slides from talks in Huntsville, Alabama, June 2011, and East Lansing, August 2011

2. One of our
nation’s most
effective
organizations...

5. From Wired,
6/7/2001
No one writes letters anymore, or so it
seems. Instead, people are turning to e-
mail, faxes and the Internet to conduct
business, pay bills and keep in touch.
That's not good for the U.S. Postal
Service, which is facing a $2 to $3
billion deficit this year and a drop in
volume of first-class mail.
So how is the 225-year-old independent
government agency -- which is supposed to
meet its own costs while also providing
"universal service" to every address in the
United States at an affordable, uniform price --
competing in the electronic age?

6. Every Year ...
200 billion pieces of
mail
2 million new
addresses
Every Day
700 million pieces of
mail between
136 million U.S.
locations

7. But what about e-mail? If people
write fewer letters, won't that hurt
the bottom line even more?
"E-mail is not a threat," [an official]
said.
Much of the content of many e-
mails, from jokes to chain letters,
would not have been sent via the
U.S. Mail, said [...] president of
PostalWorkersOnline.com. Many of
these short communications would
instead be conducted by telephone.

8. [The] founder of PostalWatch, said he hasn't seen e-mail hurt
it, yet. "If (electronic commerce and the Internet) are
impacting the Postal Service at all, it's just now starting to," he
said.
But online billing is a threat because its potential for
acceptance hasn't been realized yet, Brennan said.
... "First-class mail is enormously secure," Brennan said.
"People trust the Postal Service."
... just as the Postal Service survived the telegraph, telephone
and television, the demise of mail is nowhere near, advocates
say.
"There are other, faster ways to communicate," Brennan said.
"But some things will never change. There will always be some
type of mail delivery."
"(Postal mail) is universal. The Internet is not."

10. from Huffington Post, November 12,
2010
WASHINGTON — The Postal Service said Friday it lost $8.5
billion last year despite deep cuts of more than 100,000 jobs
and other reductions in recent years. The post office had
estimated it would lose $6 billion to $7 billion, but a sharp
decline in mail took a toll. Increased use of the Internet and the
recession, which cut advertising and other business mail, meant
less money for the agency.
For the year ending Sept. 30, the post office had income of
$67.1 billion, down $1 billion from the previous fiscal year.
Expenses totaled $70 billion, a decline of about $400 million.
The post office also was required to make a $5.5 billion
payment for future retiree health benefits.
"Over the last two years, the Postal Service realized more than
$9 billion in cost savings, primarily by eliminating about 105,000
full-time equivalent positions – more than any other
organization, anywhere," chief financial officer Joe Corbett said
in a statement.

11. The loss of $8.5 billion in 2010 was $4.7 billion more than the
previous year.
Mail volume totaled 170.6 billion pieces, compared with 176.7
billion in 2009, a decline of 3.5 percent. At the same time,
volume was declining the post office was required to begin
service to thousands of new addresses to accommodate
population growth and new businesses.
The post office has asked Congress for permission to reduce
mail delivery to five-days-a-week and to eliminate annual
payments for future retiree health benefits. A request from the
agency for a 2-cent increase in postage rates to take effect
next year was recently turned down by the independent
Postal Rate Commission. The post office has appealed that
decision in federal court.
...Of particular concern has been the decline in the lucrative
first-class mail, largely consisting of personal letters and
cards, bills and payments and similar items. First-class mail
volume fell 6.6 percent in 2010, 8.6 percent in 2009, and 4.8
percent in 2008. Traditionally, this mail has produced more
than half of total revenue.

12. "E-mail is not a threat ... First-class mail is
enormously secure ... the demise of mail is
nowhere near... Some things will never
change. There will always be some type of
mail delivery... (Postal mail) is universal. The
Internet is not."
2001/2010
"If corrective action is not taken quickly, the
Postal Service will likely run out of cash and
borrowing authority by this time next year
(2011), placing its ability to continue
operations in serious jeopardy," said Carper,
who urged quick congressional action.

13. Five-day delivery is part of the solution to declining revenue,
volumes
The United States Postal Service is facing unprecedented
volume declines and a projected $238 billion shortfall during
the next decade. To ensure that America continues to have a viable Postal
Service, the Postmaster General has introduced a comprehensive plan
including cost cutting, increased productivity and certain legislative and
regulatory changes that will form the necessary foundation for a leaner, more
flexible Postal Service.
Five-day delivery is one of the fundamental changes that will help the Postal
Service better respond to changing customer needs.
Profound technological and social changes have altered the
way Americans communicate. For many, electronic media have
replaced the letter as the primary means of social and business
communication. Revenue from First-Class Mail – the Postal Service’s longtime
bread-and-butter product — continues to decline as the use of electronic
message delivery increases.
Electronic diversion and the recession are significant contributors to a
continuing decline in mail volume, which in fiscal year 2009 plummeted by 25.6
billion pieces — nearly 13 percent of total volume — resulting in a Postal
Service revenue drop of nearly $7 billion. The trends underlying these declines
will only continue.
Current global economic conditions have put the largest users of the mail under
severe financial stress. In the past, they spent millions of dollars on mailings
and now many have drastically cut back on their use of mail.
2011

15. The analogy may be
faulty.
But it may not.
Lessons to be
learned?
Precautions to
consider?
We’re both in the
business of
communication.

