Practical ideas for meeting, serving, and getting to know people for the sake of the gospel

These 2 articles by Steve McCoy are very helpful and encouraging. His ideas are great, but the most important thing to glean from both articles is his purposeful mindset. Your context may be a little different to his, but there will be several things you can do too! May we each be this purposeful about loving others in practical ways and reaching them with the good news they need!

Steve’s articles:   

Summerbia

Summerbia: Connection Tools

~Donovan

HT: Justin Taylor

A smorgasboard from around the web

It’s been a busy week, and I haven’t had a chance to post anything. I have come across several good posts on-line though, and since I don’t know which to link to, here’s a smorgasboard of good stuff from around the web (as usual, I found most of this stuff thanks to Tim Challies and Justin Taylor!):

• John Piper wrote a thought-provoking post entitled, “Why I Don’t Have a Television and Rarely Go to Movies” . This post also includes a wonderful example of humbly confessing sin. 
• Keith and Kristen Getty have released a new album of modern, celtic-style hymns. Their lyrics are saturated with Scripture and their music is beautiful! You can listen to samples and/or order the CD here.
• Sovereign Grace Music has released another children’s album entitled, To Be Like Jesus. Read about it here.
• Tim Challies asked John Bell, pastor of New City Baptist Church in Toronto, to share about his experience sharing the gospel with the gay community in his city. It is well worth reading - to help us think biblically about homosexuality, and to help us in God-honoring evangelism and church life. There is also some very interesting discussion in the comments, especially involving a number of men who struggle with homosexuality but turn from it because of their commitment to Christ. Read this post here. 
• If you’re compiling a summer reading list, you might find these 2 posts from David Powlison to be of interest. Powlison is a bilical counselor, professor, and author, and he spent some time this week discussing some of his favorite literature with CJ Mahaney. You can read part 1 here, and part 2 here.  
• What does Kurt Warner, a Christian who plays quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals, like most about being a professional football player? His very encouraging answer is here.   

Blessings…

~Donovan

Wisdom About Angels and Demons

John Piper:

“The folks at Westminster Bookstore have helped set up a remarkable website with serious reflections on the kinds of scientific and religious questions raised by the Dan Brown blockbuster Angels and Demons.

It’s the kind of place you could send your unbelieving friends who have questions.”

~Donovan

Read Jack

Read Jack. That’s the advice given by Desiring God ministries, and we’re following it in our men’s and women’s groups… The book we’re currently reading in these groups is called A Faith Worth Sharing, by C. John ”Jack” Miller. David Mathis of  Desiring God Ministries describes this book as “the best resource I’ve found on gospel-telling.” You can read what else he has to say about it here.

If you are not currently in a men’s or women’s group, I encourage you to join for our next round! Details will be announced soon…

~Donovan

A Primer on dialoging with Darwinists

150 years ago Charles Darwin published, On the Origin of Species,  a book we’ve probably all heard of, and a book that has shaped history in incredible ways… 

Marvin Olasky, editor in chief of World Magazine, notes, “Christians who respond with ridicule of Darwin get nowhere—but understanding a few terms of the debate can help to start a dialogue.”  His article on this is well worth the read. Read it here.

~Donovan

HT: Justin Taylor

Helpful words on evangelism from an atheist

Penn Jillette is an American comedian, illusionist, juggler and writer. He’s best known as the taller, louder half of the magic and comedy act Penn & Teller. Jillette is an outspoken atheist (actually, he considers himself “beyond atheism” – read an essay he wrote on his beliefs here). This is what he has to say about evangelism:

 

Being a purposeful, wise ambassador of Christ, part 2

  

I received a few comments on my earlier post with this title, so I decided to write a “part 2″…

         

Both Bobby and Drew wanted to be sure I wasn’t arguing for “be purposeful to make friends with people, wait and wait and wait, and maybe – just maybe, there’ll be a blatantly obvious opportunity for you to tell them about Jesus one of these days…” Amen! I’m certainly not in favor of that approach. You could wait and wait forever… And nobody becomes a believer simply by osmosis – just by being around a Christian. No! We must communicate the full and complete gospel message (Romans 10:14-15).

