After spending a week in Chattanooga with the youth group at Harvest, I wanted to take some time to write some reflections that I had on the philosophy of evangelism. It seems that Hope for the Inner City reaches out to believers of “every tribe and language and people and nation.” New City and Hope for the Inner City both succeeded in living up to their claims. The church was thriving and many were being aided in all areas of life, and giving glory to God for it.
The highlight of the trips to Chattanooga, according to most of the high school students I talked with, was the ability to serve. There is a common struggle with selfishness that many of us are convicted with. One individual mentioned to me that she felt like a true servant down in Chattanooga, which was so contrary to how we presently live. Another girl stated that she wants to evangelize, but she did not feel that she had enough knowledge to do it. A lack of Knowledge and selfishness are two aspects that have been difficulties we are striving to overcome. Service and evangelism are important to us and essential to the Christian life. Each of these kids possesses gifts and abilities to serve the church, but often times little opportunity is available where these gifts can be used. Everyone has abilities and gifts that can be used for the furtherance of the Gospel. These gifts must be used proportionally and tangibly in ministry. Otherwise, service can quickly become discouraging and unsuccessful. We are attempting to revive ministry at Fox Croft by serving Christ in a realistic way. Ministry at Fox Croft will hopefully be sustainable and expandable to other areas of evangelism, as it will act as a training ground for fundamental elements of Gospel ministry and service.
Fox Croft has been a place near to my heart over the past few years. I remember the youth group running Bible clubs, praying, knocking on doors and handing out bread, and welcoming various members of the community to Harvest at the Elementary School. Most of the kids knew our names and the parents would often open their homes up to us. However, the move to the new building and the lack of leadership at Fox Croft Bible Clubs ended ministry there for a time. Many residents at Fox Croft were unable to walk to church and people lost contact with Harvest members. When we brought the idea up of ministering in Fox Croft again I was both excited and uncertain of what was to come. I knew how hard it was the last time and I know now that it will take work to sustain the ministry there. As we knocked on every door in the complex, we were overwhelmed by how many people we had met and how many people remembered many members of Harvest.
Brad mentioned a young man named Galau in a previous post. He immediately let us in and shared his experiences of Harvest. He talked openly about the Gospel with broken English and wished that he could have Bible studies and transportation to the new building. Another woman expressed her love for a group of girls that used to give her bread, pray, and read Scripture with her. She cherished the relationships that had been established with the youth group. The people at Fox Croft loved the work that was being done there! In light of these individuals (and many others), we desire to go back into Fox Croft, pray, run Bible clubs, teach, and serve in the name of Christ for anyone who desires to listen. We covet your prayers as we seek to go back into the community and revive a ministry that will need sustainability after the first few weeks. I already have seen excitement from the youth group to reestablish a connection that they too held dear to their hearts. As readers of this blog, encourage your children to attend events that are available and pray for open doors (quite literally) for the youth at Harvest. We want to serve and there are many opportunities available and invite others to worship along side of us for the praise of His glorious Grace.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Update
For those wondering how the new approach went today, here is an update:
Colin and I ventured out and within one minute we encountered a local artist who specializes in constructing wire figurines. His name is Ray, but he goes by the name Indica. He is a very creative, and spiritually driven man. He has a son in Oakland, CA and formerly worked in the Navy and in the granite/marble industry. He was very engaging and had many thoughts on religion/spirituality. We talked for two hours over some cold drinks in the park, and the conversation was a delightful one. We got to know each other in a fairly quick amount of time. We shared life stories and experiences. Indica's thoughts on spirituality were very interesting but jumbled at first. Colin and I raised questions for him to think about and when appropriate, we guided the conversation along biblical lines. By the end of the two-hour long conversation, Indica was able to speak with much more clarity about Jesus and the Gospel. He even wants to come to Harvest with us this Sunday! So we exchanged phone numbers, and left each other as friends. Indica needs discipleship, and a place to raise questions. He also has his own convictions, as well as some questionable beliefs about God and man. But with time, his beliefs can take shape and flourish into something more solidly biblical. All in all, God did more than we could have ever asked or imagined! Please continue praying, and please hold Indica in your prayers as well.
