Friending but Not Sharing

Trevin Wax:

The term “evangelism” gives many Christians the willies. We immediately think of canned presentations that seem stiff and unnatural. We are paralyzed by the thought of knocking on a stranger’s door and talking about Jesus. 

In response to these images of evangelism, we promote the idea of “building relationships” before sharing the gospel. We call it friendship or relational evangelism. 

I think this development is (overall) a healthy one. We don’t share the gospel apart from who we are as witnesses. The most effective evangelism takes place within the context of relationships where the life of the Christian is on display. 

But sometimes, I wonder if our emphasis on relationships might cause us to turn all our focus to relationship-building and indefinitely postpone gospel proclamation. So someone asks you, “Are you sharing the gospel regularly?” and you think, Of course! I’m building a relationship with an employee at a coffee shop; I’ve got a friend who watches football with me; I’m getting to know the parents in my child’s preschool class. 

Weeks and months (maybe even years) go by, and we’ve made friends, but no disciples. We still haven’t spoken about our Christian faith and what it means to trust in Jesus.
It’s true that effective evangelism usually takes place after trustworthy relationships have been built. But something is amiss when we can “get to know” people well over a period of months and never talk about Jesus.

Read the rest.  

How To Make Evangelism Authentic

Christianity Packs Its Office and Leaves the Building

Very interesting piece of writing here from Jonathan Leeman.

Does Christianity have anything to offer in the public square?

Love People, Not Evangelism

Just Hit a Single

J. Warner Wallace:

Our private conversations with non-believers are similarly analogous to baseball. In every conversation I have with unbelieving friends, I am ever mindful of the value of singles. I don’t have to “win” every encounter. I don’t necessarily have to offer the Gospel or describe the Christian view of Salvation. If I get the right pitch, I’m happy to swing. But most of the time I’m lucky to get on base at all. With reasonable expectations in mind, I am happy to overcome a single objection or advance someone’s understanding just a base or two. In fact, sometimes the most important thing I can do is reflect the nature of Jesus as I listen and gently respond. I may not even get the chance to offer a defense or make a point, but my character will speak for me as I make the effort to get on base. 

When I share the truth with unbelievers, I sometimes act as though I’m playing a singles tennis match. I’m on one side of the net, and my opponent is on the other. I’m all alone out there on the court, it’s hot and the entire world is watching on ESPN. Whatever I do (or don’t do), whatever I say (or don’t say), will all come down to my individual effort. If I’m going to be successful, it’s all on me. But that’s not the reality of my situation. I’m part of a much deeper team called the Church. I’m not alone on the court; I’m just one in a series of batters. I come to the plate, I get a sense of what the pitcher is throwing, and I make an appropriate decision on how to respond. On rare occasions I may swing for the fences, but sometimes the wiser choice will be to make contact with the ball, get on base if possible, or take a “walk” if the pitcher is throwing wildly. It’s not all on me. I don’t have to win the game by myself. Evangelism and Christian Case Making is often just like baseball. Remember your place in the line-up. Drive in a run if you can, or just get on base for the next player at bat. Remember you’re not alone. If each of us can get a single, we’ll eventually succeed as a team.

Read the rest.  

"Mission begins with a kind of explosion of joy."

“There has been a long tradition which sees the mission of the Church primarily as obedience to a command. It has been customary to speak of ‘the missionary mandate.’ This way of putting the matter is certainly not without justification, and yet it seems to me that it misses the point. It tends to make mission a burden rather than a joy, to make it part of the law rather than part of the gospel. If one looks at the New Testament evidence one gets another impression. Mission begins with a kind of explosion of joy. The news that the rejected and crucified Jesus is alive is something that cannot possibly be suppressed. It must be told. Who could be silent about such a fact? The mission of the Church in the pages of the New Testament is more like the fallout from a vast explosion, a radioactive fallout which is not lethal but life-giving.”

- Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, page 116.

(HT:  Ray)

"We need to eat our unexciting meatloaf in our boring, single-family homes with a few more outcasts around our table."

Matthew Loftus writes well about the "boring" Christian life and the hope of the nations.  How do they fit together?  Here is his conclusion, but read the whole thing.  It's full of insight.

It is important for those of us who have grown up in cultures with strong churches & Christian institutions to recognize the concept of church-planting movements in foreign missions, particularly in regard to three self and unreached people groups principles when discussing foreign missions. For not only is there a larger percentage of faithful, boring Christians in Missouri than in Somalia, but the Christians in Missouri have developed the cultural, theological, and ecclesiological resources necessary to create new churches in their culture and language. This is not true for thousands of people groups that do not know Jesus and have no human means to learn about Him. People in North America certainly need evangelism, discipleship, and theological formation just as much as people in Central Asia. The difference is that the institutions and churches carrying out those works in North America are not merely present, but have the ability to self-sustain, self-fund, and self-reproduce in their own cultural milieu. Such institutions aren’t just virtually absent elsewhere, but often lack the resources and personnel to propagate and persist. If we are serious about the value of these institutions, we should work slowly yet tenaciously to establish them everywhere and send enough Christians to places without them so they might be strengthened. 

