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Archives for May 2006

The DaVinci Code: Capturing an amazing opportunity

May 16, 2006 by Keith Seabourn 1 Comment

Last week, you prayed for my presentation to Campus Crusade for Christ’s board of directors. Here is a part of that presentation, where I explained how we are using technology to increase our fruitfulness and to capture an amazing opportunity that God is giving us.

This is a longer email than I usually write, but I wanted to open the door for you to see the amazing fruitfulness God is bringing through the DaVinci Code movie opportunity.

Every 3 seconds someone sees the gospel on a Campus Crusade for Christ website. Every 1 minute, someone indicates a decision for Christ. Every 3 minutes, an email conversation begins with a trained counselor.

On May 19th, the movie The DaVinci Code is being released globally, in 67 countries. The Christian community is embracing this tremendous opportunity to engage people in spiritual conversations. Campus Crusade for Christ is at the very forefront of capturing this opportunity. We’ve developed a powerful and popular Companion Guide. Josh McDowell has written a book, The DaVinci Code: A Quest for Answers.

The Companion Guide is available in 14 languages that we know of: English, French, Latvian, Portuguese,Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Hungarian, Russian, Croatian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Egyptian Arabic, and Finnish.

It’s being printed in about 20 locations around the globe. This global collaboration around a global event was not possible just a few years ago. We are now in a place of increasing fruitfulness through empowering technologies that allow our decentralized movement to work together in a powerful way.

Josh McDowell’s The DaVinci Code: A Quest for Answers podcast has become the #2 podcast on the Apple iTunes site. You may not be familiar with podcasts, but they are an increasingly popular version of an audio book or broadcast. Over 100,000 people have subscribed to the podcast.

The Holy Spirit is not waiting until the May 19th release to begin using these websites. We are already seeing results. Email counselors are already discipling new believers. As of last Sunday on the website DaVinciandJesus.com, we have seen:
• 86,508 visitors
• 8,139 indicated decisions
• 1,623 e-mail conversations
• 986 initiated follow-up

Do you want to be better prepared for The DaVinci Code opening? All signs indicate it will be a blockbuster, both in the movie theaters and in spiritual ministry opportunities. A friend wrote yesterday, ” We are in Kansas City this week and I’ve seen several people reading the book on the airplane, in the airports, and around the hotel. It is ‘hot’ now, isn’t it?”

Visit Get Ready to Answer Tough Questions Raised by “The Da Vinci Code”: Tools from the Campus Crusade for Christ family of ministries.

Other sites that I like:
The battle of The Da Vinci Code, a balanced article on CNN site
The Truth about DaVinci Code, a very good resource in Q&A format

I’m sure there are other good sites. What are your favorites? How are you preparing for the “water cooler” and “soccer sidelines” discussions that The DaVinci Code movie will likely trigger?

I’ve been counseling seekers for several weeks via email from our Campus Crusade sites. Many seekers are writing strongly worded emails. George Barna recently observed, “A survey we completed this week shows that among the tens of millions of people who have read the bestseller, The Da Vinci Code, from cover to cover, the book has influenced their thinking – but it has not necessarily changed their religious views so much as it has confirmed what they already believed prior to reading the book.” Many seekers who are disbelieving of Christianity’s claims find the book gives them additional ammunition. And some are “weapons free” and firing away.

I have found that it is better to not engage directly in an argumentative or correcting manner. I avoid making the argument between “me and him” and help the seeker understand the fight is in his own heart between him and God. Answering directly can keep them engaged in verbal combat. I ask them to read the CNN article (because it is from a non-Christian source) and then write me back with issues it raises in their minds. Then I remain more of a neutral entity versus a target and we can focus the discussion on his or her response to what they are reading.

This is a tremendous opportunity to capture significant spiritual discussions with people. God is giving us an opportunity for tremendous fruitfulness.

We are living out missions in the 21st century, taking advantage of the revolutionary advances in communication to reach out to people seeking peace and meaning that comes through Christ.

Are you ready? You can be!

Filed Under: Ministry

The most important thing

May 11, 2006 by Keith Seabourn 1 Comment

We are about a week from the global release of The DaVinci Code movie. I ran across this amazing news story from an online news site in New Delhi, India.

While the bulk of the article talks about a move to ban The DaVinci Code movie in India, read the last few paragraphs. This secular news site links to a clear presentation of the gospel, and quotes from the site in a very attractive way. As I looked at this news article, I realized that the only live hyperlink in the entire article is to a clear gospel page, where people can come to know God in a personal way. The only hyperlink!

Reading this, I was reminded of Paul’s letter to the Philippians (see 2:15-18):
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

I rejoice because the most important thing is happening. Christ is being preached.

Filed Under: Personal

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