Colin and I ventured out and within one minute we encountered a local artist who specializes in constructing wire figurines. His name is Ray, but he goes by the name Indica. He is a very creative, and spiritually driven man. He has a son in Oakland, CA and formerly worked in the Navy and in the granite/marble industry. He was very engaging and had many thoughts on religion/spirituality. We talked for two hours over some cold drinks in the park, and the conversation was a delightful one. We got to know each other in a fairly quick amount of time. We shared life stories and experiences. Indica's thoughts on spirituality were very interesting but jumbled at first. Colin and I raised questions for him to think about and when appropriate, we guided the conversation along biblical lines. By the end of the two-hour long conversation, Indica was able to speak with much more clarity about Jesus and the Gospel. He even wants to come to Harvest with us this Sunday! So we exchanged phone numbers, and left each other as friends. Indica needs discipleship, and a place to raise questions. He also has his own convictions, as well as some questionable beliefs about God and man. But with time, his beliefs can take shape and flourish into something more solidly biblical. All in all, God did more than we could have ever asked or imagined! Please continue praying, and please hold Indica in your prayers as well.
An Exciting, Fresh Approach
Because of sermon preparation for a Sunday message, I have had to take a break from blogging. But now I'm back and very excited to inform readers of a new approach to evangelism that Colin and I will start taking today. Yesterday, we canvased numerous coffee shops in the downtown area of Grand Rapids. We basically wanted a place that was at the center of the downtown area, close by to where many people would be gathered. We also wanted a coffee shop that would be conducive to good conversations with people (i.e. one that was not so quiet). We found that place-- the Biggby's coffee shop on Monroe Center. It is conveniently located near several outside park benches, as well as the Rosa Parks Circle and skate park.
Now here is the plan: Colin and I will approach people and engage them on the question of whether or not anyone has ever told them about Jesus Christ. We expect many different responses. We basically want to engage them wherever they are at. But this is not the type of conversation that one can have in two minutes. So we thought it would be a good idea that if someone has the time, then maybe we can buy them a coffee and have a conversation. What we would like to do is to gently press people to articulate their own points of view on the matter. It should become clear fairly quickly what their basic objections are. And perhaps, we can then engage those objections in a loving, Christ-honoring way. If things go smoothly, perhaps we can even exchange numbers and continue the conversation at some other time. Colin and I have discovered time and time again that the "old way" of doing evangelism really is not that effective, and this has caused us to adapt our basic approach in sharing the Gospel with others. This new and fresh approach is born out of several convictions.
1. These days, evangelism must be intentional, but it also must be relational (or personally credible).
2. People pretty much know next to nothing about what the Bible actually teaches. Therefore, evangelism must be seen as more a process which seeks to guide people into the truth, starting from where they are at personally.
3. Evangelism must be culturally and socially appropriate. Part of why the "old way" of evangelism doesn't work anymore is that nobody goes door-to door anymore, and passing out tracts comes off as very impersonal.
4. Evangelism must lead people through the stages of intelligibility, credibility and plausibility. People must be persuaded of the truth for themselves. More than likely, peoples' understandings will develop in stages and their very real objections to the faith must be dealt with honestly.
5. If someone wants to do evangelism, then they must be excited and comfortable with not only the message, but also the method. Personally, I don't get excited about handing out tracts (but maybe some other people do). But I do get excited about knowing people and ministering the Gospel to their specific, personal situations.
There is plenty of room for disagreement with my views on the matter, and I certainly respect differing viewpoints. I'm always open to the wisdom of others, and I am in no way denying the usefulness of tracts and the fruit that has been borne by handing them out. But more thinking needs to be done on evangelism, especially in these days. I encourage any comments to be shared on this matter, and I ask for all of your prayers as we venture down this new road.
