesus only hang with the single disciples? Um, no.”

The fact of the matter is that single ministries, while tools for spiritual growth, ministry, and connecting us to a larger community, are not Biblical mandates. They are great avenues for broadening your social circles, but they also have a way of separating us from the same larger church community.”

The ebook really hits some great points in the other questions. 

• Why Won’t You Ask Her Out?
• What’s the Secret to Being Content with My Singleness?
• Should I Tell My Girlfriend I Struggle with Pornography?
• What’s the Single Most Destructive Thing You Can Do with Your Singleness?
• What’s Debt Got to Do With It?
• What If I Don’t Want to Get Married?

I don’t think this ebook is only for us singles. If you’re married and have a single friend, perhaps reading to be reminded of what it was like to be single is a good idea.

If you’re single read the book – for realz!

To download your FREE copy of When Will I Get Married? (and Other Questions that Plague Singles), visit their website for the download.

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I’ve been waited on hand and foot. Room service three times a day. The housekeeper changes my bed clothes daily. The smell of roses fill the air in my Penthouse room overlooking the city. What more could a girl ask for?

photo credit: capturedbychelsea

Ahhh.. But there’s a catch. 

I’m in room 937 preparing for my seventh day in the hospital. Room service arrives with jello for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Every hallway walk or restroom trip I take is followed by the shadow of an IV pump keeping me hydrated. The roses make me smile and this bed isn’t too shabby. Wednesday I made it outside for the first time in days. Never take the sunshine for granted.

During my unplanned fast I haven’t received some big revelation from God. I have, however, heard the word “peace” often. I’ve spent a lot of time reading Philippians 4:6-8 over and over again. Multiple tests later and still no answers, I’m reminded of God’s peace.

He’s teaching me patience. Patience in waiting. Patience in trusting. Patience with the snoring roommate five feet from me.

I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to bring. But I do know this.

I’m choosing peace. 

Today I wait. Wait in peace.

What are you waiting on? 

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He wasn’t sure he was in love anymore. He needed some time to think about things. There was too much pressure. He left her house that night, saying goodbye as he walked past the unopened box of wedding invitations. He was confused and she was devastated.

The good news? His feelings lied to him and he knew the truth. They reconciled and are now married. There’s a lesson in this story. Sometimes we have to separate from the things we love in order to make sure what we want is really what we want. 

I’m guest posting over at Single Roots today. Check out the rest of the post there.

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“Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself.” – Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz

photo credit: axle (creative commons)

In the movie Blue Like Jazz, when Don Miller speaks of watching someone love something, he’s speaking of a girl named Penny who loves Jesus and social justice and people.

Watching Don watch Penny reminded me of how I used to scrutinize a group of fellow college students my freshman year. I had never seen people love Jesus as boldly and deeply as those people did.

My affections for Christ were stirred through viewing theirs. I wanted to know Him like they did, study His Word like they did, place my faith in Him like they did. I didn’t want to resemble them for the sake of being like them or because they were the Cool Kids. Instead, this bland version of a Jesus I had been serving in name only was no longer as appealing. Through their love, the Holy Spirit showed me a living Christ who could leak through every crack and crevice of my being—just like He did in those other freshmen.

Four years later, when I officially became a grown-up, left my college bubble, and ventured out alone into some place they call the “Real World,” I started thinking more about how I love Jesus in front of people who don’t love Him themselves.

What did they see when they watched me love Him?

Even in the Bible Belt, the only place I’ve ever lived, Christians had kinda been known for who or what they didn’t approve of instead of their love. Outside of my sheltered upbringing, I was getting to know and build relationships with people who put a face on those “big” sins I had only heard about. Not to mention I was teaching adolescents but bound by contract to not tell them about my relationship with Jesus.

I loved all of these people so much, and I wanted them to know the same living Christ I knew. So, if watching someone love Jesus could possibly help him or her love Jesus too then I wondered what else could I do to help move the situation along? Surely there was some 3-, 5-, or 7-point acronym I could memorize to find a way to show more love.

