About This Site

GiveThemLife.com is mostly a curated list of content meant to save you time: cut through the noise to the signal. It was so hard for me to learn what I needed to in many areas. I want you to avoid all that pain and suffering. I want you to have either a clear path or multiple, good options to strong growth. I wanted sharing or equipping to be as easy as writing down a domain name in situations where that's all you had. Where did it come from?

Two Stories: God's and Mine

God crushed me, brought me back to Him, and transformed my life. Originally, I just shared my story (video) with people. Then, I struggled to really understand the Bible. The Reformed church I went taught me the redemptive story in it. Voddie Bauchum and apologists inspired me to argue with evidence, too. I put all of that that up as GetHisWord.com. Over time, I plan to add testimonies to it that show how Christ reaches all types of people.

Learning to Share; Sharing That

Next problem: evangelism was rare in churches. They were strong in teaching, talked doctrine a lot, and rarely shared the Gospel. That didn't seem right. Asking around, long-time believers admitted they didn't know how in general or in specific situations. Some of us prayed for God to send help. He sent two people who each sent me to NPL.

No Place Left makes free tools for planting and growing healthy churches. They focus entirely on the fundamentals, esp the Word and sharing the Gospel, using tools that are easy to re-teach to others. Every member in those churches participates in discussions, holds each other accountable, and learns to disciple others where needed. God used that model, Four Fields (book), to plant and support several generations worth of churches in South Asia. People in other places started using it with NPL Memphis training us.

Originally, GiveThemLife.com was strictly an evangelism site trying to condense their 10-16 hrs of weekend training into minutes to an hour for other people. Cru was another forerunner I leaned on. Then, I put NPL's methods to the test both in Scripture and in places like Walmart. Those experiences taught me a whole lot, changed how I saw God working in His churches, and I enjoyed meeting many interesting people. I also read on alternative models by groups, such as Nine Marks, who promoted strictly church-driven models (vs individual), being under church authority, official send outs, and strong investments in pastoring.

With all the debates on that, I dropped NPL's model for a more church-centered model that more closely matched the NT's passages. From there, I integrated the NPL tools the original trainers taught me with what I learned in traditional churches and seminary courses. This model basically says we work within churches to grow upward (holiness) and outward (evangelism/missions). Church benefits for individuals include teaching, helping, accountability, and prayers. While doing that, individuals can still share the Gospel and disciple others on their own.

If you obey the Great Commission, you run into all kinds of new situations, people, and topics. We must keep learning but from whom and where? At first, it was just people wanting to see evangelism done in other situations. In discipleship groups, actually moderating one is its own skill set. Many passages in the Word require good teaching to properly understand. I decided to just add all that to the site.

I also found that Bibles I needed were locked-down in copyright, commentaries were bulky, and seminaries cost a fortune. I wondered if each MDiv was defunding a mission to the Unreached. Besides, the Internet makes copying so cheap that every church member should have free access to everything they need to walk with Christ.

Secular activists believed in their own missions so much that they constantly donated time, money, and published works to accomplish their goals. They thought the cost was worth it if lives were on the line or they could change them for the better. It bothers me that they're more selfless about their missions than Christians often are about Christ's. If choosing between the mission or money (or control), Christian suppliers would often choose selfish gain. (N.P.L. and GotQuestions.org are exceptions.)

Scripture says that making money serving is fine. Like Paul (1/2/3), I just felt we should default to putting no obstacles in the way of kingdom growth. That we should accept losses or reduced profits where necessary on that. That those of us already given eternal reward which we didn't earn should be at least as generous and dedicated as people in the world.

As I prayed on each problem, God provided a solution to it which I could share for free. God usually had already inspired someone to take action. People just didn't have awareness or access. So, I switched from creating original content to curating and improving as much as I could of what was already out there. I give whatever I have to believers I meet in case God inspires action through it. He's given me more than I even have time to post.