Now here is the plan: Colin and I will approach people and engage them on the question of whether or not anyone has ever told them about Jesus Christ. We expect many different responses. We basically want to engage them wherever they are at. But this is not the type of conversation that one can have in two minutes. So we thought it would be a good idea that if someone has the time, then maybe we can buy them a coffee and have a conversation. What we would like to do is to gently press people to articulate their own points of view on the matter. It should become clear fairly quickly what their basic objections are. And perhaps, we can then engage those objections in a loving, Christ-honoring way. If things go smoothly, perhaps we can even exchange numbers and continue the conversation at some other time. Colin and I have discovered time and time again that the "old way" of doing evangelism really is not that effective, and this has caused us to adapt our basic approach in sharing the Gospel with others. This new and fresh approach is born out of several convictions.
1. These days, evangelism must be intentional, but it also must be relational (or personally credible).
2. People pretty much know next to nothing about what the Bible actually teaches. Therefore, evangelism must be seen as more a process which seeks to guide people into the truth, starting from where they are at personally.
3. Evangelism must be culturally and socially appropriate. Part of why the "old way" of evangelism doesn't work anymore is that nobody goes door-to door anymore, and passing out tracts comes off as very impersonal.
4. Evangelism must lead people through the stages of intelligibility, credibility and plausibility. People must be persuaded of the truth for themselves. More than likely, peoples' understandings will develop in stages and their very real objections to the faith must be dealt with honestly.
5. If someone wants to do evangelism, then they must be excited and comfortable with not only the message, but also the method. Personally, I don't get excited about handing out tracts (but maybe some other people do). But I do get excited about knowing people and ministering the Gospel to their specific, personal situations.
There is plenty of room for disagreement with my views on the matter, and I certainly respect differing viewpoints. I'm always open to the wisdom of others, and I am in no way denying the usefulness of tracts and the fruit that has been borne by handing them out. But more thinking needs to be done on evangelism, especially in these days. I encourage any comments to be shared on this matter, and I ask for all of your prayers as we venture down this new road.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Could we do this?
In recent days, I have become more and more persuaded that evangelism must go hand in hand with sound biblical teaching. Moreover, I have always wished that there was some way to engage in what may be called "Hall of Tyrannus" evangelism (see Acts 19:8-10). But how can this be done in our day?
One answer is in-home Bible studies, and we are pursuing this route with the residents of Foxcroft and many seem open to it. Within the Foxcroft apartments are many single-moms, working hard to provide for their kids. So an important question to consider in our ministry to Foxcroft is: How do we minister well to single-moms, who lack a male leader in the home and who have crushing work schedules? In-home Bible studies are one way in which the Church can come alongside single-moms and help them raise their kids in the Christian faith. The other day I started thinking how great it would be if Harvest could somehow get a babysitting service started that these single moms might be able to count on. And what if this babysitting service was supplemented by teaching in the basic Christian fundamentals? Thus, two purposes would be served: 1) babysitting, which may meet a real need and 2) instruction in the Christian faith, which helps to meet the more ultimate need. This is just a thought.
Another idea in incorporating a "Hall of Tyrannus" style of evangelism/teaching might be to open up theology classes to everyone in the community, on a certain night of the week. Perhaps this could take the form of an enquirers' class that starts with the real questions of enquirers. I've even seen the effectiveness of small group studies like Christianity Explored, that take people through the Gospel of Mark in a way that avoids Christian jargon and creates thought-provoking questions.
As one who loves teaching the Christian faith, I really hope something can be done in our future to bring together evangelism and teaching. This method of evangelism was very effective for the early Church. And as we all know, the early Church found herself in an environment remarkably similar to our own.
In addition, I am often discouraged by the one-time door to door encounter. People just need more than this. They need to be taught. They need a safe place to ask real questions. And they need to see true Christian community beautifully lived out. And as evangelists, we all need to be respectful of the fact that conversion is usually the culmination of a process leading to faith.
I really encourage all readers of this blog to think more on this subject, interact, and offer some other fresh ideas that we can all get excited about. We all have a role to play. But for now, I have to sign off.
Remember that nothing takes off without prayer. God hears us and He alone is the Greatest Evangelist in the universe!
