<p>Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.</p>

Advent HOPE Sabbath School

Douglas Na'a Weekend

Douglas Na'a

One Thing

Father, we thank you once again for the gift of life.

We thank you for the opportunity where we can open up your sacred word.

Bring us higher in our spiritual experience.

Some time ago, I remember traveling and as I was waiting for my delayed flight, I decided just to meander around into the bookstore.

And I walked into this 1 particular bookstore, and I noticed there was a book there that caught my attention.

The title of that book was entitled 1 thing.

But it wasn't really so much the title that caught my attention.

It was really the subtitle that captivated my attention.

And the subtitle simply read, the surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results.

You know, being a result-driven guy, I took the book from the bookshelf, I purchased it, and I began to read it.

You know, the fact of the matter is, ladies and gentlemen, We live in an overstimulated society.

From the moment we wake up to the moment we sleep, we are bombarded with so much information, text messages, notifications, emails, digital advertisements.

And with all of this plethora of information, there's a strong temptation to become so distracted.

And so the 1 thing that I appreciate about this book is that it uses science and research to prove the idea, to prove the thesis, that It is possible to accomplish extraordinary things in your life if you just simply focus on 1 thing.

You can, in an age where there's so much information, we're bombarded by advertisement, notifications.

It is, and therefore there's a temptation to be so diverted and distraction and doing so many things.

It is possible to accomplish extraordinary things in your ministry, extraordinary things in your life, if you just simply focus on 1 thing.

And so as I was reading, it's a pretty, it's not a thick book, it's pretty decent.

It'll probably take you 3 to 4 hours to read all in 1 sitting.

And as I was reading this book on the plane, 1 of the first bold statements it made that just made me almost fall off my seat.

It made this bold declaration on page 44 of this book.

Now that really hit home because I used to boast that I'm a great multitasker.

As a matter of fact, I used to put it in my resumes.

I used to boast that I'm a great multitasker.

Multitasking works, but it's not as effective as focusing on 1 project at a time.

Now let me read to you some statistics here.

A study was found and was put out that 16% of all traffic fatalities and half a million injuries annually is due to multitasking.

Furthermore, driving and talking takes 40% of your focus from concentrating on driving.

This is almost the same as drunk driving.

They continue to make a study on certain companies with employees and found that 28% of the day is lost to multitasking.

Employees are 28 percent less productive when they multitask versus doing 1 project at a time.

And don't get me wrong, Multitasking works but it's not as effective as just focusing on 1 subject, 1 content matter, 1 project at a time.

Now let me just illustrate to you this idea, just so that it's clear.

Now, By the raising of your hand, how many of you, I want to see you raise your, we want to see who you are, how many of you can do this while you're multitasking?

How many of you can walk across a tightrope with a phone in your hand, texting messages, checking your email, and a comb on the other hand and combing your hair?

Or how many of you, how many of you are willing to fly on a Boeing 747 while the pilot is landing and he's multitasking?

Now I don't wanna be on a plane when the pilot is multitasking as he lands.

I want a pilot, when he's landing the plane, he's just focusing on 1 thing.

As a matter of fact, I have a friend who's a pilot, and he told me, he says, Brother Doug, it's very interesting that as pilots, we are taught and we are told that if you're ascending from ground 0 to 10, 000 feet in the cockpit, Pilots are not allowed to talk and do anything but just focusing on their task at hand.

From 10, 000 feet down to ground 0 as they're landing, those pilots that are in the cockpit, they're not allowed to focus on anything else but that 1 thing, and that is to land that plane From ground 0 to 10, 000 feet.

And so again, friends, multitasking is great, but multitasking is not as effective as focusing on 1 subject at a time.

You know, I wanna share with you this quote here.

1 quote says, if you try to catch 2 rabbits, you will not catch either 1.

It's very interesting that when you look back at people who are successful And things that have influence in society today, you can trace back their success and their influence to the fact that they just simply focused on 1 thing, just 1 thing.

For example, When you think of Google, what's Google's 1 thing that they're known for?

When you think of Starbucks, what's the 1 thing Starbucks is known for?

When you think of Subway, what's the 1 thing that Subway is known for?

You don't walk into Subway and you see tacos and Big Macs and fried chicken.

You see they're just simply focusing on 1 thing.

And this principle is not only true in the business realm, But it's also true in the sports arena.

When you think of Tiger Woods, what's the 1 sport that comes to your mind?

At a very young age, Tiger and his father decided at a very young age that they're just going to focus on 1 sport and 1 sport only.

They're not going to focus on basketball, they're not going to focus on baseball, they're just going to focus on 1 sport.

And as a result of focusing on 1 sport, we have 1 of the most iconic golf players of all time.

That's why this proverb here says, if you try to catch 2 rabbits, you will not catch either 1.

And yet, the truth of the matter is, ladies and gentlemen, some of us, we have 3 rabbits.

The fact of the matter is, when you're trying to do all of these great things, you'll end up empty handed.

I like this quote that this book brings up.

Just stick to 1 thing until you get there.

Don't be chasing these rabbits here and there.

Interesting to note that they did a study and they found out what's the 1 common denominator between successful people and unsuccessful people.

And they found that those who find it difficult to be successful all have this 1 common trait.

Those who are always distracted, those who never accomplish great things, do not have the ability to say no.

Warren Buffet said the following words, the difference between successful people and very successful people is that successful people say no to almost everything.

And those who come short in accomplishing their mission, in accomplishing their goal, all have the inability to say no.

Someone asking to do this, yeah, I'll do it.

And they find themselves chasing 567 rabbits, but not chasing that 1 rabbit that really matters.

