The Seabourns

Ministry

Wilson Web 15 years

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marketing-delivery-responseRalph Wilson is a pioneer. We learned together, separated by 1500 miles. I was getting started in this thing we now call eMinistry or online ministry. I was launching Leadership University, Origins, stonewallrevisited.com (since discontinued), World Religions Index, Leadership University in Spanish and other sites. I was helping other organizations like Probe Ministries, Reasons to Believe, First Things Journal launch their internet presence which we hosted in exchange for sharing articles.

Ralph launched Web Marketing Today. And his ideas gave tremendous lift to my leadership growth.

My first contact was an email newsletter. I understood the technology of the internet, which my engineering background. I understood the ministry skills of online ministry, having spent 15 years in field and media ministry. Ralph helped me understand the marketing of the internet. His practical marketing insights drip with integrity and purpose. I have helped many others build strategic plans for their internet ministry presence through the Marketing + Delivery + Response = Effective Internet Presence paradigm. (Thanks to friend Rob Williams who developed the diagram above.)

I wrote Ralph earlier today:

Congratulations, Ralph, on 15 years of excellent service. You and I started together in our internet foray. We both started in the 1994/1995 timeframe. Your marketing ideas shaped my application of internet media to our gospel-based mission expressed through our websites. I’ve recommended Web Marketing Today to hundreds of others. You’ve been a good and faithful servant to so many. Well done.

MinistryNet 2009 Antalya is over

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Keith and Kay at MinistryNet

I watched the 166 MinistryNet participants leave on Saturday. 37 countries on 5 continents received back some highly motivated people with written strategic plans to implement specific steps to leverage internet communication tools in our win-build-send mission.

In an interview Friday, I was asked about this MinistryNet compared to previous ones in 2005 and 2007. I shared that each has seemed better and better. The tide of understanding the value and role of internet communication is definitely rising and lifting all the win-build-send boats. One difference this year is there is more organizational momentum in the Virtually-Led Movements area.

Another difference this year is the program team decided to intentionally “go after” organizational leaders to bring teams of people. We wanted organizational leaders who control budget and staff to engage with their teams. This approach probably would not have worked in previous years, but the tide has lifted us to another place in 2009. As one National Director told me this morning, his leadership suggested that he send 2 people to MinistryNet. But he understood that would not bring about the deep changes he knows he needs in his leadership team. The “delegate approach” doesn’t allow organizational leaders to understand the deep changes the internet is bringing in our world today. So he recruited his top leaders to come with him to MinistryNet. 8 people came with him. He said it was extremely valuable. They are returning home with specific, written plans. But more importantly, they are returning home with a team of people who understand together and committed together to the plan.

My prayer is that the world will never be the same. That the kingdom will be impacted for eternity because of our days together.

Courageous Pastor

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The pastor was really courageous. After the evangelism class he taught, I chatted with him about how courageous he was. Evangelism and Giving are two subjects likely to make people uneasy. Many leaders avoid them or minimize the time.

Why?

I think that evangelism (and giving) dredges up guilt and shame. We know we should be more active in talking with others about Jesus. And we are ashamed to admit how little we proactively initiate with others.

I visited church with my son and daughter-in-love yesterday.  That’s where I attended the pastor’s evangelism class. Training others in evangelism is what I’ve done all my adult life. It doesn’t make me an expert evangelism trainer, just an active participant in trying to help others experience the amazing privilege of seeing someone open the door of their lives to Jesus. Getting to see a new birth is a tremendous privilege.

I had several thoughts during the class. Here are some the things I’ve found helpful.

  • Having the proper perspective: Success in evangelism is simply taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God. This simple explanation frees me to be successful because the results are God’s.
  • CoJourners is one of the best approaches to evangelism I’ve used in recent years. The focus is coming alongside others on the roadtrip called life. I’ve written about my experiences here and here.
  • Sharing your personal story is an excellent way to share with others. The 5clicks.com site is very helpful in preparing your story in a compelling, winsome way.
  • A friend of mine uses a very intentional approach to prepare to share with someone every day. Each morning, he takes a booklet or a New Testament or a Jesus Film DVD in his hand. He prays, “Lord, this belongs to someone else. Please lead me today to its new owner.” Then he goes out for his day eagerly expecting to find someone to give the booklet or DVD.
  • Don’t be afraid of a question you can’t answer. I don’t hesitate to ask someone to play basketball because I’m afraid they might ask a question I can’t answer. And if I am asked a question, saying “I don’t really know a good answer right now. How about if I think about it and get something to you tomorrow?” Then go to search.ccci.org which searches across 2,000 websites in 50 languages for the best articles to questions like “How do I know if God really exists?” or “How can a good God allow all the evil and suffering in the world today?” Go to the search engine and type in one of these questions. See, good results that you can forward to your friend.

My son wrote about another misconception voiced yesterday.

It works! It takes courage. It takes overcoming all sorts of little whispers from the one who would have us keep silent. “He’s not interested.” “Don’t interrupt her now!” “You’ll only embarrass yourself.” I hear these and more every time I’m about to take the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leave the results to God.

As Nike made famous, just do it.

Distance Learning Project

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The meetings part of my Africa trip are over. I’m partway into the travel remaining. I’m returned from Nairobi, Kenya to Johannesburg, South Africa on the first leg of 33 ½ hours of travel, leaving the hotel at 4:45 am until I touch down in Orlando on Thursday. The reclining cocoons of Business Class sure look nice as I walk past them to the Economy section!

Yesterday, Chris and I met with Dr. Emmanuel Bellon, Vice Chancellor of Nairobi International School of Theology. We were joined by Nicholos Kimolo, Managing Director of Futuristics. Emmanuel’s vision of the need and urgency of distance learning in Africa is motivating. Nicholas seems a very competent consultant and advisor to come alongside and help implement the vision. Emmanuel shared the urgent need for trained leadership to guide the exploding church membership in Africa. Theological education schools in Nairobi do not graduate enough leaders to supply the new churches planted each year in just the city of Nairobi alone. It’s fairly normal for a church to see its trained pastor preach once every 3 months. The interim times are led by lay leaders and women, mostly untrained. There is an urgent need for trained leadership across the African continent.

Emmanuel sees distance education as an effective way to increase theologically-trained leadership beyond what resident schools are able to do. He began working on a plan 3 years ago, and really launched about a year ago. They have contracted Futuristics to help with the technologies needed.

As we talked, we identified several areas where my technology team in Orlando may be able to partner with this distance learning project. We have developed several systems that are needed in this project. It’s exciting to see the Lord enabling the work of our hands to be helpful to this distance learning project in Africa.

In addition to assisting with their current distance learning project, we agreed to a pilot project to test the ability to deliver distance learning in mobile phones. The current distance project seems focused on the centralized components of distance learning. I think the mobile device project can add value by addressing the end-user component of distance learning by providing a way for remote users to be trained without needing to have a computer and a high-speed internet connection.

This has been a very productive time. I am very aware of your faithful giving and praying. Kay and I are privileged to partner with you. We get to be your hands and feet, your personal representatives working with Dr. Bellon and others to develop new ways to help others grow and develop as Christ’s ambassadors.

More photos from Nairobi are online here.

Our September prayer calendar is online here.

On the journey together with you,
Keith & Kay