There are needs everywhere, of course. Not only are the suburbs of America full of lost people, they are full of Christians who need one another to stay and build one another up through fellowship, prayer, service, and worship. Raising families in an increasingly hostile and materialistic culture is hard work requiring great spiritual resources, and we ought not minimize its importance. However, if we look at the needs of the world and the concentration of wealth, power, education, health, and Biblical knowledge that we’ve been blessed with, it looks a little disproportionate—especially when it comes to the institutions that drive the growth of the church and help to keep her witness faithful. We need to be quiet and patient in a few more places. We need to use the dividends of our thrift a little more intentionally. And we need to eat our unexciting meatloaf in our boring, single-family homes with a few more outcasts around our table.

Read the rest.  

Fighting Mission Fatigue

Brad Watson writes a great post concerning the life of mission.  

Do not leave a life on mission because you have made it your life. There is a way to be on mission and for your life to be about Jesus. In fact, this is the only sustainable way. As you press into seeing Jesus present, involved, and relevant at your dinner table, at work, in the garden, and with your friends, you will be on mission. The gospel is the only agent of perseverance. This is one thrilling life of repentance, faith, and fruit. 

Jesus is worth it! You will find Jesus on the mission, but don’t substitute the mission for Jesus.

Read the rest.

Ditch the "Outreach Program"

Mack Stiles:

I was at High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. The pastor, Juan, had asked me to do a seminar on developing a culture of evangelism. I talked and people asked questions. Then someone asked an elephant-in-the-room type of question: "Many Vietnamese are moving into the community around our church; what is the church going to do to reach out to them?" 

On the one hand, this was a wonderful question. A member recognized that she had the privilege and responsibility to reach out with the gospel, and she saw an opportunity to do it. On the other hand, the way the question was phrased seemed to imply that reaching out was the responsibility of the church, not the person who noticed the opportunity. 

But in a culture of evangelism the work is grassroots, not top-down. In a culture of evangelism, people understand that the main task of the church is to be the church; they understand that church, just being biblical church, is a witness in and of itself. The church supports and prays for outreach and evangelistic opportunities, but the church's role is not primarily to run evangelistic programs. The members are sent out from the church to do evangelism, the church does not do evangelism. 

I know this point may seem a bit picky, but it's really important. If you don't get this point right, you can subvert the church. We want church to be church, and members to be seeker friendly, not the other way around. 

Here's how I responded to the question at High Pointe: "It's really not the best thing for 'the church' to set up programs for Vietnamese outreach, but rather for you to think how you can reach out. So I would recommend you learn something about the Vietnamese culture, maybe by learning some greetings in Vietnamese, trying their food, and learning about the struggles they face living in the majority culture. Reach out and invite the friends you make to come with you to your homes, a small-group Bible study, or church. Then, perhaps, some of you should even think of moving into the Vietnamese community with the purpose of commending the gospel among that community." 

In return I saw from the faces in the room many blank stares and great relief on the face of Pastor Juan, who was grateful that I had not just singlehandedly set up an outreach program for him to run.

Read the rest.

How To Engage The Neighborhood

Great thoughts here from Jeff Cavanaugh.

He writes:

I serve my local church as deacon of community outreach, and our strategy for reaching the neighborhood around us is mainly one of long-term, patient faithfulness. Our goal is to build relationships with our neighbors that, over time, will make it easier for us to have spiritual conversations with them. These relationships also make our neighbors more willing to attend services and other events aimed specifically at engaging unbelievers with the gospel.

The basic principle behind this strategy is simple, and it's one any church can follow: engage your neighbors by taking an interest in what they care about. Building common ground is easy when you participate side-by-side in community organizations, service projects, family events, block parties, yard sales, and the like. Common interests are one of the most powerful tools for building friendships that can enable spiritual conversations to take place.

My church is located in a historic urban neighborhood that has a well-defined identity, and many of our neighbors have common interests. Neighborhood associations are popular and prominent in the life of the community, and events like street fairs, art shows, music festivals, park cleanups, and community yard sales are common. We engage our neighbors by having church members volunteer for these events, host booths, and attend neighborhood association meetings. We also invite the community to a couple of evangelistic events at Christmas: a service of lessons and carols with a brief evangelistic sermon, and a sing-along production of Handel's Messiah.

