Reconnect

Andy, Wes, and Jesse take an online quiz to find out what Christian denomination they should be. This is all the more fun because Jesse doesn't have a denomination! Take the quiz for yourself here: http://www.selectsmart.com/FREE/select.php?client=christiandenom

For this episode of Reconnect, Andy is sharing an episode of Cross Defense, in which he joined host Rev. Rod Zwonitzer as they discuss the different opinions people have of Jesus… A Myth? A Liar? A Lunatic? A Pantheist? From The Future? A Prophet, but Not God? A Demon? or the Messiah?For more Cross Defense episodes, click here.

Andy and Wes take a quiz to find out what Christian denomination they should join, but Andy mistakenly had a quiz that asked "What Kind of Christian are You?" instead, so they don't hear what denomination they should be, but they hope you still get some good doctrinal insights from this episode. Sticking with the Reconnect theme of sharing and defending the Gospel, they share how they think different answers could affect what the Gospel message really is. Enjoy. Take the quiz if you dare:What Kind of Christian Are You?

George interviews Andy about his MA research project, THE USE OF CHINESE LITERATURE AS A CULTURAL STARTING POINT TO PRESENT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.AbstractCommon methods of Christian evangelism present a list of facts about man’s depravity and God’s act of salvation for mankind. These methods are problematic in today’s mostly postmodern world that does not accept absolute truths. These methods also use terminology and concepts unknown outside of the Christian faith, furthering the difficulty of communicating the Gospel. This research project then seeks to find a well-known piece of Chinese literature that Christians can use as a cultural starting point when presenting the Gospel in China, eliminating the problems of a facts-based presentation of the Gospel.Key List of WordsChinese folktales, Chinese literature, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, monomyth, and storytelling evangelism.

Many religions teach that the soul is eternal and that it passes on from one life to the next, being incarnate in a new body each time. This teaching is called reincarnation. It contradicts the teaching of resurrection that says this life is the only life humans have before a bodily resurrection of all the dead at the final judgment of the Lord. Mike Shreve of Shreve Ministries shares why he used to believe in reincarnation, how he used to teach others about reincarnation, how the Lord saved him and brought him to embrace the resurrection of Christ and the future bodily resurrection of all the dead, and how he explains that reincarnation isn't logically consistent. Show Links: Shreve Ministries

Free Download of Mike's Testimony: Encountering God

Website for Mike's Book, In Search of the True Light: The True Light

A 2005 Gallup poll revealed that 37% of Americans believe houses can be haunted and 21% believe they can personally communicate with the dead. In a 2009 Pew Research Center survey, it was discovered that 29% of the American population believes they have been in touch with the dead. Among those who identify as Christians, the percentage was the exact same! 18% of Americans claim to have had a ghostly experience (17% among Christians).

In light of such results, is the Church ready to respond to an increasing population that embraces a paranormal worldview? This is a drastic shift from countering the typical Atheistic naturalism. There is a cultural shift occurring in which the non-religious are open to a reality that exists beyond our natural world. However, are Christians prepared to address the many facets of this growing belief system and fascination with the spirit world? In the first Reconnect Halloween Special, Andy interviews Daniel Jenkins, a Christian paranormal investigator. Daniel has been on 1000s of “ghost-hunts” as a member of a Christian paranormal investigation team. As a Christian team interacting with non-Christian investigators and scared home-owners who thought their homes were haunted, Daniel and his team were able to share the hope of the Gospel, give explanations to what was being experienced, and personally pray for those who were scared and in need of God’s love and truth.

Questions Answered:

How did Daniel get involved in the paranormal world?

What makes a Christian paranormal team different from any other team?

What does the typical investigation consists of?

Is there usually a natural explanation found through the investigations?

What has Daniel experienced that couldn’t be explained naturally?

What does the Bible say concerning ghosts? Are they just demons, or could they be the spirits of the dead?

How has Daniel been able to share the Gospel through his involvement in paranormal investigations?

How has Daniel’s paranormal involvement been received by other Christians and his pastors?