16. Your vision and prayer
Every church
challenged and
equipped to grow
more disciples of
Jesus Christ by
taking risks and
changing lives.

17. Something nearly everyone
has in common:
We’re uncomfortable with
the
E-WORD:

18. Something nearly everyone
has in common:
We’re uncomfortable with
the
E-WORD:
EVANGELISM

23. They can’t solve this
challenge.
All of us are called
to be involved.

24. In your hearts, set apart
Christ as Lord. Always be
prepared to give an answer to
everyone who asks you to
give the reason for the hope
that you have. But do this
with gentleness and respect,
keeping a clear conscience, so
that those who speak
maliciously against your good
behavior in Christ may be
ashamed of their slander.
1 Peter
3:15-17

25. A story about a
book-release
party…

26. Hi Brian (do you prefer to be called
brian?) this is april, the harpist from
your book signing party. i read your
book this morning. it caused me to
think a lot about a lot of things. i
actually would like to tell you about
it, but im afraid this e mail will be
very lengthy...

27. i don't want to burden you (i
understand you listen to a lot of
people every day!) so im not
sure... but i really need to talk
to someone … and I cant think
of anyone else i can talk to
about religion.

28. 1. Your friends are looking for a
safe conversation partner ...
Service, not sales.
Honest customer review, not
infomercial.
Living example.

29. like i said to you last night,
recently i have been feeling like
I want to become a christian,
and maybe even start going to
church and stuff. but …
whenever i go to any church, or
read any church literature I
change my mind

30. 2. Most churches aren’t
currently helping your friends.
“those who know don’t have the
words to tell; those with the
words don’t know so well.”
They’re competing for a
shrinking market of “the nuns.”

31. The nuns (1): attend church
religiously!
The nones (2): no real church
background
The dones: de-churched,
dropouts, alienated, wounded
The no-funs: hanging on by a
fingernail

32. From Dave Kinneman & Gabe Lyons
“Nones” and “Dones” aged 16-29 years old
were asked, What is your current perception
of Christianity?
91% said antihomosexual
87% said judgmental
85% said hypocritical
78% said old-fashioned
75% said too involved in politics
72% said out of touch with reality
70% said insensitive to others

33. … i get so angry (and i dont
know why, because i havent
had any overly negative
experiences with the church)
and i get these horrible
visions of brainwashing and
the like.

34. its so frustrating for me,
because i feel like i dont owe
christianity any breaks and that
it deserves the tough
microscope i put it under. … i
dont want to let [them] "win" the
christianity argument, or
whatever.

35. 3. Out: arguments and sales-
pitches. In: listening ...
To their stories
Their struggles
Their questions
Their answers to your non-
test questions

36. Your questions identify you
as a willing listener, a “safe
person.”
Where are you from? Tell me
about your family. How was
your weekend? Do you have
any religious background?
Are you OK?

37. when i was reading your book today
at certain parts i felt so good, and
at certain times i actually felt like i
was about to cry, because it felt
like something was really getting
through to me. but i feel like theres
something holding me back, theres
some sort of defense mechanism in
me that tells me not to believe any
of it.

38. i guess thats probably why i
asked you what i did last night.
i need to make sure that im not
being "lured in", just to find out
once i go ahead and believe
that a whole bunch of other
stuff comes along with it that i
cant feel comfortable with,

39. and then my whole person
will change and ill become
closed minded and bigoted
and brainwashed and
everything bad... i just cant
feel that i can trust it. i dont
know what to do.

40. 4. Your example - of growth,
not perfection - matters
most.
How much you care ...
How you cope with pain,
mistreatment ...
How you fail ...
How you live and love ...

41. oh well. at the very least, i
really enjoyed reading your
book…

42. it met me at every corner.
that was frustrating, in a
way, but in a healthy way,
like eating veggies or
something. ill try to write a
review of it online when i
get a chance.
- april

43. To be continued ...

45. Evangelism is
communication.
The envelope is your life.
The message is the good
news of God’s new
society, God’s new
community, God’s new
way of life - in this world.

46. April continued emailing me her
questions.
She started reading the Bible.

47. hey brian - how do you suggest
dealing with the sexist/homophobic
parts of the Bible? It hasn't been an
issue yet, but it will be. ... are you
speaking on the nineteenth of june
at church? i think i will be in
maryland then.
april

48. brian - wow, I'm glad I e-mailed you
about that because I had been
thinking to myself "Why am I even
trying to like this? What good can it
do for anyone?" But after reading
your interpretation of it, it makes a
lot more sense. The Bible must be
an extremely difficult document to
read accurately. Is it worth it?