But even if your church doesn't have the advantages that my church's neighborhood affords, you can still engage your neighbors by showing you care about what's important to them. Just devote some time to thinking about what your neighbors value, what they spend their time and resources on, and ways you can build relationships with them through those things.

Read the rest.

I would recommend this book as well.

Cynicism Doesn’t Reach a Lost World

Good reflections here from Ed Stetzer:

Walt Disney World specializes in catching your attention—it's a paradise for people with ADD like me. There's something interesting everywhere you look. But the day I visited, there was one thing every person in the resort was certain to notice that wasn't part of the theme park. 

I was in EPCOT at the time—trying to raise girls who know about a big world and about more than just princesses (or maybe just make them nerds like their dad)—when people around me started pointing to the sky. Being a dutiful sheep, I turned and looked as well. 

What I saw were the letters "T-R-U-S." Like most anyone else would if they saw the smoke take shape, I assumed it would say to "trust" someone. Then a "J" was formed, and I joked out loud that it might say, "Trust Jess." But eventually, I figured out that it was "Trust Jesus"—I'm clever like that.

My reaction—and the reactions of others around me—seemed worthy of reflection.
First, my own instinct was to watch how others around me were responding. I have a high "hokey meter" and I wonder how people will respond to things that I perceive as hokey. 

I tend to be skeptical of the effectiveness of barns painted with "For all that sinned and fall short of the glory of God," skywriters who write "Trust Jesus" in the sky, people who have T-shirts with catchy Christian phrases, and—as you may have noticed—church signs that I publish every week on the blog. So for me, both interest and some mild cynicism kicked in. 

What I found most intriguing was the response of people who obviously were Christians. One couple nearby looked to one another and sort of rolled their eyes, then spoke aloud about how there are better ways to share the faith. 

To some degree, I resonated with them. But since the skywriting went on for so long, I got to see the reaction of many people. In doing so, I was challenged-- and perhaps chastened.

Read the rest.  

How God Turns a French Atheist into a Christian Theologian

Amazing story of conversion here.

Time To Recalibrate!

Steve Hart:

...we’ve given our people 3 simple questions to shape their gospeled living, and I share them with you in hopes they will help you clarify how you’ll live as gospel people in the coming year. 

1. Who will be our Family? As we recalibrate this fall, with whom are you committed to living your Family identity? You need a primary community, a group of Jesus people to whom you commit yourself. Who will you be with regularly for the sake of sharing and celebrating Jesus, in both intentional gathered times (DNA, dinners, etc.) and in the everyday stuff of life? 

2. Where and to whom are we called as a Missionaries? In this recalibration through Ephesians, we’ve seen that Paul hammers the truth that every person who has miraculously gotten in on the grace party has done so for the purpose of extending the invitation! Who will you pursue for the sake of sharing the good news of the gospel by praying for, serving, and speaking God’s grace to them? 

3. In what ways will we be Jesus’ Servant? There are needs around us that we’ve been given grace to meet – works that Jesus destined us to walk in! – that will make much of Him. What is he asking you to surrender (time, money, comfort, etc.) this fall so you can bring good news to your neighborhood or network, and in what ways will you do so? 

In the end, we’re simply saying the message of Ephesians: Be who you are. God is rescuing a family to himself, and sending them to be servant missionaries all across our city. As elders and equippers, our job isn’t to convince our people to do something for God; rather, we have the high calling of reminding our people of all that the Father has given them in the gospel – “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!” – so that they’ll be free to live as the people He saved them to be – “to the praise of his glorious grace!”

Read the rest.  

7 Signs Your Church Is Effectively Reaching Non-Church People

Carey Nieuwhof:

1. People Aren’t Singing Much During the Service

2. Long Time Church People Are Unsettled

3. Irregular Attendance is Regular

4. Your Tidy Categories Are Falling Apart

5. You’re Getting Surprisingly Candid Questions

6. Everyone’s Tolerance For Hypocrisy is Plummeting

7. You See Real Life-Change

Read the rest for his explanations.  

5 Things Mistaken for Evangelism

Mark Dever writes a helpful post dealing with what is and what is not evangelism.


Books by Mark Dever:

• Nine Marks of a Healthy Church
• The Church: The Gospel Made Visible
• The Gospel and Personal Evangelism (Ixmarks)
• The Message of the Old Testament: Promises Made
• The Message of the New Testament: Promises Kept
• Preach: Theology Meets Practice
• The Deliberate Church: Building Your Ministry on the Gospel

"One sometimes meets a scalp-hunting zeal in evangelism, both in the pulpit and on the personal level."

