What the Church Could Learn from Comic Con Part 2

"I look upon the whole world as my parish." - John Wesley

I learned a lot in just a few days at Comic Con 2019.  My eyes are always open to the different opportunities to glean a little something in the realm of marketing and promotions as well as customer engagement and overall experience.  In a nutshell, Comic Con offers all of that.

Build a Buzz

Comic Con does a great job of building a buzz.  They hype up panels with the Q&A sessions and the sneak peaks.  Plus, the fans keep the buzz going with trending streams of social media content, sharing selfies and quoting the panels with inside information.

Mayans MC panel in Hall H on Sunday offered an exclusive sneak peak of the season opener.

You got to love the way that it all plays out to fit into a media campaign that keeps buzzing before, during and well after the event itself has packed up and moved on to the next city.  People enter the event with an expectation, and their expectation turns into an experience that they feel compelled to share via social media.  

Imagine if the church generated that type of buzz about its special events.  Picture how much of a difference it would make to have streaming video of more than pulpit preaching for seekers.  It could truly turn out to help us in engaging the public.  If people have an idea of what type of experience to expect when interacting with our church, then they could make an informed decision about checking out the local church.  That opens the door for the gospel to be preached or taught.

We have to build a buzz to build up expectations of the experience.

Use Events as a Means for Recruiting Others

The event itself does not need to recruit many people.  However, the exhibit hall and streets are filled with opportunities to download or sign up for this or that in order to get a discount or an opportunity for a special experience.  There are numerous ways to play it, but playing it safe is definitely not the mantra here.

"Jesus turned everyone into recruiters." - Laurie Beth Jones

As the local church, we need to see our mission as recruiters as well as ambassadors.  We want people to feel a certain level of connection that they cannot get simply streaming church worship services on the Internet.  We want to tap into the inner yearning that drives people to seek to do so much more with their lives than simply sit through church.  We need to serve as a conduit for people to give more of themselves in order to make a difference in the world around them.

We need to see that every event and service is an open opportunity to get people involved in what we are doing within the community.  If it is a golf tournament, what is the charity that benefits from having foursomes fill the golf course? If it is a food giveaway, how are we adding value to the lives of those receiving food beyond just the food itself? Yes, Jesus met the need but He also professed to be the Bread of Life that would make it to where they hungered no more.  We need to recruit people by helping them attach to more than just doing something.  We need to recruit people to make a difference where they fit in and offer their best.

Face the Feedback

Like any organized event, sometimes people drop out and do not show up.  The showrunners of "Game Of Thrones" did not make it, leaving some of the cast to defend the final season that did not go over with much fanfare.  Cast members took the negative feedback from fans in Hall H, but the truth is that we all need to face the feedback.

The truth is perfect, but the people who are followers of the truth are nothing but imperfect.  Therefore, we need the Savior.  If that's the case, the same people who run the local church are just as imperfect as the people who make decisions about episodes and camera shots to bring those story boards to life on the screen.

Facing the feedback is not easy.  It reveals our imperfections.  It stings a little bit, even a lot at times.  Yet, if we take it in, we can begin to make some necessary changes and provide some quality that matches with expectations.  Plus, it boils down to something super simple: people are able to vent and feel that they have been heard.  I learned early on in ministry that we cannot truly help them if we have not truly heard them.  Accept the feedback and act on it accordingly.

After 50 years, Comic Con appears to still be going strong.  It initially started with 300 people.  Nowadays it just takes over the entire downtown of San Diego with swarms of cosplayers and gamers as ell as geeks and super fans.  Add to that the people watchers and the onlookers as well as the freebie chasers.  That's an entire melting pot of folks.

If that is the five-day frenzy over comic books and related media, we should accomplish so much more with the truth of the gospel.  

Charity Challenge for 2018

And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; 

but the greatest of these is charity.

- 1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)

"Change requires action." - John C. Maxwell

Oftentimes, I find myself wondering why we struggle with letting go.  We refuse to let go.  We refuse to let God have His way.

We hold on to the wrong things for the wrong reasons, and then we wonder why we do not have what God promised us.  

The logic is simple, friends.  We cannot take hold of what we should have because we have not freed up our hands to let go of what we are holding onto for dear life.  Sadly, much like the rich young ruler who left saddened from the words of Jesus, what we have a hold on truly has a hold on us.  Perhaps, it even has a hold over us.

Imagine how much collective power we would have if we shared and pooled our resources like the brothers and sisters of the early church, having all things in common.

2018 Charity Challenge

"... but the greatest of these is charity." 

- 1 Corinthians 13:13 (KJV)

Life Path Multimedia is part of the larger vision of Life Path Ministries & Services.  Our work consists of online multimedia content and a message-driven, mobilized outreach ministry.  This blog along with Rev Bruce's Blog serve as the cornerstones of content for Life Path Multimedia, but our online storefronts on Sellfy and Lulu (books and other resources) as well as Zazzle and CafePress (t-shirts, buttons and gear) are how we truly fund the ministry's outreach and good works.