            

Drew wanted to be sure nobody equated “success in evangelism” with conversion. Amen to that point too! All we can be is faithful… it is God alone who brings fruit. And it is true that the same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay… Faithfulness in evangelism will result in some people being saved, and it will result in others rejecting the message, sometimes even getting very upset. It shouldn’t be surprising to us that people intent on suppressing the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1) would get a little feisty when we hold that same truth up before their eyes and call them to submit to it!

                 

However – I do believe there is more to being an ambassador than accurately presenting the content of the gospel message (even though content is most important). How we present that message also communicates… and if we’re rude, or come off as arrogant and uncaring, or as if Jesus isn’t really that special to us, or as merely going through the motions with a canned presentation, something is lost in that message. I’m sure both Bobby and Drew would agree on this point. 

           

This is a few sections, slightly edited, of an e-mail I wrote to a sister in Christ just before she took a trip out to Maryland to visit family who do not believe in Jesus (I think I wrote it about 3 years ago?). It’s just me passing on things the LORD has taught me regarding evangelism, both from His Word and through experience… including issues related to boldness, purposefulness in communicating the message, and being an Ambassador who represents Christ well in every way… It was good for me to read it again – I’ve allowed myself to wane in some of these things and it was good to be reminded of lessons God taught me before…

             

Answers to life’s biggest questions…

This sermon by Voddie Baucham is EXCELLENT!  It is absolutely essential that our entire worldview is formed by God’s Holy Word, and this sermon shows it powerfully and beautifully. It also shows how important a thoroughly biblical worldview is in evangelism…  

Click here to listen to it. 

(This message was originally given at a pastor’s conference put on by Desiring God Ministries in 2006.) 

Being a purposeful, wise ambassador of Christ

I took a church planting class this last semester at seminary and had to interview a few church planters as a part of the class. The common thread I picked up from these men, my reading, and my professor, was the truth that evangelism only really happens when you’re purposeful about it. I’ve also been learning a lot about how to be purposeful in evangelism…

It’s not wrong to knock on a stranger’s door or walk up to someone you don’t know and immediately give them the gospel, but it’s important to be considerate and wise. I recently had a stranger start talking to me at a Starbucks. Their friendliness brightened my day, until the brief conversation very suddenly turned to a pitch for a pyramid scheme selling “the perfect water” (which, by the sounds of it, comes straight from the fountain of youth, can cure every disease known to man, and would make me a billionaire if I would only take up her offer and start selling it too). My day was no longer brightened. To be honest, I was pretty annoyed. I politely changed the subject, wished her a nice day, and left… I imagine most people would do the same if you were to try present the gospel like she presented her sales pitch. I might have listened to this lady more if I’d actually known her a little bit and believed she was really trying to line me up with something for my good, rather than just buttering me up with a few words of “kindness” so she can make her quick sale and move on…     

I think we’re far more likely to succeed in evangelism when we know people/ get to know people and witness to them within a friendship… when we can show a genuine interest in them, talk with them at length about the gospel and answer questions/ objections they may have, take opportunities to serve them (even in little ways), and follow up with those who do receive Christ – helping them get plugged into church, teaching them more about Christ, etc. This means we should be faithful to give the gospel to the unbelieving friends we already have (I am often blown away by how many people do not make the most of this incredible opportunity!), and we should be purposeful about getting to know more people who do not yet know Christ so that we can tell them about Him too…

Opportunities to meet and get to know people are all around  us, if we’ll be purposeful to take them… Here are a few ways the church planters I interviewed were purposeful about meeting unbelievers who lived in their neighborhoods:

Witness to me!

I’m reading a helpful book called The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever.  Here is a little quote that has had an enouraging effect on me to share the Gospel even when something in me resists:

“A friend once asked me, ‘So you’re a Christian?  Then tell me the Gospel!  Witness to me, or somethin’!'”

Is there anyone in your sphere of friendships that you’ve not shared the Gospel with?  Might they think it strange that, being a Chrisitian, you haven’t? 

“Let your conversation always be full of grace…”
Colossians 4:6