Evangelism Coach

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I’m away teaching this weekend in Traverse City, Michigan, on behalf of PRMI. So I’ll post my normal Friday finds here today and pick up again next week.

Conversion Stories:
I’ve been doing a series on Conversion stories in the NT, just some devotional thoughts on different characters we see.

See the following articles to see how the series begins:
The Apostle Paul
Simon the Sorcerer
Ethiopian Eunuch

Witnessing Tool:
If you ever needed to make a point while driving down the highway, check out

courtesy of the Taiwan Missionary Prattler.

Sharing your faith at work:
The Stones will Cry Out seems to be a developing apologetics site. This article reminds us about witnessing at work.

Friendship or Flasher Evangelism?
Stop Thinking blog uses a phrase regarding those “drive by” evangelists. I don’t mind engaging strangers in a spiritual conversation, but I found the term “flasher evangelism” quite funny. Ultimately, we are reminded about the value of friendships in evangelism, with a reminder to keep it real.

Cancel Church!
An article in outreach magazine cites groups that cancel church on Sunday in order to directly serve the neighborhood.

Contextualizing
Hope Community writes in “Re-thinking Evangelism” about how to do evangelism in their local context. Its a thought provoking blog entry.

Introverts and Evangelism
A great article was written this week about introverts and evangelism.

Finally:
This article , called “The Atonement is Good News,” may not be immediately connected to evangelism, but it is a great article about the Atonement, and I found it to be a great summary of what Christ accomplished on the Cross. I encounter such objections often with the unchurched people I encounter, and this is a great article that could be a resource.

Be in prayer for me this week as the next few days I’ll be away ministering. Look forward to some more stories next week.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Let’s look at an “easy conversion,” that of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts Chapter 8.

This conversion was as simple as picking a ripe mango ready to fall from a tree. 

It’s not so much about the Eunuch as it is about Phillip being God’s tool to help the man come to faith. 

The fruit is ready

These are the kinds of evangelistic conversations I love because a person has been prepared by the Lord to this point, and I get to be the one God uses to bring that person into the kingdom.

It reminds me that God is the Evangelist, that the Holy Spirit goes before us to prepare the way, and that when we are obedient to His promptings, the Lord can use us. 

The passage: Acts 8:26-40.

Phillip had been directed by the Lord to go on a scavenger hunt. “Go to the south road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

Phillip was then prompted to go and stand near a chariot that was on the road.

Phillip hears a man reading a particular passage from the book of Isaiah.

Phillip asks if he understands.

The man’s response: “How can I unless someone explains it to me? Please tell me who the prophet is talking about.”

Phillip began there and told him the good news about Jesus.  The eunuch believed, he took baptism, and went on his way rejoicing, never to see Phillip again.

Reflections:

A seeker:
We know from the text what Phillip didn’t know at first. This man had been coming from Jerusalem, where he had been to worship God. Phillip didn’t know him, but found a man reading out loud from the Old Testament.

This man shows all the signs of one who is spiritualy thirsty.

• He had reworked his schedule to go to Jerusalem on his own.
• He was reading from the Scripture.
• He wanted somebody to explain what he was reading.
• He was willing to search for the truth.
• He was willing to understand.

This man was hungry for the things of God. He was spiritually thirsty.  Prepared by God.

All he needed was a person to help explain.

An evangelist.
The Lord used an obedient Phillip to help this man into the kingdom.

God worked both sides of the equation, so to speak, putting Phillip and the spiritualy thirsty eunuch in the same place at the same time.  This positioning is the Role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism.

All Phillip had to do in this encounter with a stranger was to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

In other words, Phillip got to work with God.

Phillip didn’t

• need to pry open a hard heart like a can of beans.
• have to waste hours of conversation about the existence of God.
• need to get the Eunuch to the starting point of a Gospel Script

All the talk in the world could not replace the work of God that prepared the eunuch ahead of time.

Luke on summarizes the conversation as “the good news about Jesus”.  This was not a Scripted Evangelism Conversation.

So what?
For one brief afternoon, the stories of these two strangers intersected. Phillip was doing his ordinary routine when the Lord prompted him to go to specific place. The eunuch was simply going home after a pilgrimage.

But at one moment, their paths crossed and one man’s destiny was changed.

It is my desire that you spend time asking “God where are you at work?” It’s much easier to cooperate with God’s activity, rather than wasting hours of argument prying open a locked heart.

The key is that Phillip noticed “THAT” Chariot.  God underlined the chariot and Phillip positioned himself.

More than just conversions

This is a learnable model of personal evangelism that can be done as a practical exercise.  

See Effective Evangelism Training Lab Time.  It forms the basis for Fear Free Evangelism, an Evangelism Training Workshop that I do around the US and as a webinar

Listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit for those Kairos moments can bring good news to lots of people in many situations.