During 2018, we dare to trust God for more support as we seek to expand and enhance our ministry's outreach and evangelism.  Our goal is to take the gospel on the go, taking it to more people on the streets and in all walks of life. One of our goals is to purchase a used SUV and trailer later this year for summer outreach at festivals and fairs, even local 5Ks and marathons.  Also, we want to distribute tracts, Bibles, and more.  We want to make the accusation in Acts a reality that we are turning the world upside down.

For 2018, all we ask is that you check out our storefronts and identify items that you might purchase in support of our ministry.  Consider it an act of charity (translated as "love") and help us help others.  While some of our publications are more secular, our profits go towards the work of our higher calling as Paul wrote in the New Testament.

Check out some samples below.  Also, check back throughout the year for more materials and designs as they become available.

Writing the Wrongs (poetry in protest)

Discover Words from the Underground by Rev Bruce Jackson

(poetry)

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Loving Poetry Dark T-Shirt by LifePath
Find more & unique gifts at CafePress

Order @Prayer Always pin on Zazzle

@Prayer is designed to stir up inspiration Pinback Button
by Lifepath08

Getting Down to the Nuts and Bolts of Evangelism

"He that winneth souls is wise." - Proverbs 11:30

Winning souls is of high importance.  It is a priority for the Christian and the local church.  In order to win souls, you have to be engaged in some aspect of evangelism.

In many cases, we have regulated evangelism to a few generalized activities rather than a broad range of diverse activities that impact and influence people to engage in a relationship with Christ.  Truthfully, evangelism is a mixture of both of these.

According to Vine's Expository Dictionary, "evangelize" means to proclaim glad tidings; preach the gospel (Luke 1:19; 9:6; Acts 21:8).  When we participate in activities that share the gospel, the "good news" about Jesus Christ, we are involved in evangelizing.

Our evangelistic activities should span beyond simply inviting people to worship services and events at our local church.  All that is saying is that someone has to come onto our territory in order to get what we have to offer.  That is not the type of evangelism that wins souls.  That simply gets them through the door for the pulpit and the choir to do the work of the soul winning.

Charles Spurgeon said it profoundly when he said:"Our main business is to win souls." Winning souls is work.  The Bible references good works as a means for opening the door for winning souls.  For example, in Matthew 5:16, we see that by letting our light shine, others will see our good works and call upon the Father in heaven.  As we do good works, we begin to get people engaged and interacting with the people of God for a good cause.  As we do more good for those around us, it will begin to get the people who benefited from those good works to look beyond us and to our source of support and strength.

In 2014, we will look at more of the nuts and bolts of evangelism.  We will begin to discover that we can do more and discover the power that God has given to us to influence, inspire and impact our fellow man, just by letting our lights shine before men.

Stay tuned for more on this topic as we engage in an ongoing effort to strengthen the church and the Christian to do more with what God has already given to us.

Match Your Works with the Word

Outreach is all about reaching out.

"I believe I never was more acceptable to my Master than when I was standing to teach those hearers in the open fields I now preach to ten times more people than I would if I had been confined to the churches." - George Whitefield







"Preach abroad. It is the cooping yourselves up in rooms that has dampened the work of God, which never was and never will be carried out to any purpose without going into the highways and hedges and compelling men and women to come in."- Jonathan Edwards







"Love your fellowmen, and cry about them if you cannot bring them to Christ. If you cannot save them, you can weep over them. If you cannot give them a drop of cold water in hell, you can give them your heart's tears while they are still in this body."
- C.H. Spurgeon

Support our outreach and evangelism efforts to reach the streets, touch the highways and byways, and share the Good News here, there and everywhere.

I Love My Neighbor!! Button by Lifepath08

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Take Charge of Your Writing Career

“I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.” 

― Upton Sinclair

I recently started to read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle once again.  As I began reading through this classic novel, I came to realize that my desire to assist others with their artistic goals like creative writing is a major undertaking.  I can see how my contribution to others, especially my community's youth, can lead to someone actually exploring a career of working with words.

Sinclair's works exposed the corruption of capitalism and the muck and mire of materialism.  We can hardly imagine anyone except the enigmatic Daniel Day Lewis in his oil baron portrayal of the main character of the cinematic version of Sinclair's novel Oil! (also known as "There Will be Blood").  Such characters are the type of signature that makes the struggle of The Jungle's Jurgis as engrossing as the Joads in Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.

Join me in an effort to nurture young creative talent who will soon give birth to a new generation of literature and journalism that our world desperately needs.  Our fundraiser will support young creative writers develop their talent and skills to create new works worthy of satisfying our hunger for quality literature.

Seven days left before our fundraiser closes. . .

Seen Just like the Savior

"As he is, so are we in this world." 1 John 4: 17

We cannot expect others to seek Jesus as their Savior if they cannot see Jesus in us as the saved.

Let that one sink in just for a moment.

Saved folks (Christians) are to be regarded as the work of salvation's masterpieces.  Yet, we are quick to share that we are a work in progress and how God's not finished with us yet.  However, we do bear the name of Christ and proclaim His name because of the work that He has already done for us all on the cross.