And so as I put this book down, as I came to the final page of this book, then my preacher mind started coming up.

And I thought to myself, wow, I wonder what the Bible has to say about 1 thing.

I wonder what the Bible has to say about 1 thing.

Closing the Back Door

As we do evangelism right across the board, there's a challenge that we notice in churches.

And by the way, this is going to be a dialogue.

If you have, I want to open it up to the floor.

1 of the challenges that we see when it comes to evangelism is this thing called membership retention.

In other words, there's a huge problem, especially in the North American division and right across the board, about members coming into the church.

They're baptized, they come to an evangelistic meaning, prophecy meaning, or whatever form of evangelism, And then there's a high percentage of people actually leaving the church.

And so this is, would this be true in some of your churches?

And I want to show you the statistics of the next few, in the next few moments.

And so we've been praying, we've been researching, and we've been putting materials together and how to keep members in the church.

And I'm not sure what church you go to, but we all have a backdoor in our church.

People walk into the front door and then the next few months they walk out the backdoor.

The next evangelistic meeting comes, they walk into the front door.

2 weeks later, they're out the back door.

And so we have this huge back door in our church that needs to be shut closed.

Okay, that needs to be shut so that when people actually come into the church, they actually stay in the church.

And so I want us to kind of have a good look.

And I want us to have an honest look at what's happening in our church today.

And the question that we need to ask ourself is simply this, have we left the back door open?

I'm not sure what back door you have in your church, but have we left the backdoor open for people just to leave?

Why do you think people leave the church?

Yeah, Maybe we need to spice it up a little, right?

Now when it comes to people actually leaving the church, there's really no 1 single reason.

But 1 of the things that we have found is that people actually leaving the church becomes a journey.

And there are actually symptoms, there are actually indicators that you can pick up on that people are actually thinking and contemplating about leaving the church.

And, you know, we need that discernment, right?

We need that wisdom to be able to identify and discern what those symptoms and those indicators are.

And so when it comes to people actually leaving the Adventist church, there's really no 1 reason, but it's actually a journey.

Now, of course, we all know someone that actually has left the church, But let me show you some statistics here.

For every 100 new members gained, 49 eventually leave the church.

That's the latest annual council statistics back in 2013 to 2015.

So this is recent, this is recent research done by the general conference.

For every 100, 100 members, 100 people that come into the church, 49 actually leave.

Now you tell me, is that a big back door?

Now out of the existing members, according to research, 1 in 3 will leave.

And so the loss is even more when it comes to young adults where they, according to this 1 particular survey, 70%, how many percent did I say?

70% of young adults actually leave the church.

And so the question we need to ask ourself is, have we left the back door swinging wide open?

Now the research continues to say that only 5% actually leave due to doctrine.

In other words the implication here is 95% of people leaving the church are for other reasons.

In other words when it comes to doctrinal matters that's something we really can't help changing, right?

In other words, we can't help, you know, you can't change the doctrine, our belief system in the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

But when they did this survey, they found that only 5% say that they leave because they disagree with the investigative judgment, they disagree with the gift of prophecy, or they disagree with 1844, the heavenly sanctuary, or they disagree with the Sabbath or the state of that only 5% actually leave because of doctrinal issues.

The largest portion, 28% said that they left because they just simply drifted away.

I hope you do because 25 percent say that they leave because the church is dead cold.

In other words, they elapse of judgment and they felt judged by the church and then they leave and then they never come back.

19% cited moral failures, the reason why they leave church.

18% said they just simply did not fit in.

They just did not fit into this particular church or to this denomination or to this belief system.

14% of white people leave, according to this 1 survey, 14% felt that there was too much of a focus on minor issues.

Focusing on the majoring on the minors, you know, little small stuff that are not salvational.

Things that don't have to do with one's salvation.

And so when they make a huge issue over something that's more of a preference rather than a salvational issue, you know, the church becomes very judgmental.

And so a lot of people actually leave because, you know, you focus on the minors, you major on the minors.

What is the 1 thing that you notice about each of these line items?

Again, they say they drifted away, lack of compassion, moral failure, not fitting in, focusing on minor issues.

What are some things that you notice about each of these issues?

Okay, there seems to be a disconnect between the members and those coming into the church.

The 1 thing that's common between all of these line items is simply this.

You cannot change doctrine, but you can change these things.

Look you cannot change the state of the day.

But you can at least try to change the church from being a cold church to being a compassionate church.

So that's the 1 thing you can notice about all of these things are changeable.

And remember 95% of why people leave are because of these issues that are changeable in one's particular church.

The survey continues to note that 1 of the most significant factors in people leaving the church are the following.

Back to Menu

Series

Douglas Na'a Weekend

Closing the Back Door

Transcript

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

A Major Breakthrough in the World of Health

21m

Media and Current Controversies: The Character of God

The Character of God - Part 2

1h

Dear and Dangerous Occupations

37m

How Does the Gospel Redeem Wounded, Broken Hearts & Minds?

50m

Plenary

The Cross: It’s Prophetic & Healing Significance

45m

Breakout Session B

Sharing the Cross, Shedding the Bias

1h 13m

Market Gardening

Tools of the Trade: Tools and Equipment to Increase Ease and Efficiency

1h 19m

Intensive: Bridging the Gap

Bridging the Gap Part 1

58m

UFO’s, Angels and Satanic Delusions

49m

Harnessing the Health Professionals in Your Church

9m

Receive the Power

The Purpose of Power

1h 10m

Personal Encounters with Jesus

4. The Secret Christian: Nicodemus

50m

Sound Doctrine