One of our nation’s most

effective organizations...

From Wired, 6/7/2001No 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?

Every Year ...200 billion pieces of mail2 million new addresses

Every Day 700 million pieces of mail between 136 million U.S. locations

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.

[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."

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.

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.

"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.

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

The analogy may be faulty.

But it may not.

Lessons to be learned?

Precautions to consider?

We’re both in the business of

communication.

Your vision and prayer

Every church challenged and

equipped to grow more disciples of

Jesus Christ by taking risks and changing lives.

Something nearly everyone has in common:

We’re uncomfortable with the

E-WORD:

Something nearly everyone has in common:

We’re uncomfortable with the

E-WORD:

EVANGELISM

They can’t solve this challenge.

All of us are called

to be involved.

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

A story about a book-release party…

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...

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.

1. Your friends are looking for a

safe conversation partner ...

Service, not sales.

Honest customer review, not

infomercial.

Living example.

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

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.”

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

From Dave Kinneman & Gabe Lyons

“Nones” and “Dones” aged 16-29 years old were asked, What is your current perception of Christianity?

91% said antihomosexual87% said judgmental85% said hypocritical78% said old-fashioned75% said too involved in politics72% said out of touch with reality70% said insensitive to others

… 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.

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.

3. Out: arguments and sales-

pitches. In: listening ...

To their stories

Their struggles

Their questions

Their answers to your non-

test questions

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?

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.

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,

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.

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 ...

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

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

To be continued ...

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.

April continued emailing me her questions.

She started reading the Bible.

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

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?

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?

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

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 ...

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.

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. …

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."

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.

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.

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." 

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

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.

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.

But Methodists

know this:

the mission of

God is given to

all of us ...

and it happens

outside the

doors of the

church.

What can

happen if

we show the

same creativity

and passion in

our day

that Wesley

showed in his

own?

“… we speak plain words for plain people.”

Your vision and prayer

Every church challenged and

equipped to grow more disciples of

Jesus Christ by taking risks and changing lives.

1. Your friends are looking for a

safe conversation partner ...

2. Most churches aren’t

currently helping your non-

church friends.

3. Out: arguments and sales-

pitches. In: listening ...

Count conversations - not

just conversions.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

There are many reasons to compare the emerging global

culture to an orphaned hippo …

Orphaned by religion …

science … government …

the economy … technology … consumerism… “progress”…

-formation?

What could happen in our world if we turned back outward

toward our neighbors - with good news, hope, gentleness,

and respect?