Reinventing Evangelism, part 7

7. We must communicate in a clear, caring, compelling, and compassionate manner.
An effective evangelist must have a commitment to intercession and waiting upon God. The exercise of these spiritual disciplines will attune our spirits to the initiatives of God and enable us to communicate with relevance and compassion. One practical approach is to regularly pray the Lord’s Prayer with our neighbors, family, and friends in mind. Prayer is part of our being partners with God in the whole process of making him known. We demonstrate our sensitivity by random acts of kindness and by showing a genuine interest in the concerns, hopes, and questions of others. Jesus repeatedly used the circumstances of his current situation to convey what he wanted to communicate.
The evangelist shares the message with sensitivity and patience, yet with a sense of urgency that conveys the importance of the message. Such urgency implies a countercultural stance, for the prevailing attitude is that spirituality is a private and peripheral matter. For the Christian, however, “What do you think of Christ?” is a question with life-transforming implications and eternal consequences. Religion without conviction is shallow and worldly. Religion without compassion is rigid and inhumane. Conviction without compassion is harsh. Compassion without conviction is spineless.

There is a lot here that draws together thought from previous entries. I think there are two things i will highlight. Firstly, it is clear here that the evangelist encounter people where they are at. In order to do that he/she starts as a listener. It is a missed opportunity to assume where the gospel engages with this person - it will engage, if in fact it is “good news”, but we must listen to fully realise where and how. Secondly, the message of good news is not jsut a ‘message’ a sequence of words, it is a live giving, life changing, life renewing message of transformation that also includes actions, thoughts and prayers, in addition to the normal conversation skills of listening, questioning and talking. Secondly, this section made me challenged me on this aspect of urgency. I guess i feel urgency has been an excuse for quick-fix evangelism, simplistic one-size fits all responses to people that deals purely with “their soul” and doesn’t embrace people as “wholes”. Urgency then cannot mean “not thought out” or “not holistic” or “cheap and easy”, maybe more it means “intentional”. This is not an easy-come easy-go lifestyle, it is a 24hour day reorientation around Christ, that pulls us constantly out of our selfish, individualistic lives, and points us unrelentingly to God and our neighbour. This intentionality is not a pulling up by the bootstraps, but not being scared of working really hard for the sake of others as we allow the energy of the Spirit to have its full way within our hearts - we are impelled and sustained by the Spirit of Jesus to live for the benefit of others.

Reinventing Evangelism, part 6

6. We must assume that God is already at work in a person’s life prior to the arrival of any evangelist.
Theologians speak of “prevenient grace”, signifying the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of an individual and community prior to a personal commitment or a community turning to Christ. This means that anyone seeking to communicate the good news of Christ must first listen and ask questions to discern what preparatory work the Lord has already accomplished. A deeper look inside those who are not yet Christians will frequently reveal both sensitivity to sin and a sense of incompleteness. People do not go around making announcements about their inside stories. As we listen to their stories, we will learn a great deal about ourselves and have our own presuppositions and prejudices challenged. This is God’s world, Jesus died for the sins of it, and his Spirit is a free agent. We must take time to discover what God has already accomplished and listen discerningly, for in addition to God’s spirit of truth, Satan’s spirit of counterfeit is also at work. By listening, we will discover the groundwork already in place on which we can build by relating the gospel to what they already know.

I heard at the weekend of someone who was just back from visiting China. In a conversation, they were asked what their job was, “Bible Teacher” he replied. “What’s the bible” the new friend said. “a book about God, and particularly about Jesus”. “Who is this person Jesus” came the final reply. Ah! Where do you start!! That is surely primary missional question: “where do you start”. We can no longer assume basic understandings of anything. We must start by listening, listening to connect with those points where God has provided ready soil to see the gospel seed planted. The places where God is already at work.

This fact, more than any other, I think, makes our daily lives exciting. Who knows when we walk out of our front doors who we will meet, what God is doing in their lives, and how, in whatever big or small way, we will participate in God’s work. It is enought want to get those communication lines open with God before you go, so you are ready to hear his promptings. In addition to hieghtening the expectation and excitement, it also takes the pressure up. You do not have to go out drumming up excitment, bringing in converts, doing God’s work for him; God is already out there doing his stuff. Can you see it?

