The Seabourns

Ministry

A great reputation, but looking forward

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Over 19,000 years of helping those far from God connect to him and find a life of meaning and purpose and forgiveness and restoration.

Kay and I were in a reception to honor those serving with Campus Crusade for Christ for extended years. It was a Hebrews 11 moment. I felt privileged to be in the room with modern giants of the faith.

19,000 years of combined experience pioneering new ways to reach people, pioneering new places to reach people. Some of these pioneers walked onto radical campuses in the 1960s to engage free speech platforms to share Christ. Some worked behind the Iron Curtain in the 70s and 80s, then rushing people and strategies into spiritually impoverished countries when the curtain fell. Some moved into eastern Asia in the 90s speaking in code to avoid detection which could result in expulsion from the country. Some lived in places with no electricity or no running water because they wanted to incarnate Jesus. These pioneers found creative ways to live and minister in dangerous, closed, and hard places.

All for the love of Christ. All for the call of being God’s ambassadors. All for the privilege of helping others know Jesus and experience a purposeful life.

This was a summer to re-evaluate, to renew, to reconnect with God’s call on our lives. We choose to not live out of our past reputation. Rather, we choose to be alive to God’s ongoing call on our lives. We’re looking forward, not backward.

Francis Chan speaksFrancis Chan challenged us with Jesus’ warning to the church at Sardis. Jesus warned to not live on past reputation. (Click here then click on the highlighted video.)

Kay and I celebrated 35 years in full-time ministry. I took a theology course to stay sharp. Kay spent time with new staff women doing creative things. We had time outdoors enjoying God’s creation. We had amazing times of worship with 5,000 colleagues.

We are ready to go forward.

What part of your past good reputation are you resting on that might be limiting your ability to look forward?

Cru is here

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cruIt’s official. We learned last night that our new U.S. organizational name is Cru.

It’s been an amazing first day for our U.S. Staff Conference. It culminated tonight in hearing our leaders share about the 2 year journey. I was humbled by the milestones along the way where God confirmed, where God united people who disagreed strongly, where God led through the shared wisdom of thousands of volunteers, donors, and staff.

Our leaders shared research which showed what most of us have know for a while — very powerful evidence that the name “Campus Crusade” induces negative responses from many diverse populations, while CRU produces positive responses. Our leaders shared how God brought unity

I was humbled as our leaders shared that they asked thousands of people and learned that when Campus Crusade for Christ, now Cru, is at it’s finest, we are about meaningful relationships, changed lives, and significant opportunities. Our leaders confirmed over and over that our mission has not changed. We continue to be a community who is passionate about connected people to Jesu Christ so they can experience Christ’s life-changing presence and have opportunities to share Him with others.

I’m fine with the new name. I’m humbled to be a part of this caring community committed to avoiding unnecessary negative responses so we can get about the Father’s business.

So Kay and I, formerly known as staff of Campus Crusade for Christ, are now happy to be part of the Cru crew!

Jesus on an iPad

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“I told you that I’m not very interested in religion,” she said.

“Yes, you did. Would you like me to continue?” I asked.

“Sure. This is interesting.”

I smiled, flipped to the next screen, and we continued.

This was my first experience sharing the gospel using a new tool for mobile phones. As we continued, my mind flashed back to the beginning of this current adventure.

I found my seat on the flight from Atlanta to San Francisco. It was a Boeing 767, with a 2-3-2 seating plan. I moved into the aisle seat on a 2-side but didn’t get too comfortable. Kay wasn’t traveling with me this time. My seatmate hadn’t arrived yet. I wondered who God would send.

She showed up at the last minute, a fairly seasoned traveler. She sat down, her book came out, and she was in her bubble.

I was able to engage in some conversation. We talked about family (she has 2 children), about work (she was flying to San Francisco for 2 weeks), and about church involvement (she was raised in the Catholic church but is no longer active).

When I asked about her interest in spiritual things, she replied that she is content with her life and doesn’t find a need for more religion. I would talk about spiritual things and she would talk about religion.

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I had just installed the God Tools mobile phone app recently released by Campus Crusade for Christ. This app has several different gospel presentations helpful for different audiences. I was looking for an opportunity to try this hi-tech way to share the old-old story.

I told her I had recently found this interesting app that talked about Jesus without talking about religion. Would she be interested? Yes, she would.

Somewhere over the middle of America at 35,000 feet, she heard about God’s love.

Each time I would try to engage her in some simple questions, I would hear “I’m not interested in religion.” But each time I would ask if she wanted to continue, I would hear “Sure.”

Success in WitnessingI think it was her interest in the hi-tech tool. But God was reaching out to her. Although she “wasn’t interested in religion”, she heard of God’s love, of our sin, of God’s forgiveness through Jesus, and of her need to receive it.

Although, she did not indicate any response, I was relaxed in knowing that I had a secret weapon. She thought it was a hi-tech presentation. I knew the Holy Spirit would be reminding her of spiritual truths.

It was a successful adventure.

What adventures have you had using new tools to talk about Jesus?

How you can get the God Tools app 

  • If you have an iPhone or iPad, go to the Apple App store and search for God Tools. Look for the icon.
  • If you have an Android-based phone, go to the Android Market and search for God Tools. Look for the icon.

GTO Wives

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GTO Wives“Kay, I know what Keith does, but what do you do?” asked Chris. Some of you may have wondered this same thing. Actually, my role has several parts, but the one that I really like to tell others about is our team wives.

I have the privilege of working with them to discover their niche in ministry and help them be equipped for it.

How do we do this? We pray for each other, practicing new ministry skills, create individual plans for our personal development and discuss issues we face as wives and mothers in full-time ministry.

Sweet MondaysShannon wrote,

“If you get a chance would you pray for a neighborhood women’s outreach we’re having at our house tonight?  It’s called “Sweet Monday” and we hope it will be a venue to help build deeper relationships with women in our neighborhood.

Several of my friends and I have invited a few dozen ladies in our subdivision to come for a time of dessert, fun, and getting to know each other. It is a simple gathering that we hope communicates how deeply Jesus loves us as we love one another.”

Sweet Monday gatheringSweet Monday is creative evangelism that reaches out to women one sweet invitation at a time for Christ. Women laugh a lot, learn from each other and leave with a simple introduction to Jesus Christ. Shannon and her friends are seeing some of their neighbors begin a personal relationship with Jesus.

God has given me a passion to help women succeed. I could spend hours talking about all the ways our team wives are using their giftedness–Tammy the organizer, Lei the mentor, Ingrid the evangelist, JoAnne the discipler, Stacey the blogger, Holly the servant, Andi the planner, Kathy the giver….

We are touching lives of other women and families that God has brought into our lives. Together we are making a difference.

Technologies for a startup church

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Dad, I’m pretty sure I’ll be asked to set up the church local area network (LAN) when I join Imago Dei church. I’ll probably set up some type of internet connection. What do you recommend for our startup church for file sharing, printer sharing, and internet connection?

My son is finishing his degree from Dallas Seminary and will join a startup church in Phoenix. He’s pretty sure his electrical engineering training from Texas Tech means he’ll be the technology guy.

You may be surprised at my answer.

Gartner: 20% of businesses own no IT assets in 2012

I suggested that he not build much technology infrastructure. I suggested that they use cloud-based technologies like Google Apps (docs, calendar), Dropbox, WordPress.com, and others. I suggested that they purchase an internet service for their church office but no servers. Just use a wifi network. Purchase a network-capable printer or use a less expensive printer with an inexpensive print server. For my home network, I use a D-Link DP-300U device I purchased on eBay.

How would you have answered the question?