The world sees that.  They cannot see Jesus since He has ascended into heavenly places, taking His seat of power at the right of God the Father.  However, they can see us.

Yes, brothers and sisters, we are on display.  God has us in plain view of every Dick and Jane in the cosmos.  Truthfully, all of the talk about Christians being hypocrites is truthful if we believe that Christians actually believe that they can be sinless.  We are not called to be Christ; we are called to become more Christ-like in our daily walk.

Somebody's watching us.

God is watching us.

Other Christians are watching us.

The world is watching us.

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Living in His Image

"Christianity has an image problem." - David Kinnaman, The UnChristian

Human beings are made in the image of God.  God directs His people to live holy because He is holy.  God offers His Word, so that His people can follow His Word in their daily lives.  God sent His only begotten Son to earth to redeem mankind into a relationship with Him and for Christians to follow the example of Christ.

However, the biggest issue that most people who do not accept the faith of Christianity due to Christians.  Actually, the issue has more to do with the hypocrisy of Christians than it does with Christians as people in general.

Why?

The Christian is to live as an example as much as he or she is to live by example.  When we follow that example, others tend to gravitate towards us and follow us in our walk with Christ.  When we fail to follow that example and others witness us, we send mixed messages and cause others to become confused.  If we want to win souls for the Lord, we need to provide a witness that gives a positive example to others.

 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. - 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)

Inspired to Impact

At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.  All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
- Acts 9:20-21 (NIV)

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. - Acts 9:26-27 (NIV)

Look at Paul during his transition from persecutor to preacher.  He was constantly met with opposition to his change.  People repeatedly questioned him.  After all, he had been on his way to persecute the church more than what he had already done.  In their opinions, he was still "the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem."  From where they stood, he was still a persecutor of the church.

Thank God that Paul didn't fall for it.  If he had wimped out and succumbed to their views, he would have never accepted going forth with the message as a missionary.  He would have wallowed in self-absorbed pity and kept to himself.  He would never have raised his voice beyond his original detractors.


God inspires us to go beyond the thoughts and ideas of the very people around us.  He inspires us to impact others beyond our family and friends.  He offers us fuel to fortify us against the negative perceptions of the people that we may very well be trying to help and who act like we are not worthy of offering such help.

Think for a minute back to 1992 and the riots in Los Angeles that immediately followed the verdict of the Rodney King trial.  Many will recall the looting and burning of many parts of the city of Los Angeles.  There was Reginald Denny, the white man pulled from his truck and beaten in the streets.  The media made that gruesome footage part of our daily diet as it replayed it again and again. 

However, few will recall the name of the man who stepped in to help Denny.  Bobby Green was his name.  He witnessed the mayhem and decided that enough was enough.  He made the trek about a half a mile from his home to where Denny was being beaten on live television and saved the man's life.  It is a shame that we cannot recall such a man as Bobby Green, but we surely must understand that we, too, must impact this very world where evil gets splashed on the front page and scandal makes the eleven o'clock news broadcast. 

Imagine what breaking news it would be if we all started impacting our world because we were inspired to do so.  Don't simply go with the flow.  At times, God will direct you to simply go against the grain.  Bobby Green did so in our times.  Paul did so in his times.  John the Baptist did so.  Jesus did so. 

Let yourself become inspired to impact others.  Let God use you for you to do so.

Say Something about the Savior

"Let the redeemed of the LORD say so. . ." - Psalm 107:2

We who have been saved by the grace of the Lord need to say so.  We need to share about the Savior and the salvation that He offers us.  We owe Him at least that much for all that He has done for us.

As we move towards Easter and the celebration of the Lord's resurrection, let us recall all that He has offered us through His saving grace.  He has not only risen.  He has bought us with a price through His precious blood.  He has brought us into a right relationship with God.

Say something about the Savior through the way you celebrate His resurrection this year.  Share your testimony with others.  Don't let this year go by with you simply blending in with the world rather than standing out by saying something about the Savior.

Extreme Experiences of Edification

Key question: Have you built a ministry that builds up people to be better servants of the Lord?

Take your time.  Think about all of the people who serve under you.  Let things play back in your mind. 

We need people experiencing edification.  We need people being built up within our midst.  We need to get busy building folks up.

Why?

Their responsibility is to equip God's people

to do his work and build up the church,

the body of Christ.

- Ephesians 4:12 (NLT)

We are called to do so.  We have been commissioned to do so.  It is our calling.  Let us live up to it.

Give the people who come to you an extreme experience.  Offer an edifying experience.  Take people to the edge by standing on the cutting edge as opposed to the status quo.  Let people experience Christianity beyond the stuffy, Sunday morning sermonized Savior that seems so distant that He could not have possibly walked on earth.  Give them the real deal when you share about the Savior.  Show them the Jesus who saves.  Share the Jesus who sacrificed for the sinful.  Provide an opportunity to experience Jesus in spirit and in truth.

Look at some examples of radical Christianity. . .