One answer is in-home Bible studies, and we are pursuing this route with the residents of Foxcroft and many seem open to it. Within the Foxcroft apartments are many single-moms, working hard to provide for their kids. So an important question to consider in our ministry to Foxcroft is: How do we minister well to single-moms, who lack a male leader in the home and who have crushing work schedules? In-home Bible studies are one way in which the Church can come alongside single-moms and help them raise their kids in the Christian faith. The other day I started thinking how great it would be if Harvest could somehow get a babysitting service started that these single moms might be able to count on. And what if this babysitting service was supplemented by teaching in the basic Christian fundamentals? Thus, two purposes would be served: 1) babysitting, which may meet a real need and 2) instruction in the Christian faith, which helps to meet the more ultimate need. This is just a thought.
Another idea in incorporating a "Hall of Tyrannus" style of evangelism/teaching might be to open up theology classes to everyone in the community, on a certain night of the week. Perhaps this could take the form of an enquirers' class that starts with the real questions of enquirers. I've even seen the effectiveness of small group studies like Christianity Explored, that take people through the Gospel of Mark in a way that avoids Christian jargon and creates thought-provoking questions.
As one who loves teaching the Christian faith, I really hope something can be done in our future to bring together evangelism and teaching. This method of evangelism was very effective for the early Church. And as we all know, the early Church found herself in an environment remarkably similar to our own.
In addition, I am often discouraged by the one-time door to door encounter. People just need more than this. They need to be taught. They need a safe place to ask real questions. And they need to see true Christian community beautifully lived out. And as evangelists, we all need to be respectful of the fact that conversion is usually the culmination of a process leading to faith.
I really encourage all readers of this blog to think more on this subject, interact, and offer some other fresh ideas that we can all get excited about. We all have a role to play. But for now, I have to sign off.
Remember that nothing takes off without prayer. God hears us and He alone is the Greatest Evangelist in the universe!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Encouragement from 150 years ago
Recently while reading a book entitled "Homiletics and Pastoral Theology" by the Presbyterian theologian W.G.T. Shedd, I was struck by a particular paragraph that seemed to to be relevant to the whole subject of evangelism in a post-modern context. I am always impressed by the insights I find in authors from the 19th century who were writing in the climate of modernity. So much of what they were facing was in many ways identical to what we are facing today, which appears to validate the notion that post-modernity is merely the logical outcome of modernity's humanistic presuppositions. Anyways, I would like to share this paragraph in light of the cultural pressure we face to abandon our 'narrow minded dogmas,' and the many fears that we face as we are called to preach and teach a message that claims absolute authority over its listeners to a resistant world.
'By what authority does thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?' was a question which the chief priests and the scribes and the elders put to Jesus Christ. If it was a natural question for them to ask of the Son of God, it is certainly a natural question for the secular, and especially the unbelieving, world to ask of the Christian herald. By what right does a mortal man rise upon the rostrum, and make positive statements concerning the origin of the human race, the dark mysterious beginnings of human history, the purposes and plans of the infinte Mind, and conclude with announcing the alternatives of eternal salvation and eternal damnation? With respect to these dark and difficult problems, all men stand upon a common level, if divine revelation is thrown out of the account. Apart from the light poured upon them by a communication from the Divine Mind, Confucius and Socrates have as much right to speculate and dogmatize as you or I. By what right, then, does that portion of the world which calls itself Christendom undertake to inform that portion of the world which is called heathendom, concerning God and the future life - concerning the soul, its needs, its sorrows, and its doom? What authority has the Christian man above that of the pagan man in regard to the whole subject of religion, and who gave him this authority? Why does not Christendom, as it peers into darkness beyond the tomb, look reverently to Mohammedanism for light? Why does Christianity insist that Mohammed shall come to the mountain; and why does the mountain refuse to go to Mohammed? As matter of fact, the entire human race is now receiving its lessons in theology and religion from only a portion of the race. In the outset, this portion which set itself up as the teacher of mankind was only a mere fragment of the sum-total - a mere handful of men in a corner of Palestine. The proportion has indeed greatly altered during the eighteen centuries that have elapsed since the death of Christ, but the vast majority of mankind are still pagan, the pupils still immensely outnumber the teachers. By what title does a mere fraction of the equally rational and equally immortal masses that crowd this planet, arrogate to itself the position of the tutor, and demand that the remaining majority take the attitude of the pupil? And, to narrow the circle, by what title does a small class of men rise up in Christian pulpits, and profess to impart instruction to the large congregations of their fellows and their equals, upon the most momentous and the most mysterious of themes? (Shedd 19,20)
As Shedd answers, it is the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ based upon His many infallible proofs and His testimony given in the Holy Scriptures. How much do we fail at being passionate about our evangelism because we are not saturated in Scripture? The quality of our evangelism will be affected by how much time we spend in prayer and in the Word with the source of the evangel Himself. As we go forth to spread the Gospel of Christ, lets not neglect to be transformed by the renewing of our mind that we may "preach Christ, through Christ, to the glory of Christ."