Examples:

I want to give you examples of how this can play out in real life.

• God’s presence is with us. – My tutor hears the gospel
• Seminar Testimony - a wrong phone number
• Is he a PC USA Pastor? – Divine moment in Cracker Barrell
• What is an Evangelist? – Student wants a definition
• Reflections from Enfield CT - Walmart Stories
• Evangelism Motives: Why bother? – taxi driver shares Jesus

Let me ask you this?
Will you take the time today to ask God to show you where He is at work?

More in the Conversion in the NT

The Apostle Paul
Simon the Sorcerer
Ethiopian Eunuch
Psidian Antioch
Sergius Paulus
Cornelius

Popularity: 67% [?]

We have already looked The Apostle Paul conversion, as a conversion that fell from heaven. Now we look at a puzzling conversion story – was it complete, partial, or entirely false? Since we can’t read Simon’s heart, it may be an unanswerable question.

The passage: Acts 7:9ff
Through signs and wonders, Simon the sorcerer had gathered a following and people proclaimed him “the great power.” People followed him because he amazed them with magic tricks and spells.

However when Phillip came along, preaching the good news of the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus, people believed Phillip and were baptized (v.12).

Verse 13 says that “Simon himself believed and was baptized.”

Yet, when Peter visits, Simon wants to buy the power to lay hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit. (v.18). Peter rebukes him by saying “your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness . . . for I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”

Simon seems repentant ( v.24) when he petitions Peter to pray for him.

The conversion:
The text says that “Simon believed and was baptized.” It is quite plausible to state that he had demonstrated some kind of conversion experience. Luke doesn’t give us a timeline of days or months, or years here, but on the face value and plain reading, it appears that Simon believed.

Clearly, Simon was attracted to the “power” element of Phillip’s evangelism. “He followed Phillip and was astonished by the great signs and miracles that he saw” (8.13). Simon’s entry point to belief, so to speak, was the power of God.

Since Simon was also a Samaritan and a sorcerer, his worldview was likely beginning to undergo a shift. It’s plausible to state that Simon did not have any accurate knowledge of the Old Testament, nor the Law or its promises, nor of God’s covenant community — it wasn’t his background.

It is quite possible that Simon believed and took baptism before he understood everything.

The rebuke
Peter doesn’t rebuke him for not being a Christian, but for not understanding how the Holy Spirit was given. He’s rebuked for desiring the power of God in an incorrect manner. He seems to have wanted to further his own ministry of power – as if the Spirit of God would be just another magic trick that he could amaze people with.

Peter says Simon’s heart was full of “bitterness” and was “captive to sin.” That’s something entirely different than saying he wasn’t a believer.

Even as believers, we can still have hearts that are full of bitterness. Likewise, we may continue to have struggles connected with particular sinful patterns – but it doesn’t mean that our conversion was invalid.

So What?
Luke’s point is not to give us a theological treatise on conversion. In the theme of Acts, he’s demonstrating how the gospel is spreading beyond Jerusalem.

We know nothing else about Simon after this point in the biblical records. Church history identifies him as Simon Magus, and early Christian authors regarded him later as a heretic. The sin of simony, or paying for position in the church, is named after Simon.

If the later observations about the Simon from church history are true, then we might be able to say that Simon gave initial hints that he “believed” but over time, it became clear that his response, though perhaps initially genuine, didn’t bear fruit.

In our experiences, many of us have seen people who have claimed to believe before they have fully understood all the consequences and ramifications of belief in Jesus.

We’ve also seen people that “believe” but over the years, just drop out, disappear, disconnect, and leave the church in general. It seems to be the seed that fell on the rocky soil – has a good spurt of growth, but the cares of the world take over and choke the seed (Mark 4).

We can’t read the human heart. Simon appeared to have had a belief, but over time, it just didn’t pan out.

It’s not my point here to label Simon’s conversion: false conversion, conversion misfire, or backslider. I think depending on our understanding of evangelism, we may settle on one.

However, it does make me think of those I know who have left the faith after giving evidence of belief. Though they “made a decision,” they hung around for a while and eventually left. My heart breaks because they have walked away from the grace of God. Where else can they go? Jesus alone has the words of eternal life.

Let me ask you this?
Do you pray for your friends who walk away from the faith? Ask God today to bring them back – the prodigals that Christ died for.

The Apostle Paul
Simon the Sorcerer
Ethiopian Eunuch
Psidian Antioch
Sergius Paulus
Cornelius

Popularity: 24% [?]

Emergent Churches and Postmodernism
One of the active discussions in evangelism these days is the influence of postmodernism and the development of the Emergent church. The Internet Monk writes up a good summary of this.