Little by little, after constantly feeling like I wasn’t doing a good enough job publicly displaying enough of my really good, Grade A love for Jesus, I taught a semester in Sunday School on “grace.”

And, well, that changed everything.

I realized if people were going to watch me love Jesus, they needed to see the flawed me love Him. They didn’t need to see the polished, fixed-up version—the one that only struggled in private and oversimplified the difficulties of life.

Because if there was really something to this whole needing to watch somebody love something before you love it thing, then they needed to see how my love for Him overwhelmed me as I grew in the awareness of how imperfect and broken I am without the grace of Jesus.

I thought about how the whole concept of watching someone love something is also a part of the discipleship process, too. Older Christians pour into the lives of younger ones so they can see Christlikeness lived out and consequently grow in their own walk with Him.

Back in college, I sat at the feet of a lady named Mrs. Kathy. Her love for Jesus and people was so overflowing that she squealed when she hugged people—every single one of them. When she would talk to me about the Lord, she would talk in a serious whisper, as if she couldn’t talk about Him too loudly because she would cry…or squeal. You couldn’t leave her presence without wanting to go home and have a quiet time.

I guess we could look at the lives of others and fake it ‘til we make it. I mean, isn’t that how we’ve gotten a lot of 3-, 5-, or 7-point acronyms created to remind us how to show others our love for Jesus? But then, that’s not what I think Miller means.

I think he means that when you’ve been around people who truly love something, you don’t want to be like them as much as you want whatever it is that they love so wholeheartedly.

I often ponder how God has the ability to stir people’s affections towards Him in a myriad of ways, but sometimes He chooses to use us and our love for Him to woo distant hearts. That thought still blows my mind.

To be quite honest, it probably always will.

Jessica Bufkin recently left her glamorous career as a junior high English teacher for the greener pastures of the blogging world. She is a part of the team of writers at SingleRoots, a site that encourages singles to be intentional with their lives.  Check out the newly-released eBook, When Will I Get Married? (and 7 Other Questions that Plague Singles). Jessica lives in Fort Worth, Texas where a lot of men really do wear cowboy hats and boots daily. Sadly, that does nothing for her.

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I Quit!

photo credit: hellojenuine

Two weeks ago I took a step back to figure out what reality was. In the midst of my raging hormonal episode I couldn’t figure out what the purpose was of everything I had going in my life. Was I wasting time? Was I doing too much? What was I actually doing?

I seriously wanted to know what the crap was happening!

I needed to take a break to get my head together. Over the last couple weeks, God and I have been chatting a bit. He’s shown me some great things, and some not-so-great things.

I’ve been busy doing things for me and less for Him
I’ve been worried about pleasing others more than Him
I have questioned what others think
I’ve been comparing myself to others
The expectations I’ve had on myself are ridiculous 

The list goes on…

I’m happy to announce I’m back to swimming in the reality pool. But there are still a few things God and I are getting in check.

I don’t want to write or blog if I’m not doing it for God. Therefore, this blog won’t be what it once was. There may be five posts/week, there may be one. I don’t know. To others this is blogging suicide and I’m ok with that. (That’s where the questioning what others think comes in) I’m done making it about numbers and more about connection. I’m done writing just to fill empty space. I’m done posting for the sake of “posting something.”

Writing and speaking is what I’m meant to do. God has confirmed that time and time again. But my priorites have to be straight and lately they haven’t been. He doesn’t have time for people pleasing and though I had no idea I was even doing it, God gracefully showed me it comes in all forms and fashions. He doesn’t have time for me to be comparing myself to others. How others do it isn’t how I have to do it. I’m learning.

During my unplanned break great things have happened. I haven’t sat in front of the laptop at midnight creating a post because it’s Thursday night and there isn’t a blog scheduled for Friday. I’ve gone to lunch with friends I haven’t seen in a while. I’ve fallen in love with the show “Chopped.” I’ve played UNO in the middle of the afternoon with family. I finally finished reading a book on Stillness that has taken way too long to finish. I went to the zoo.

So, with that said, you can now call me a quitter.

What do you need to quit today? Comment below…

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