ABOUT SEED PLANTING TEAM
JESUS TAUGHT
In Mark 4:2-9, Jesus gives us crystal clear perspective on being a seed planter — i.e., sharing our faith. In this simple parable, we are the farmer:
He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (New International Version)
In Jesus’ parable, the farmer’s responsibility was not to make the crop grow. The farmer’s responsibility was to scatter seeds.
Have you ever?
- Wanted to share your faith but didn’t really know how?
- Felt a bit guilty, frustrated, or sad for not sharing your faith?
- Thought, “I’m not confident sharing my faith — but I should be”?
- Wanted an unthreatening way to share your faith?
If so, you are like approximately 95 percent of adult Christians
A while ago, I asked my former pastor, Dr. G. Richard Lobs III, retired pastor of six evangelical congregations, “What percentage of Christian adults are comfortable sharing their faith?” His answer:
“My best guesstimate would be that approximately five percent of the adult Christians I’ve worked with over my 45 years of ministry were confident sharing their faith — 95 percent were not!”
About 95 percent of the Body of Christ is intimidated by sharing personal faith in any way, with anyone, at any time! I have to admit, I’m part of the 95 percent. I’ve only shared my faith verbally a very few times in over 60 years of Christian life.
Some reasons why we Christians do not share our faith:
- Fear of rejection.
- Fear of arguments.
- Fear of being labeled a “religious fanatic.”
- Fear of being seen as know-it-all or preachy.
- Fear of misleading someone by what I say or how I say it.
- Fear of being tongue-tied.
I am in the 95 percent, but I have found a way of sharing my faith with 100 percent confidence!
On the parking-garage level of our seven-story condominium building, beside the elevator, stands a small shelf known as the “free shelf.” You can take or leave anything there — free. One day, I got the idea of leaving a book that explains the plan of salvation, so anyone could take it home free. I was planting a seed.
Soon, dozens of books were gone, one at a time — books containing the “plan of salvation” moving hand to hand, mind to mind, heart to heart, with God guiding. Before leaving each book, I prayed that a person seeking God for whatever reason (at this exact time in their life) would pick up the free book.
Not one person saw me leave the first 30 books. No one cared how I looked. No one asked me a single question. Leaving each and every book was exciting — and fulfilling. I had discovered a way of sharing God’s plan of salvation (my faith) with total confidence.
A few evenings later, Cheryl and I were having dinner with our friends Doug and Christi Napier. I shared the fulfillment I experienced sharing my faith in this very simple way. Christi has a problem with her vocal cords; she has had 68 surgeries on her vocal cords and still speaks in a whisper. She softly told us, “I leave Christian books as well. I leave them in the beauty salon, the doctor’s office, or any place I happen to be. The person picking up the book assumes it was left by mistake — but it was left on purpose!”
Sharing Your Faith In This Way Does Not Require …
- A professional image.
- Physical fitness.
- Public speaking ability.
- Social confidence.
- A seminary degree.
Leave, Give, Pray
LEAVE any book you like that shares God’s plan of salvation.
When you leave such a book, you share your faith (i.e., plant a seed) with any person who picks it up and reads it. The reader’s response is between the reader and God.
Your pastor’s best book may be a great book to leave.
Your all-time favorite book may be a great book to leave.
My book Decade By Decade is a great book to leave.
GIVE to a friend.
Perhaps you have been praying for a specific friend but haven’t found the exact right time or just the right words for approaching them. Try giving them a book (plant a seed). When you give your friend a book that contains God’s plan of salvation, you share your faith (plant a seed) with your friend. Their response is between them and God.
PRAY as you leave or give every book.
There has to be a season of gardening and planting before any harvest. Take the seed, plant it, and pray about the harvest for God’s kingdom. Anyone who believes can plant a seed. Pray to God to tend and grow His harvest
Leave a book (plant a seed) anywhere
- Free shelves.
- Gyms.
- Nursing homes.
- Professional offices (e.g., attorneys, dentists, doctors, psychologists).
- Park benches.
- Public transportation (airplanes/airports, buses, trains).
- Restaurants.
- Shops (e.g., barbershops, beauty salons, shoe repair shops).
- Stadiums.
- Waiting rooms.
- Anywhere in your world!
Remember … eternity is not
A year
10 years,
100 years,
1,000 years,
10,000 years or
100,000 years.Regardless of how you imagine heaven or hell, I think we agree:
Heaven is for eternity! Hell is for eternity!
Eternity is beyond our imagination. It is endless!
Consider being a “SEED PLANTER” as your secret dream, lifework, mission or passion!
You may want to remain totally anonymous. Great!
You may be the only SEED PLANTER you’ll ever know personally. Great!
You may want to take seed planting to your entire world. Great!
You can start today by leaving just one book — planting one seed. You have just become a SEED PLANTER! To plant a seed, leave a book a day, a book a week, or a book a month. You may have a life dream of planting 100 or 100,000 Christian seeds over your lifetime. Great!
If you are not comfortable talking with the person reading the book, don’t put your contact information in the book. If you are open to talking with the reader, put your name and contact information in each book. Also, consider underlining key thoughts or turning down pages in any book you leave to draw the reader’s attention to a specific thought or section.
No one needs to see you leave a single book. God sees whenever you leave a book, day or night, 24 hours a day, seven days a week — for the rest of your life! You can now be an extremely shy Christian who feels 100 percent confident sharing your faith (being a SEED PLANTER) for the rest of your life.
JESUS TAUGHT
In Mark 4:2-9, Jesus gives us crystal clear perspective on being a seed planter — i.e., sharing our faith. In this simple parable, we are the farmer:2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 9Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” (New International Version)
In Jesus' parable, the farmer's responsibility was not to make the crop grow.
The responsibility was to scatter the seeds
ORDER DECADE BY DECADE TODAY!
If you would like to give or leave copies of DECADE by DECADE, it is available at this bulk rate:
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We are making each book available, in bulk, at print cost.
That's only $2 at SeedPlantingTeam.com!
Available free: This Welcome to the SEED PLANTING TEAM booklet
Introduction to Becoming a Seed Planter
This booklet introduces the Seed Planting idea. It explains how to share your faith using the DECADE by DECADE book with no spoken words, no arguments, and no fear of rejection. Feel free to order as many booklets as you need (free of charge) to distribute to your group.