Virginia Tech:
There is a lot that is being said about the events at Virginia Tech this week. I was a youth pastor during Columbine, during Oklahoma City, during September 11, so I know that over the next few weeks, many youth pastors will have discussions with their groups about the love of God, God’s sovereignty, and the problem of evil. As our nation mourns, let us continue to look to God our strength. At Passion’s 286blog, there is an article that comments about heavy hearted, yet still with hope. The Christian has a privelge of an eternal hope, even when the world seems to be falling apart.

Questions and Discussions

Mere Orthodoxy raises a theological question about evangelism as a form of discussion. Can evangelism be conversational? Or does it really have to be a one-sided presentation. I simply point it out for you under an article that is titled “Fostering Conversations that count.”

Popularity: 26% [?]

Sometimes conversions are just unbelieveable. They “fall from heaven” so to speak. There is no evangelist, no gospel presentation, no explanation of the law, it just happens – God does all the work. While not the norm, it can happen. God is sovereign enough to make it happen.

For example, the apostle Paul’s conversion – fell from heaven. He’s busy “breathing murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples.” On the road to Damascus, God interrupts his life. Read it yourself in Acts 9.

It was a dramatic encounter – voice from heaven, bright lights, temporary blindness. Paul’s travel companions heard the sound, they were dumbfounded – they were speechless.

While praying after the event, Paul sees a vision of a man named Ananias (small detail revealed by God) coming to lay hands on him. God, working both sides of the equation, sends Ananias to go and do that thing. Ananias lays hands on Paul and Paul is healed. He was baptized.

From what we know of the rest of Paul’s life from the New Testament, he grew in understanding what had happened to him.

Over time, the Lord revealed more about the richness of salvation, the wonder of grace, the relationship between the law and salvation, and how the gospel would go forth to the Gentiles. It is a plausible argument that Paul believed first, and then understood the richness of what happened to him.

It is my prayer that God in His sovereignty would bring more people into the Kingdom, even where there are no evangelists.

While not the normal approach to evangelism, we can’t exclude that it may happen. God can reveal Christ to people without us, should He choose.

Over the next few days, we’ll look at a couple more conversion stories in the New Testament and see what we might learn about the conversion experience.

Let me ask you this?
Would you pray for more conversions that fall from heaven?

For the series:
The Apostle Paul
Simon the Sorcerer
Ethiopian Eunuch
Psidian Antioch
Sergius Paulus
Cornelius

Popularity: 23% [?]

What happened at Tech this week is indeed another American tragedy. My mind follows the strings of emotion and recalls the grief of Oklahoma City, Columbine, 9/11, and other mass tragedies.

Senseless.

Pastors and chaplains will be sought out. Youth pastors will talk with their students. Vigils will be held. Prayers will be offered. People will seek solace in their faith, even some of those who didn’t know they had any faith. The spiritual question of the time is “Why?”

Words alone cannot communicate everything that people feel, experience, or question in their minds. People walk in a fogged over haze, and in the days to come, the full force of grief will arrive.

Even those like me who don’t know a single person at Tech still feel grief over the tragedy.

When I preach this weekend, it won’t be just an “ordinary” sermon. The world has changed again. I will be speaking to parents / grandparents of Tech students or friends.

Questions about the sovereignty of God will come. Questions about the character of God will be asked. Question about evil and questions about human responsibility will be examined.

But now is not the time for theological discourse.

We have theolgoical answers. Scripture informs us, teaches us, and guides us. But it’s not the time for logical and dry explanations.

People hurt.

It’s time for compassion and a ministry of presence.

But also in moments where death is real, people will consider their own mortality and how fragile life really is. It’s not the moment for forced evangelism, but rather time to listen to the Holy Spirit as we talk with people about what has happened and their own grief. Allow the Lord to prompt you and lead you as people engage you in conversation about deeply spiritual things.

Desiring God has a good list of things to remember and tactful approaches for counsel. While originally written after 9/11, many of the thoughts are applicable here.

But above all, it’s time to pray. Pray that God would give you “a word aptly spoken.” Pray for His guidance as you counsel people. Spend your own time in the Word recalling the sovereignty and love of God. Refresh your confidence in the promises of God. Ask God for wisdom as people talk with you. Ask God for healing, hope and compassion.

Let me ask you this?
Can you take some moments out of your day to listen to and pray with people? Notice.

Popularity: 11% [?]

I have tried to compile in one article all the links to a definition that we’ve been discussing on EvangelismCoach.org

There are many definitions of evangelism. Searching the web and my library for definitions, I find some are so wide to cover anything related to growing a church, some are so narrow as to the only three correct points in a scripted outline to a stranger, and some are in between. It’s not my point here to list them all.

Here is the one I use:

Joyfully sharing the good news of the sovereign love of God, and calling people to repentance, to personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, to active membership in the church, and to obedient service in the world. (Definition adopted by the 202nd General Assembly of the PCUSA, 1990).

To read the rest, see:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

More definitions 1
More definitions 2

Popularity: 25% [?]