'By what authority does thou these things? and who gave thee this authority to do these things?' was a question which the chief priests and the scribes and the elders put to Jesus Christ. If it was a natural question for them to ask of the Son of God, it is certainly a natural question for the secular, and especially the unbelieving, world to ask of the Christian herald. By what right does a mortal man rise upon the rostrum, and make positive statements concerning the origin of the human race, the dark mysterious beginnings of human history, the purposes and plans of the infinte Mind, and conclude with announcing the alternatives of eternal salvation and eternal damnation? With respect to these dark and difficult problems, all men stand upon a common level, if divine revelation is thrown out of the account. Apart from the light poured upon them by a communication from the Divine Mind, Confucius and Socrates have as much right to speculate and dogmatize as you or I. By what right, then, does that portion of the world which calls itself Christendom undertake to inform that portion of the world which is called heathendom, concerning God and the future life - concerning the soul, its needs, its sorrows, and its doom? What authority has the Christian man above that of the pagan man in regard to the whole subject of religion, and who gave him this authority? Why does not Christendom, as it peers into darkness beyond the tomb, look reverently to Mohammedanism for light? Why does Christianity insist that Mohammed shall come to the mountain; and why does the mountain refuse to go to Mohammed? As matter of fact, the entire human race is now receiving its lessons in theology and religion from only a portion of the race. In the outset, this portion which set itself up as the teacher of mankind was only a mere fragment of the sum-total - a mere handful of men in a corner of Palestine. The proportion has indeed greatly altered during the eighteen centuries that have elapsed since the death of Christ, but the vast majority of mankind are still pagan, the pupils still immensely outnumber the teachers. By what title does a mere fraction of the equally rational and equally immortal masses that crowd this planet, arrogate to itself the position of the tutor, and demand that the remaining majority take the attitude of the pupil? And, to narrow the circle, by what title does a small class of men rise up in Christian pulpits, and profess to impart instruction to the large congregations of their fellows and their equals, upon the most momentous and the most mysterious of themes? (Shedd 19,20)
As Shedd answers, it is the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ based upon His many infallible proofs and His testimony given in the Holy Scriptures. How much do we fail at being passionate about our evangelism because we are not saturated in Scripture? The quality of our evangelism will be affected by how much time we spend in prayer and in the Word with the source of the evangel Himself. As we go forth to spread the Gospel of Christ, lets not neglect to be transformed by the renewing of our mind that we may "preach Christ, through Christ, to the glory of Christ."
Monday, June 28, 2010
A review of Mark Dever's "The Gospel & Personal Evangelism"
It has been a few years since I read a decent book on the subject of evangelism. The last book I read on the subject was "Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God" by J.I. Packer. I had not found a basic introduction to the subject of evangelism that is accessible to the average church goer, and that examines the subject from multiple points of view. That is, until I read Mark Dever's "The Gospel & Personal Evangelism," which I would recommend as a must read for any Reformed Christian seeking to pursue evangelism in the context of the local church. The chapters mainly deal with questions that the average Christian has about evangelism, such as; Why don't we evangelize, what is the Gospel, who should evangelize, how should we evangelize and what isn't evangelism. What I found to be one of the most powerful aspects of the book was the many stories about evangelists in church history that were scattered throughout the chapters. In fact, the book opens up with a very engaging story about an evangelist aboard the Titanic which is so interesting and encouraging to the aspiring evangelist, that I will not give any details beyond that in order to spur on your interest to pick the book up yourself. Dever then answers the question of why we don't evangelize and then continues on to define what the Gospel is. Most of this will be review for the average Christian, but it is always helpful to be reminded of the basics. We need to eat, sleep, and breath the basics because evangelism is the act of taking 'the basics' out to those who presumably have never heard them before.
