Jason Locke's Blog

In an 2007 article from Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Christian researchers Todd Johnson and Charles Tieszen examine a rudimentary but oft overlooked component of world evangelization: personal contact between Christians and non-Christians ("Personal Contact: The sin qua non of Twenty-first Century Christian Mission," October 2007, EMQ ). A simple overview: If non-Christian people have any hope of becoming Christians, they will almost assuredly come to Christ via relationship with Christian(s). Makes sense, right? How many of you became a Christian because of a relationship? Perhaps your parents brought you to church. Maybe you married a person of faith. Some people have become Christians through co-workers, neighbors, etc. A personal relationship almost always plays a key role in conversion. Here's problem: Out of all non-Christians in the world, less than 19% even know a Christian. Among Muslims, only 13% know a Christian. (You can find this and other similar data at...

Since I'm on a short TV-streak here with blog posts, I might as well run with it. Don't know when this will happen again. I've been surprised to see how many Hugh Laurie fans discovered my blog post about the season episode of House. No one has actually commented, so I don't know if my post was well received. But I do know that my blog has guests from Europe and Asia. I don't pretend to think that I am naturally that popular! It's all abuot House & Hugh Laurie. After I just stated that I don't watch any regular TV series in yesterday's post, I may have to modify this claim. Last night, I just watched my 2nd straight episode of MI-5 , a British Broadcasting Co. show being telecast in HiDef on PBS. The show is currently producing its 8th season, but PBS is beginning with season 1. Last night was the 4th episode. (I'm wondering if this show was previously broadcast on A&E. Anyone? I think it was shown in Canada under the name "Spooks....

There aren't really any TV shows that I watch with much regularity. Our family tends to enjoy Monk and Psych on Friday nights, but that's about as far as it goes. Anything else I watch is completely random. For some reason Julie recorded the season premier of House Tuesday. We watched it last night. I've seen House a few times and generally think it's interesting. The character of Dr. Greg House, played by British actor Hugh Laurie , reeks of brilliance and arrogance. He's not easy to like. The 2-hour season opener titled "Broken" was one of the best TV shows I've seen. Yes, it exceeded the WKRP "Turkeys Can't Fly" episode--though a different genre, no doubt. Perhaps not quite as good as the finale of MASH. Certainly WAY better than the last episode of Seinfeld--what a waste. This episode was real, authentic, biting. There was a brief moment of naive sentimentality, but the overwhelming trajectory of the show was one that did not sugarco...

By contrast the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22-23). I cannot imagine a spiritual person who does not extol the value of these virtues. When encouraging others to grow in Christ, we are like good gardeners who look for the first signs of fruit. Physical gardeners rejoice that the plant, the soil, the sun and the water are producing what it should naturally produce. Fruit is the natural product of the plant. Work prepares the way for fruit. But we can't make fruit. It grows on its own. Spiritual people are those who display spiritual fruit in their own lives. We are all ordinary people who serve an extraordinary God. People who have the fruit of the Spirit are not extraordinary people. Rather, they are demonstrating that God's extraordinary presence dwells within them. They are humble people who know that the work of the flesh is all kinds of sinfulness. But the gifts of God's Spirit...

In Romans 5:1-5, Paul begins by saying that we can boast in our hope of sharing God’s glory. Then he explains where this hope comes from: And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. How do you react to hardship and difficulty? Do you run from adversity? Do you believe that you have a God-given right to be happy? Do you look for people to blame when you face trials and struggles? Paul teaches that suffering is normal for the Christian – at least for the Christian who wants to know true hope. Do you remember the many things that Paul had to endure, how many hardships he went through? And yet he said that he had learned the secret of being content in every situation ( Phil 4:11 ). As Americans we tend to idolize happiness and s...

Tonight, Fresno State hosts Boise State in a potentially big football game. Since this game is to be nationally televised on ESPN, the promoters have urged fans to come dressed in white rather than traditional Bulldog red. The white should make for a great setting as the ESPN cameras pan the crowds. This will actually be my second white-out. Last December 6, Jericho and I attended a frigid game that was billed as a white-out, and it was a spectacular sight to behold. Around 65,000 faithful fans of West Virginia University's football team arrived mostly in white that night. The goal was to honor the team's graduating legend, Pat White. It was a great night as WVU stuck it to USF. Jericho & I had on huge t-shirts that we simply pulled over our heavy coats. The game time temperature was somewhere in the 20s. We honestly had a blast. I'm hoping that tonight's game will bring some similar entertainment. There are some things we miss about West Virginia. Not just things -...

Feminism sure has changed since the 1960s. The new “liberated” woman is one who goes to strip clubs with the guys, listens to Howard Stern, undergoes breast augmentation, and either dresses like a Playmate or notices (with appreciation) those who do. The new “feminist” really isn't female at all – she is either trying to be like a cliche from Hooters or simply trying to be one of the guys by going to Hooters with them. I don’t mean to suggest that guys should be going to strip clubs or Hooters! But there’s something wrong with our understanding of femininity and womanhood if our models are Paris Hilton, Carmen Electra, Jenna Jameson or the cast from Sex and the City . For too many people today, our understanding of sexuality is that it is just another commodity to be used in life. “If you've got it, flaunt it,” could be a mantra of many women today. Never mind your own inner interests and desires in life. Simply use your body and your sexuality to win your way into the c...