Evangelism Coach

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Maximillian Koble

Here is a great modern day true-life story of one person giving his life for another.

Christian:

What are you waiting for?

This coming week, I’ll have the opportunity and privilege to work with pastors on the subject of church transformation (see Transformation Pastor’s Conference).

Listening to other pastors

During this past month, I’ve talked with several pastors who are in such contexts. 

• Dying churches in survival mode.
• Churches on life support that don’t want to revitalize. 
• Churches that put all their faith and burden in the pastor to save the day and make it grow, as if the pastor is a savior in the flesh.

I’ve listened to stories of burned out pastors, conflicted congregations, and even potential lawsuits among the leadership.

Check out these stats:  (Source:A Bullseye on the Back!)

50% of pastors are so discouraged they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.

85% of pastors said their greatest problem is they are sick and tired of dealing with problem people.

90% of pastors said the hardest thing about ministry is dealing with uncooperative people

Moses was the target of complaint.

This week, I’ve been meditating on the people of Israel leaving Egypt. 

After leading the people into change that they desperately wanted (getting out of Egypt), now Moses and Aaron are the target of the grumbling and complaint:

“All the people grumbled against Moses and Aaron.” Number 14.1.

I think many pastors, hired (or called) as change agents, have stepped into this kind of circumstance.  They feel the pain of Moses and Aaron. 

The group of people who once looked to you to get them out of their survival and into a new land, have now turned against them. 

To have what feels like the entire group of people that invited you to come, to serve, and enjoy, turn on you.  At first, you were their hero, and now the source of their grumbling.    Rumor, gossip, slander, and perhaps even false teachers undercut the leader.

I don’t remember conflict training as part of Moses’s training.  In my own seminary experience, that wasn’t part of the deal either.  Perhaps seminaries should offer more in this area, and likewise, perhaps church governing bodies should intentionally help pastors get this kind of training.

I can’t tell how many stories I’ve listened to in the last 30 days that seem to paralel  this context.  Perhaps that speaks to you.  Perhaps that

“We want the old ways” or “We don’t want this change”

“If only we had died in Egypt” (Numbers 14.2)

“Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt” (Numbers 14.3)

And they said to each other “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt” (Numbers 14.4)

Oh my.

How many pastors have observed that the congregation doesn’t really want to change?  After all the study, the praying, and the innovation.  After all the money spent to send teams to leadership conferences.  After all the effort to survey the congregation, cast the vision, and then lead the people out.

The grumbling kicks in — “we didn’t want this change.”  “We never did it this way.”  “This is too much, too fast.”  “I don’t like this, I like it as it was.” 

One pastor I spoke with has a church that said we need to transform or die.  He spent a few years casting vision, helping the congregation see what changes were coming.  He followed the playbook, so to speak. 

But when push came to shove, the people rebelled.  They complained.  They griped, and they began to whisper among themselves that they needed a new pastor. . . just like the Israelites wanting a new leader.

Moses led the people into huge change. 

They wanted to make it. 

Imagine all their effort into organizing their departure, all the effort to obey the instructions to participate in the Passover.  All the work to make sure that fled with only what was necessary.

Now that they have gotten out of one situation, and stepped into change, they long for the “good old days. . . . . ”

What about you?

Where do you see yourself in this story?

A little interpretation

Check out this old video of the late Keith Green singing about the group leaving Egypt.  Song starts about 3:15 into the video if you don’t want to hear the opening commentary.  As I listened to it again, I found so many parallels to the church transformation process. . . .

Waiting on the World to Change

How many times do we go through the day without much observation of the possible needs around us? 

Let me ask you this?

What does this video inspire in you?

Check out this brief video (about 1:30 or so) about why I find there is little fear in doing personal evangelism. 

This little sample is a promo for the encore Fear Free Evangelism webinar coming up on June 3, 2008, 9pm Eastern.  Follow the webinar link to register for the full event.

Sample is from a sermon preached March 2008 at Mt. Oak United Methodist in Bowie Maryland.

James Choung has written a few books on explaining the Christian Faith. On of the issues that he tackles is updating or improving the Bridge Illustration.  The whole article is here at The Big Story | Tell It Slant .

“Choung’s ‘napkin theology’ and its ‘four-worlds’ diagram promise to be for evangelism in the twenty-first century what the ‘Four Spiritual Laws’ were for the twentieth century.”
— Leonard Sweet, author of The Church of the Perfect Storm, podcaster of the weekly “Napkin Scribbles” podcast

Check out these videos to see the telling of the story.  There are two here.

It comes with it’s own training document and a complete write-up of this diagram.

Here is what I like about the illustration:

• It’s much less individual in it’s focus. 
• It adds in that we follow Christ to join in God’s redemptive story.
• It talks about worldviews
• It’s simple and can be reproduced on a napkin.
• It incorporates some of the social aspects of the gospel.

After sharing this video on his blog, Choung received lots of feedback and suggestions and created version 2, which continues from the prior video

Let me ask you this?

What do you think of Choung’s improvement?  What do you make of how he explains sin, righteousness, eternity, kingdom?  Join the conversation below and comment.

Carrie Boren discusses Evangelism at the Sharing your faith Conference among Episcopalians in TX.