Of particular interest to those of us from a more traditional Reformed background is his chapter on who should evangelize. Many Christians in Reformed churches seem to think that evangelism is only the activity of a select few at the very least, and others seem to implicitly think that it is a task only for ordained ministers. Unfortunately in a large number of Reformed churches not only do little, if any evangelize, but often even the ministers do not actively engage in evangelism. Through many Scriptures and comments of respected Bible scholars, Dever demonstrates that evangelism, while a gift to a select few, ought to be pursued in some avenue by all Christians. His main texts for this are Acts 8:1-4, and 1 Peter 3:15,16, which read as follows:
And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. (Acts 8:1-4)
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:15,16)
Clearly 1 Peter 3 is aimed at all Christians addressed in Peter's letter, and Acts 8 seems to insinuate that all the Christians who were scattered preached the word as they went. Dever also give several examples of people evangelizing who were not ordained ministers of the Word.
While I found these chapters refreshing and revitalizing to my own pursuits of evangelism, the chapters on how to evangelize and what isn't evangelism were the most convicting and applicable. Dever seems to be open to various forms of making contact in evangelism. Often direct street evangelism is called 'contact evangelism,' but all evangelism is going to involve a contact between individuals even if it is in the context of a progressing relationship with a non-Christian. Often 'friendship evangelism' is labeled 'relational evangelism,' but all evangelism is relational, even if it is with a complete stranger on a street corner. Rather than focusing on methods of contacting unbelievers, Dever focuses more on defining for us what evangelism is in context of communicating the Gospel to an unbeliever. He writes in several sub-points that there needs to be a balance in our approach between honesty, urgency, and joy. His reasoning for this is as follows:
Honesty and urgency with no joy gives us a grim determination (read Philippians). Honesty and joy with no urgency gives us a carelessness about time (read 2 Peter). And urgency and joy with no honesty leads us into distorted claims about immediate benefits of the gospel (read 1 Peter). (Dever, pg 60)
His specific suggestions for the task include; prayer, using the Bible and using the church. What particularly struck me and resonated with my previous thoughts on evangelism, was his recommendation that we try and provoke self-reflection in the unbeliever. In some of the best evangelism encounters that I have engaged in or observed others engage in, self-reflection on the part of the unbeliever was a cornerstone of the conversation. Even the Way of the Master, while being a more rigid form of evangelism, uses this principle in trying to use the Law, coupled with questions, to help the non-Christian see their own sin. Dever writes these encouraging words:
Ask good questions and listen to their answers. Explore them. You may be helping them to enunciate and articulate their own thinking for the first time ever. And you don't even need to try to pretend that this is easy for you. (Dever 66)
One last subject which he covered that I found very comforting and helpful to the task of evangelism, was his chapter on what isn't evangelism. The last false idea of evangelism that he addressed in the chapter was the tendency that we have to view evangelism as the act of winning converts. How often have we been discouraged in evangelism, sought out non-Biblical means, or felt that we needed to be overbearing in the lives of unbelievers because we thought that the fruit of evangelism was the same as evangelism. Of course we should hope for conversion, but every good Calvinist knows that evangelism is what we do with God's help, while conversion is the monergistic work of the Triune God. Of course we should seek to follow up with those whom we evangelize, and we definitely want to disciple those who are willing. But we ought not look at the few instances which produce such results as 'success,' and the rest as failure. We fail at evangelism when we do not accurately present the Gospel, or neglect to present it at all, not when we ourselves fail to see fruit. In many ways our 'success' and 'results' driven culture probably influences our attitudes here. But I also think this tendency of ours is more universal, as we see men in their sensuality throughout the Bible desiring to make images of God, making idols with their own hands, and desiring to walk by sight rather than faith. Dever rightly observes that this mentality can lead to feelings of failure, aversion, and guilt when evangelism doesn't go a smoothly as it is 'supposed' to. In quoting another book he writes:
To evangelize is to declare on the authority of God what he has done to save sinners, to warn men of their lost condition, to direct them to repent, and to believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Dever 80)
There is much more that is covered in this book, and everyone will probably find different parts significant, enlightening, and encouraging. If I were to summarize what I found most significant and the overall message of "The Gospel and Personal Evangelism," I can only quote the conclusion of the book.