Reinventing Evangelism, part 6

6. We must assume that God is already at work in a person’s life prior to the arrival of any evangelist.
Theologians speak of “prevenient grace”, signifying the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of an individual and community prior to a personal commitment or a community turning to Christ. This means that anyone seeking to communicate the good news of Christ must first listen and ask questions to discern what preparatory work the Lord has already accomplished. A deeper look inside those who are not yet Christians will frequently reveal both sensitivity to sin and a sense of incompleteness. People do not go around making announcements about their inside stories. As we listen to their stories, we will learn a great deal about ourselves and have our own presuppositions and prejudices challenged. This is God’s world, Jesus died for the sins of it, and his Spirit is a free agent. We must take time to discover what God has already accomplished and listen discerningly, for in addition to God’s spirit of truth, Satan’s spirit of counterfeit is also at work. By listening, we will discover the groundwork already in place on which we can build by relating the gospel to what they already know.

I heard at the weekend of someone who was just back from visiting China. In a conversation, they were asked what their job was, “Bible Teacher” he replied. “What’s the bible” the new friend said. “a book about God, and particularly about Jesus”. “Who is this person Jesus” came the final reply. Ah! Where do you start!! That is surely primary missional question: “where do you start”. We can no longer assume basic understandings of anything. We must start by listening, listening to connect with those points where God has provided ready soil to see the gospel seed planted. The places where God is already at work.

This fact, more than any other, I think, makes our daily lives exciting. Who knows when we walk out of our front doors who we will meet, what God is doing in their lives, and how, in whatever big or small way, we will participate in God’s work. It is enought want to get those communication lines open with God before you go, so you are ready to hear his promptings. In addition to hieghtening the expectation and excitement, it also takes the pressure up. You do not have to go out drumming up excitment, bringing in converts, doing God’s work for him; God is already out there doing his stuff. Can you see it?

Reinventing Evangelism, part 6

6. We must assume that God is already at work in a person’s life prior to the arrival of any evangelist.
Theologians speak of “prevenient grace”, signifying the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of an individual and community prior to a personal commitment or a community turning to Christ. This means that anyone seeking to communicate the good news of Christ must first listen and ask questions to discern what preparatory work the Lord has already accomplished. A deeper look inside those who are not yet Christians will frequently reveal both sensitivity to sin and a sense of incompleteness. People do not go around making announcements about their inside stories. As we listen to their stories, we will learn a great deal about ourselves and have our own presuppositions and prejudices challenged. This is God’s world, Jesus died for the sins of it, and his Spirit is a free agent. We must take time to discover what God has already accomplished and listen discerningly, for in addition to God’s spirit of truth, Satan’s spirit of counterfeit is also at work. By listening, we will discover the groundwork already in place on which we can build by relating the gospel to what they already know.

I heard at the weekend of someone who was just back from visiting China. In a conversation, they were asked what their job was, “Bible Teacher” he replied. “What’s the bible” the new friend said. “a book about God, and particularly about Jesus”. “Who is this person Jesus” came the final reply. Ah! Where do you start!! That is surely primary missional question: “where do you start”. We can no longer assume basic understandings of anything. We must start by listening, listening to connect with those points where God has provided ready soil to see the gospel seed planted. The places where God is already at work.

This fact, more than any other, I think, makes our daily lives exciting. Who knows when we walk out of our front doors who we will meet, what God is doing in their lives, and how, in whatever big or small way, we will participate in God’s work. It is enought want to get those communication lines open with God before you go, so you are ready to hear his promptings. In addition to hieghtening the expectation and excitement, it also takes the pressure up. You do not have to go out drumming up excitment, bringing in converts, doing God’s work for him; God is already out there doing his stuff. Can you see it?

Daniel Bedingfield meets COTA

submergence: didn’t my lord deliver daniel