How can we and other ministries accelerate the completion of the Great Commission during a world wide economic downturn

The economic crisis is not a crisis for God or Christians but an opportunity for us to see:

Opportunity in Crisis

Christ was always finding opportunity in crisis.
And, in John 16:33, Christ encouraged His disciples to do the same: “In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage – I have conquered the world.”
And so it is with our latest tribulation – the global economic crisis. Though the pain and travail of this crisis are real, it is not a crisis that cannot be overcome by His disciples.

The economic crisis is not a crisis for God or Christians but an opportunity for us to see:

Opportunity in Crisis

We all know this crisis has been created by human excesses: excess debt, excess consumption, covetousness, greed, selfishness, etc.
As such, this crisis presents a cheerful, if you will, opportunity to reexamine our own lives, businesses, churches, and ministries for unhelpful excesses.

Eliminating the Baggage

Specifically, this crisis presents an opportunity to eliminate the baggage that weighs us down and possibly has us worshiping at the altar of worldly goods, pride and self sufficiency. As a ministry we are not like a single soldier on the battlefield but God has many soldiers and many ministries working the Great Commission and HE expects us to share and labor together in the battle for man’s hearts. An analogy in the computer world of today is: the "open source Software" community where they freely share their software developments with one another toward the goal of improving their software package but even more so, as Christian Ministries Christ expects us to share with one another "open source Ministry" and help one another with the goal of completing the race (The Great Commission) and obtaining the reward at the end of life’s journey.
As I listen to the news I am reminded of the writer of Hebrews who tells us to get rid of every weight that encumbers us:

Heb 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus; (Net Bible)

I’m also reminded of Christ, who was quite clear in His instructions to His disciples upon sending them out to proclaim the Kingdom:

Luke 9:2-4 …and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 9:3 He said to them, "Take nothing for your journey – no staff, no bag, no bread, no money, and do not take an extra tunic. 9:4 Whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave the area. Net Bible

Application to Bible.org

As the new Executive Director of bible.org, I examine the 2009 plans and expenses of bible.org as part of my position.
I am reminded that God expects me personally and our bible.org team, not only be good stewards of the resources He has blessed us with, but also that He wants us to "Get rid of every weight and sin" that limits our ability to be effective in the completing the mission He has given us.

New Opportunities

Clearly, this economic crisis has shaken the sense of security that those who "trust in" the values of their houses, their 401K’s, and their material possessions. Many are openly questioning "if I cannot trust the in world economic system and my own economic security, what can I trust in?"
As such, I am convinced that this presents both the church and ministries like bible.org with new and expanded opportunities to proclaim the kingdom of God.

Pressing Toward the Mark

However, we will fail unless we reach higher levels of cooperation between ministries, and an even greater unity within the body of Christ to reach the lost and disciple believers.
We need to eliminate duplication of efforts and purposely share information and methodologies that WORK in the real life cultures we live in.
Some serious questions to consider:
Will the new economic realities force us to train the body of Christ with the skills necessary to function in smaller "house church" settings?
Will we be forced to work together in new ways?
Or… will we continue in the current mode of ministry stovepipes and empire building that weighs us down and limits our ability to compete in the marathon that God has entered us in?
What, specifically, should we do to gain the victor’s crown at the end of the marathon (our life) in heaven?

2009 Efficiency Actions at Bible.org

In reviewing Bible.org plans for 2009, I want to get rid of any expense that might weigh us down.
In response to this we are taking a number of ministry-efficiency actions, as well as continuing existing good stewardship practices:
We are base-lining all our expenses.
With our lease coming due in April we are looking to see if can take advantage of the excess office space inventory that exists here in Richardson Texas.
We are current paying $8/ft2 gross (the normal market is 9-10$).
If you know of cheaper space or someone with excess space let me know.
We were, and will continue to be, a lean organization made up of largely of volunteers and part timers with day jobs.
We have an opportunity to increase mission effectiveness by increasing our partnerships with both individuals and other ministries who have a passion to see God’s kingdom expanded around the world.

Heightened Dedication to the Mission in 2009 at Bible.org

We have a goal: To complete the great commission in one generation.
To do so, we and others need to make our content, as well as indigenously prepared content, available to Christians in all cultures.
Further, we need to move into a multicultural training and discipleship model that can start both new Church structures, and small group structures – where relationships can grow, and people’s needs can be met within the bounds of their micro community.
We feel strongly that this is the direction we need to move into, and that we need to partner with other ministries with similar vision.

Using the Net

In particular we intend to be part of this generation as it harnesses the Internet for God and uses it to cheaply distribute quality trusted biblical content and training to all the billions of people around the world.

Paying the Price

The problem we and others face isn’t how to harness the technology to accomplish this task, but how to pay for it. It costs serious money to develop and deliver trusted biblical content and training. And we are aware that the majority of the world’s people who desperately need biblical material cannot afford it.
Some use the model of charging those who can afford it (normally the western Christians) for modern Bible translations and modern biblical content. The excess profits are then used to give their copyrighted material away for free to the 3rd world who can not afford it. This sounds good in theory and we know of successful ministries that are funded by this model, but, it falls short of meeting the need as it does not provide material to those in the western world who also cannot afford to pay for the material.

Ministry-First Approach

Bible.org’s model eliminates the cost barrier that exists in meeting the needs of both people in the 3rd world the economically disadvantaged in the western world.
At Bible.org we have purposely adopted a high quality standard for material posted on the site. Our business model, in turn, models the approach of Paul and Christ in their respective ministries.
For example, Paul said he had a right for financial support, 1 Cor 9, yet he did not demand it. Rather, he paid for his ministry expenses with his secular job (tent-making Acts 18:1-3) or he was supported freely by others (2 Cor 11:7-9). In the case of Christ, He expected those who were benefiting from the ministry to support those ministering to them. (Luke 9:2-5; Luke 8:3b).
In a similar way, we offer the NETBible, and our content, for free to all with the expectation that those who benefit from the site and can afford it will donate and buy material from our store. We call this our "ministry first" approach and it is supported both by our donors and our tent-making projects. This allows us to make our material freely available to all, not just "the poor and foreigner" as God commands the farmer in Lev 23:22.
For over 14 years God has blessed these efforts. We have been able to make material like the NETBible, with acquisition costs in the millions of dollars, available to billions across the world community. And we have been able to equip and empower Christians to grow and mature in their walk with God and faith in Christ so that they will then teach and train others.
We feel this was just the training period for what is ahead. The world is now more connected to the Internet and with the economic meltdown people will be looking for answers that only Christ can answer and ministries will be forced to eliminate duplicate efforts and cooperate in reaching the spiritually bankrupt in this world.

In Conclusion

Conclusion: I titled this Blog: The Question- How can bible.org, the church, and other ministries accelerate the completion of the Great Commission during a world wide economic downturn. I didn’t completely answer this question but holiness and learning to fear the Lord will be part of the solution as we read in Psalms 34:9-11:

Remain loyal to the Lord, you chosen people of his, for his loyal followers lack nothing! Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry, but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Come children! Listen to me! I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord Psalms 34:9-11 NET

…. And as Paul Harvey, who recently passed away would say…stay tuned to "hear the rest of the story"…..

In my next Blog I will explain how bible.org is getting ready for cooperation and partnering with others, and how we can open up the processes of ministry to those individuals and ministries God is calling and gifting to PROCLAIMING THE KINGDOM OF GOD in the coming days.

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