We do not fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the gospel to someone who is not subsequently converted; we fail only if we do not faithfully tell the gospel at all.
Of particular interest to those of us from a more traditional Reformed background is his chapter on who should evangelize. Many Christians in Reformed churches seem to think that evangelism is only the activity of a select few at the very least, and others seem to implicitly think that it is a task only for ordained ministers. Unfortunately in a large number of Reformed churches not only do little, if any evangelize, but often even the ministers do not actively engage in evangelism. Through many Scriptures and comments of respected Bible scholars, Dever demonstrates that evangelism, while a gift to a select few, ought to be pursued in some avenue by all Christians. His main texts for this are Acts 8:1-4, and 1 Peter 3:15,16, which read as follows:
And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. (Acts 8:1-4)
but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. (1 Peter 3:15,16)
Clearly 1 Peter 3 is aimed at all Christians addressed in Peter's letter, and Acts 8 seems to insinuate that all the Christians who were scattered preached the word as they went. Dever also give several examples of people evangelizing who were not ordained ministers of the Word.
While I found these chapters refreshing and revitalizing to my own pursuits of evangelism, the chapters on how to evangelize and what isn't evangelism were the most convicting and applicable. Dever seems to be open to various forms of making contact in evangelism. Often direct street evangelism is called 'contact evangelism,' but all evangelism is going to involve a contact between individuals even if it is in the context of a progressing relationship with a non-Christian. Often 'friendship evangelism' is labeled 'relational evangelism,' but all evangelism is relational, even if it is with a complete stranger on a street corner. Rather than focusing on methods of contacting unbelievers, Dever focuses more on defining for us what evangelism is in context of communicating the Gospel to an unbeliever. He writes in several sub-points that there needs to be a balance in our approach between honesty, urgency, and joy. His reasoning for this is as follows:
Honesty and urgency with no joy gives us a grim determination (read Philippians). Honesty and joy with no urgency gives us a carelessness about time (read 2 Peter). And urgency and joy with no honesty leads us into distorted claims about immediate benefits of the gospel (read 1 Peter). (Dever, pg 60)
His specific suggestions for the task include; prayer, using the Bible and using the church. What particularly struck me and resonated with my previous thoughts on evangelism, was his recommendation that we try and provoke self-reflection in the unbeliever. In some of the best evangelism encounters that I have engaged in or observed others engage in, self-reflection on the part of the unbeliever was a cornerstone of the conversation. Even the Way of the Master, while being a more rigid form of evangelism, uses this principle in trying to use the Law, coupled with questions, to help the non-Christian see their own sin. Dever writes these encouraging words:
Ask good questions and listen to their answers. Explore them. You may be helping them to enunciate and articulate their own thinking for the first time ever. And you don't even need to try to pretend that this is easy for you. (Dever 66)
One last subject which he covered that I found very comforting and helpful to the task of evangelism, was his chapter on what isn't evangelism. The last false idea of evangelism that he addressed in the chapter was the tendency that we have to view evangelism as the act of winning converts. How often have we been discouraged in evangelism, sought out non-Biblical means, or felt that we needed to be overbearing in the lives of unbelievers because we thought that the fruit of evangelism was the same as evangelism. Of course we should hope for conversion, but every good Calvinist knows that evangelism is what we do with God's help, while conversion is the monergistic work of the Triune God. Of course we should seek to follow up with those whom we evangelize, and we definitely want to disciple those who are willing. But we ought not look at the few instances which produce such results as 'success,' and the rest as failure. We fail at evangelism when we do not accurately present the Gospel, or neglect to present it at all, not when we ourselves fail to see fruit. In many ways our 'success' and 'results' driven culture probably influences our attitudes here. But I also think this tendency of ours is more universal, as we see men in their sensuality throughout the Bible desiring to make images of God, making idols with their own hands, and desiring to walk by sight rather than faith. Dever rightly observes that this mentality can lead to feelings of failure, aversion, and guilt when evangelism doesn't go a smoothly as it is 'supposed' to. In quoting another book he writes:
To evangelize is to declare on the authority of God what he has done to save sinners, to warn men of their lost condition, to direct them to repent, and to believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. (Dever 80)
There is much more that is covered in this book, and everyone will probably find different parts significant, enlightening, and encouraging. If I were to summarize what I found most significant and the overall message of "The Gospel and Personal Evangelism," I can only quote the conclusion of the book.
