Evangelism Coach

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Mark Driscoll on video explaining the various themes on the Emerging Church. I find this a helpful summary of the ongoing conversation and a fair critique of it.

The Jolly blogger asks: “Why are church plants the most successful at reaching people and does my established church stand any chance of being renewed?”

Five ways to sharpen you evangelistic skills.

A pastor’s conversational encounter in a cafe. Get out of the office my friend and see who you run into.

Take a risk and pray. From a slide show on evangelism full of quotes from books.

Check out this quote on authentic Evangelism at Pentecostal Post-it Notes:

Quote on Conversational Evangelism:

“Actual conversations with other human beings rarely follow a script. So resolve now to be OK with interruptions, awkward pauses, rabbit trails, and even bursts of anger. Keep your agenda to love, but drop your agenda for how the conversation has to play out.” – Walter Henegar Evangelism for Dummies: The surprising gift of stating the obvious.

 

 

Next week, I’ll be teaching on Evangelism in Panama at the Youth with a Mission Base.  Pray for the work there.

This weekend, I’ll be preaching 3 services at Centro Cristiano Betania in Panama City.  If you are not in church on Sunday, you can listen to the live stream at http://www.stereoferadio.com/ at 8.30CT or 11:00CT.

Have a great weekend.

 

 

I like to use questions in my conversations with people to help them think about matters of faith.

Questions help draw people into conversations, and likewise can help further a conversation along rather than me making declarations all the time.

I was looking at an article by Paul Hazelden about The Modified Engel Scale (Complete). The Engel Scale (use your favorite search engine to find more information) was developed several years ago to help map out evangelism as a process.

It presupposes that conversion is a linear event, that happens after a rational conclusion of examining the evidence that one needs a solution for sin and that Jesus is that solution.

We are a generation that often thinks with its feelings, so I no longer think that the scale is helpful. My own conversion was without any understanding of my sin — I just knew I needed to follow Jesus. I understood what that meant as I began reading the Bible later.

But, I digress. At the end of the article, there is a list of questions that can be helpful to the evangelist. I refer you to the article for the larger contex. The Modified Engel Scale (Complete).

These are some possible questions to help determine where a person is on the revised scale.

Is it possible there is a God?
Do you believe God may exist?
Are you certain there is no God?
Is there a purpose to the universe?
Does the human race have a destiny to fulfil?
Do you think you may be mistaken about whether God exists?
Is it possible you may be mistaken in your ideas about God?
Do you think there probably is a God?
Do you think God is a person?
Do you think God gets angry about some things?
Do you think God created the universe?
Do you think a person can know God?
Do you hope it may be possible to get to know God?
Do you believe anyone in the past has known God?

Let me ask you this?
What questions do you like to use in your conversations?

Some Snippets:

From the bookshelf:
I’m currently reading
Logic of Evangelism by William J. Abraham, and
Finding Common Ground: How to Communicate With Those Outside the Christian Community…While We Still Can by Tim Downs.

I’ll have a post on these a little later next week.

Questions for Evangelism
Vanguard church writes an article called Appreciative Inquiry Evangelism. The question introduces a series of yet to be written posts about evangelism that is cast a little differently than sin/salvation.

What if we saw people not primarily as sinners, but as image-bearers? How would our evangelism look different if we appreciated all people, affirming their past and present strengths and successes? What if we valued people as human beings first rather than as merely possible candidates to become Christians? What if instead of seeing people as inherently flawed that we saw them with inherent potential?

And…What if our interaction with people helped them explore and discover those potentialities and possibilities that God wants to flourish in them? What if we could introduce them to the Redeemer of all things, Jesus Christ, who wants to restore us to our image-bearing glory? What if we framed the gospel around a desired destiny rather than a defeatist depravity?

It raises some great questions and seeks to speak to some of the richness of the gospel — its good news because its also an invitiaton to step into God’s destiny for you — You have been created to do good works that have been prepared in advance for you to do (Eph 2.10)

MMM. . . . That’s a good question
Over at their blog, they raise a question: What is Gospel to you? The best quote there is:

My “best” attempts at evangelism have been “dimmer-switch”-based. That’s a new phrase I picked up from TheOffRamp.org, describing how people probably already have some interaction with God before I ever start a conversation, and if in the course of time we turn up the dimmer switch and shine that light a little brighter into the crevices of our lives, then we’ve done our job.

When you consider evangelism as seed sowing, this is an interesting metaphor.

The Terminal
Presbyterian Global Fellowships blog has an article looking at the metahpor of a “terminal.” It’s a good read.

It struck me that the church is a lot like an airport terminal. The purpose of the airport terminal is not to get a lot of people to stay in the terminal as if it was their final destination. The purpose of the airport terminal is to help people make connections so they can get somewhere else (to another city, to somewhere else in the same city as the terminal, to meet a loved one, or to an important business meeting).

Another definition
Paul Siems, an Evangelical Lutheran pastor, posted this definition on his blog:

Evangelism is the communication of Life

Evangelism is both proclamation as well as an invitation to join God’s work. Communication is a two way street, so some response of the listener might be implied. I look forward to how he’ll develop the fullness of that definition.

Have a great weekend folks.

On the Christian Calendar, Easter is rapidly approaching. More has been written about easter, and the cultural connection with bunnies and chocolate that I can to link here. However, Easter can also be a conversational occasion with people.

Yesterday, a co-worker was asked to do a significant project update on Easter Sunday. He politely said, “It’s Easter, no.” His co-worker cheerfully states “I’m so irreligious that I didn’t even know Easter was coming.” A light hearted conversation followed about Easter.

Consider having conversations with people when the opprotunity presents itself. Here are some questions you might use (from Dare2Share):

What does your family do on Easter Sunday?
Why does your family do whatever it is they do on Easter?
Do you ever go to church on Easter? Why or why not?
Would you like to join me this Sunday at church?
Do you believe in God? What do you think He’s like?
Are your beliefs about God the same as your parents’ beliefs?
Do you think Jesus rose from the dead like the Bible says?

Our conversations with people should be natural ebb and flow of a conversation. I offer these questions simply to help your conversations along.

I invite you to email me some of your conversations, or post them here. If you choose to post them here, please consider tactfulness for privacy reasons.

Let me ask you this?
What other questions have you found helpful for a friendly conversation?