Stuck Between “All-Possible-Means” and Mars Hill

May 14th 2010

So I know that many people use Paul’s missional encounter on Mars Hill as a positive example of  interacting with… perhaps even embracing current culture to share the story of Jesus.  I’ll be honest I keep getting hung up on the fact that Mars Hill was the scene of one of Paul’s greatest failures…not many believed.  I wonder Paul intended this story as a descriptive how-to or how-not-to?

At the same time, I am convicted by the words “all possible means” in I Corinthians 9:22.  Paul says, “I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.”

So I’m stuck between “all-possible-means” and Mars Hill.

I want to be an all-possible-means Kingdom builder.  I want to be open to all-possibly-means of life-transformation and church-reformation.  But I keep wondering… was something missing at Mars Hill?  Let me give you an example.  On his Big Is the New Small blog, Scott Williams posts a great YouTube video about social media.  Watch this…

So –obviously social media is a possible means to share the story of Jesus.  Social media is a possible means of saving some.  If this is true then we need to use it.  It is an Areopagus for 96% of millenials and millions of others.  It is a place where people congregate, debate, interact, spread new ideas and scorn old ideas.

But my question is…how do we use this means without it becoming a Mars Hill mistake?  I think — the key — is prayer.  Sorry to make it so simple, — though not simplistic — but we are most effective when one-mighty-presence permeates our all-possible means. Anyone out there using facebook as your prayer list?  Anyone gathering together to pray that a status update that lifts up Jesus would be anointed to be just the right word read at just the right time?  Anyone believing that the Holy Spirit could do something supernatural on Twitter?