We do not fail in our evangelism if we faithfully tell the gospel to someone who is not subsequently converted; we fail only if we do not faithfully tell the gospel at all.
A Day at Foxcroft
Shelby and I decided to take a new approach with the residents of the Foxcroft Apartments today. We thought that we would suggest the idea of in-home Bible studies to people just to see what God would do. After all, there is nothing we would rather do than gather around the Word of God with people. And guess what?
God absolutely blessed us! It looks like there is a real need beginning to open up for people who are interested in leading in-home Bible studies. We met several people willing to open up their homes to us so that we could consider the Scriptures together. One woman we met is a Hispanic, catholic woman with three kids. Another guy we met is a refugee from Myammar in Southeast Asia who is working on speaking better English. We offered to teach him the Bible as a way of learning English better and also growing in his relationship to the Lord. He is a Christian and speaks about 7 different dialects. We suggested that he consider attending a Bible college and be an Asian missionary. We can probably meet with him on a weekly basis, and he will probably be a regular visitor to Harvest. He remembers Tony, a Harvest member who served in the Adopt-a-Block ministry over a year ago. The Catholic woman (whose name I can't pronounce) remembers Francis from the Adopt-a-Block ministry. We also met a guy named Miguel who looked like an Army Ranger when he came to the door, the kind of guy you wouldn't want to mess with. He has a three-year old daughter and just flat out said that he would be at Harvest this Sunday. We'll just have to see if he shows up. We shook his hand and exchanged contact information.
Today was a fruitful day, and we find ourselves very thankful for the prayers of Harvest. We urge you to be persistent in these prayers and join us in God's labor if the Lord puts something on your heart. Personally, I find myself searching my own heart and asking whether or not these friends we are meeting are worth the time investment. And even they might be wondering whether or not we are willing to "walk the walk," and invest in them. I believe they are worth it, and these days ministering the Gospel automatically comes with some kind of investment in the lives of people. We must not only share the Gospel but even our very own selves with others. I think God would have it no other way.
God absolutely blessed us! It looks like there is a real need beginning to open up for people who are interested in leading in-home Bible studies. We met several people willing to open up their homes to us so that we could consider the Scriptures together. One woman we met is a Hispanic, catholic woman with three kids. Another guy we met is a refugee from Myammar in Southeast Asia who is working on speaking better English. We offered to teach him the Bible as a way of learning English better and also growing in his relationship to the Lord. He is a Christian and speaks about 7 different dialects. We suggested that he consider attending a Bible college and be an Asian missionary. We can probably meet with him on a weekly basis, and he will probably be a regular visitor to Harvest. He remembers Tony, a Harvest member who served in the Adopt-a-Block ministry over a year ago. The Catholic woman (whose name I can't pronounce) remembers Francis from the Adopt-a-Block ministry. We also met a guy named Miguel who looked like an Army Ranger when he came to the door, the kind of guy you wouldn't want to mess with. He has a three-year old daughter and just flat out said that he would be at Harvest this Sunday. We'll just have to see if he shows up. We shook his hand and exchanged contact information.
Today was a fruitful day, and we find ourselves very thankful for the prayers of Harvest. We urge you to be persistent in these prayers and join us in God's labor if the Lord puts something on your heart. Personally, I find myself searching my own heart and asking whether or not these friends we are meeting are worth the time investment. And even they might be wondering whether or not we are willing to "walk the walk," and invest in them. I believe they are worth it, and these days ministering the Gospel automatically comes with some kind of investment in the lives of people. We must not only share the Gospel but even our very own selves with others. I think God would have it no other way.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)