Show Links:

Cris Putnam’s site: The Supernatural Worldview

Calico Ghost Tours

Daniel Jenkins’ employer: Lutheran Hour Ministries

Men’s Network from Lutheran Hour Ministries

WhatDoesThisMean.Org: "Ghost Stories" by Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller

Andy Wrasman’s Contradict – They Can’t All Be True

Jake Wells is a Flesh Pilot. He's a tattoo artist and a DIY RC POV Helocopter enthusiast. Tattoos are taboo in most Christian circles. Jake is covered in them and he covers others with them too. Remote controlled helicopters are a booming hobby, though a controversial one due to the fact that most people call them drones and some pilots fly them in illegal spaces or over private property while filming from them! Despite the controversy, Jake uses his job as a tattoo artist to share the Gospel and he has been dubbed the "world's first RC (Remote Control) Christian Minister". Andy interviews Jake to find out more about how he became a Christian and how he shares Christ through his work and hobbies in the hope that Jake's boldness to share the Gospel through his every day endeavors will excite others to do the same in their jobs and recreational pursuits. Show Links:Jake's Ministry Site - Flesh Pilot

Jake's Coptor Frames for Sale - Black Arm Workshop

VICE's Motherboard Article on Jake - "The Born-Again Christian Who Flies a Drone for God"

Nadov Assor's Documentary with Jake - "Lesson on Leaving Your Body"

Jefferson Bethke's Video - "Are Tattoos Sinful?"

We can approach a church service as our opportunity to serve the Lord through what we are doing during our gathering, or we can go to a church service with the expectation that we are going to be served by the Lord. We usually hold one approach as our predominant understanding of what is occurring when we gather. There is a church service order called the Divine Service. This is an order of service typically used within Lutheran traditions. Its name was mentioned in Episode 28, but not much was shared about what actually transpires in a Divine Service. So for this episode, Andy interviews Pastor Jaime Nava of Good Shepherd Lutheran in Yucaipa, CA, to learn more about what the Divine Service is and why Jaime thinks it is the best approach to sharing the Gospel during our church services.Show Links:Good Shepherd Lutheran Church - Yucaipa

Episode 28 of Reconnect which Sparked the need for this Episode

Jaime Shares that Law and Gospel is a Lutheran Distinctive and Episode 27 of Reconnect Explains both of These Terms

The Divine Service - An Explanation at Steadfast Lutherans

An Explanation of the Divine Service for Laypeople by Lutherans Online

Andy and Ben take a look at a video God or Absurdity posted that demonstrates what they call" an excellent summary of presuppositional apologetics".The video is a splice of two episodes of "On the Box" featuring Mark Spence answering the question: "What is presuppositional apologetics and how is it used?" In the process of answering this question, Mark discredits the use of evidential apologetics. He does this because he says the nonbeliever will discredit all evidence that is presented for the existence of God.Andy and Ben disagree with Mark Spence on some of his points about evidential apologetics and they agree with him on some of his points about presuppositional apologetics. Together, they make a case for using both presuppositional and evidential apologetics when sharing and defending the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Show Links:

God or Absurdity"On the Box" Video on Presuppositional Apologetics"Martyrs Read Joel Osteen Tweets" VideoGod or Absurdity - "Other Religions" Page Featuring Contradict!

George and Andy take a quiz from ChurchPop that makes them decipher if a selection of lyrics are from a secular love song or a contemporary worship song.

This quiz leads them to ask if it’s a problem if the lyrics to a song intended to be sung to Jesus could just as easily be sung to your girlfriend.

Other questions are also addressed: Why is there music and singing in worship services? Is there a Scriptural reason to support singing when Christians gather for worship? What should we expect to see in the lyrical content of songs intended for worship? Should worship be viewed as a time that God comes and serves us, or a time that we come together to worship and praise God? Should there be a different standard of lyrical content when singing to God corporately or by one’s self?

Andy has noticed what appears to be a thrust to have the songs and bands in services be something non-Christians or non-Church-goers wouldn't mind hearing. This means the band in a way has become an outreach component. Is this a good approach to sharing the Gospel? And if this is the intent of some services, are the “Jesus is my Girlfriend” songs missing the mark of their intent for evangelism? George and Andy both pick a song they have heard recently in a worship setting that has rubbed them the wrong way lyrically and they explain why. Their intent with this podcast is to promote Christians to evaluate what the purpose is of singing as a body of believers and to lead them to think about what they are singing when they gather in their local church bodies. Visit AndyWrasman.com and check out the post for Reconnect Episode 28 to access show links to the quiz they took and the songs they discuss.