49. 5. Your friends’ questions are
their way of exploring the
credibility of Christian faith and
the plausibility of Christian life.
It’s not just your answers they’re
checking out - it’s you.
Good question. I don’t know!
Can I think about that and get back
to you?
Here’s what helps me.
How does that work for you?

50. Also, (on a completely different note) I
remember when I was playing at your church,
someone talked to me about some kind of
service on Wednesday nights that they thought
harp music would be really good for (continuous,
contemplative music, I think she said ). I know
it's far in advance, but I just wanted to offer to
play for that whenever, once I get back to
Maryland in September. I don't want to push
myself on the church, but more and more the
idea of playing for and through God has sounded
appealing, and I remember how nice that
service sounded. So if that sounds like
something you all might be interested in, I'd love
to volunteer to do it. Take care- april

51. 6. You can be a bringer, includer,
and inviter.
Faith is a team sport. People are seeking a
community that will help them become
what they hope they can become.
Maybe your church ...
Maybe your dinner table ...
Maybe a class, mission trip, new service,
or special event ...

52. hi brian,
I just got up from a _three and a half_
hour nap (taken immediately after i
returned home from church). i was
thinking about emailing you before i fell
asleep because i wanted to tell you how
much i enjoyed your message today. …
WHATYOU SAY is just so incredible.

53. i had a dream during my nap that i
wanted to tell you about. Im not one
to get really excited by dreams or
anything like that, and i feel sort of
weird telling you, but i just have to.
…

54. for some reason, out of the blue
(though in the dream,it didnt feel like it
was out of the blue) you poured
FREEZING cold water on my head and
said the baptism thing ("in the name of
the father, the son," etc, etc). it was
dripping all down my face,
everywhere... so much water, and it
felt so good, and i just started to cry
and saying over again "thank you.
thank you so much."

55. i said to you "i have been
thinking about this for awhile,
but wasn't sure i was ready",
and you said "youve been
ready for a long time" and gave
me a hug.

56. then i guess there was sort of a
dream segue type thing, and i
was sitting with my friend kate,
who at the last minute cancelled
out of going to my recital. i was
sitting with her giving her the
cold shoulder because she had
missed it and it hurt my feelings.

57. then i remembered: wait a second,
theres no turning back now, jesus
wouldnt have done this, and you have
no right to. and i just apologized to
kate and siad "its okay... it went well
and i understand why you couldnt
make it, and of course our friendship
is just as strong as always."

58. then i woke up. i dont know...
it just really affected me, ive
felt like ive been on the verge
of tears (happy tears) since i
woke up. thank you for helping
me bring about such a change
in my life.
april

59. 7. The Holy Spirit is at work,
and you can become a Spirit-
filled agent of God’s mission:
healing and beautifying the
world ... so God’s will is done
on earth as it is in heaven.

62. Billy Graham can’t reach
out for you.
Your denominational
leaders can’t swoop in like
super-man.
This is a mission and
calling for all of us.

63. But Methodists
know this:
the mission of
God is given to
all of us ...
and it happens
outside the
doors of the
church.

64. What can
happen if
we show the
same creativity
and passion in
our day
that Wesley
showed in his
own?

65. “… we speak plain words for plain people.”

66. Your vision and prayer
Every church
challenged and
equipped to grow
more disciples of
Jesus Christ by
taking risks and
changing lives.

67. 1. Your friends are looking for a
safe conversation partner ...

68. 2. Most churches aren’t
currently helping your non-
church friends.

69. 3. Out: arguments and sales-
pitches. In: listening ...
Count conversations - not
just conversions.

70. 4. Your example - of growth,
not perfection - matters
most.

71. 5. Your friends’ questions are
their way of exploring the
credibility of Christian faith and
the plausibility of Christian life.
It’s not just your answers they’re
checking out - it’s you.

72. 6. You can be a bringer, includer,
and inviter.

73. 7. The Holy Spirit is at work,
and you can become a Spirit-
filled agent of God’s mission:
healing and beautifying the
world ... so God’s will is done
on earth as it is in heaven.

83. There are many reasons to
compare our churches to an old
male tortoise …
Slow-moving … isolated …
Ancient-looking
withdrawn in its shell … won’t stick its
neck out

84. There are
many reasons
to compare
the changes
in our world
to a tsunami
…

85. There are many reasons to
compare the emerging global
culture to an orphaned hippo …
Orphaned by religion …
science … government …
the economy … technology …
consumerism… “progress”…

87. -formation?
What could happen in our world
if we turned back outward
toward our neighbors - with
good news, hope, gentleness,
and respect?