It must never be forgotten that the enterprise required of us in evangelism is the enterprise of love: an enterprise that springs from a genuine interest in those whom we seek to win, and a genuine care for their well-being, and expresses itself in a genuine respect for them and a genuine friendliness toward them. One sometimes meets a scalp-hunting zeal in evangelism, both in the pulpit and on the personal level, which is both discreditable and alarming. It is discreditable, because it reflects, not love and care nor the desire to be of help, but arrogance and conceit and pleasure in having power over the lives of others. It is alarming, because it finds expression in a ferocious psychological pummeling of the poor victim, which may do great damage to sensitive and impressionable souls. But if love prompts and rules our evangelistic work, we shall approach other people in a different spirit. If we truly care for them, and if our hearts truly love and fear God, then we shall seek to present Christ to them in a way that is both honoring to God and respectful to them. We shall not try to violate their personalities, or exploit their weaknesses, or ride roughshod over their feelings. What we shall be trying to do, rather, is to show them the reality of our friendship and concern by sharing with them our most valuable possession. And this spirit of friendship and concern will shine through all that we say to them, whether in the pulpit or in private, however drastic and shattering the truths that we tell them may be.

- J.I. Packer, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

(HT:  Aaron Armstong)

The Sending Church

I think this might be a new measure of health to consider.

A great interview here by Trevin Wax.  This portion was enlightening.

Trevin: You talk a lot about the scorecard we keep as pastors. You admit how in the past you were more focused on growing the church than sending the church. What changed your scorecard? 

Pat: There was definitely a time when I was more concerned about growing a church than in sending the church. That’s agonizing to admit, even today, because it seems so shallow and man-centered. But, even though my goal might’ve been wrong, my motives were pure. Numbers represent souls, and I wanted to take as many people with me to heaven as possible.

I think all pastors have to fight the drift toward focusing on numbers because the American Dream flows out of the American world view that bigger is better. We even publish an annual list of the fastest growing and the largest churches in America. Our influence seems to depend on how large our church is. So, it’s easy for our motives to drift.

Now, I’m not trying to over spiritualize and say numbers aren’t important. We count everything at LifePoint because numbers are a great diagnostic. To be honest, I’d bet that the only churches that aren’t interested in numbers are those that don’t have any. But, numbers shouldn’t be the goal; obedience to God’s mission should be the goal. God measures obedience and faithfulness rather than bigness. Rather than measuring the size of our buildings or the size of our attendance, God measures the size of our passion to run hard after His heart and His purpose for the church.

Read the rest.

Get the book here.

A Theology of "Home"

Steve Timmis with a long, yet powerful article tracing the social conditions that have brought us to where we are today in terms of or notions of family and "home" and how the Biblical story fits into this.  These concepts are worthy of much reflection for the sake of church and mission.  His thesis:

Having tried to establish an historical perspective, let me state in fairly bold terms my thesis. The concepts of home and family are an important dimension of human identity, and there is something intrinsic to being human that craves for a context of refuge in which individuals have identity, and are accepted and secure. But the purpose of such 'units' is to offer a 'home' to the "strangers and aliens", and to face the world with an open face and welcoming arms.

Read the whole thing.  

Books by Steve Timmis here.

The First Step in Mission: "Do Nothing"

J.D. Greear:

I’ve always thought that Jesus gave a very odd “first step” to completing the Great Commission: “Do nothing until the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” With millions of people waiting to hear the gospel, he told the only ones who knew anything about it to sit and wait until he had sent them something mysterious from above. That meant they were not to write books. They were not go out and try to make converts. They were to do nothing. 

Why? They were to do nothing until the Spirit came because they truly could do nothing effectively until he did. Jesus had promised that he would build his church, and he could accomplish more in one moment through his Spirit than they could accomplish in 10,000 lifetimes through all their expertise. 

Do you live with that sense of dependence on the Holy Spirit? Do you really believe that you can do nothing without him? As a parent, as a spouse, as a friend, as a witness? 

The book of Acts tells the mind-blowing, earth-upturning story of what a group of people filled with the Holy Spirit can do. We’re still reeling today from that first Christian century. New Testament scholars have pointed out that the book of Acts has really been given the wrong title. Rather than “The Acts of the Apostles,” many say it should probably be “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” (Note that the original book had no title. It was assigned later, so suggesting a change is not like suggesting we edit Scripture!) They say that because even a quick read of Acts reveals that the Spirit of God is the primary actor. He guides, speaks, and moves. The disciples are simply trying to keep up. At their best, they are merely conduits of this mighty rushing wind. At their worst, they are obstructions.

Read the rest.


Books by J.D. Greear:

• Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart: How to Know for Sure You Are Saved
• Gospel: Recovering the Power that Made Christianity Revolutionary
• Breaking the Islam Code: Understanding the Soul Questions of Every Muslim

"True hospitality is sacrificial, uncomfortable, and does not seek to impress others."

Great post on hospitality here.  It should be normative for us!