EvangelismCoach

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7 Observations from Fox News’ Kirsten Powers’ Testimony

Christianity Today recently released an article you may have seen, Fox News’ Highly Reluctant Jesus Follower.  It’s a worthy article to read Kirsten Powers’ first hand personal testimony of how she became a follower of Jesus.

Kristen Powers' Testimony

It is getting a lot of airplay at the moment (I must have seen it 30 times already in personal Facebook feed, and uncountable times in my Twitter feed).    If you haven’t read it yet, click on the link to read it.

Her testimony shows me 7 important principles of personal evangelism that we can all remember as we share our faith in Christ with people who mean a lot to us.

[Read more…] about 7 Observations from Fox News’ Kirsten Powers’ Testimony

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When does discipleship begin? – Video

In this brief video from The Exchange, Ed Stetzer interviews Robert Coleman during Exponential and this highlight was shared.

Dr. Coleman wrote the classic The Master Plan of Evangelism and was at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School when I was there.  Unfortunately, I never had a class with him (it didn’t fit my schedule), but my evangelism classes from Trinity shape this ministry today.

When does Discipleship Start?

In this brief except, Coleman answers Stetzer’s question.

Stetzer writes about evangelism being a pre-discipleship journey, that the whole process of evangelism is a journey towards faith, a view I happen to share and write on as well.

I hold that the evangelistic journey is a process over time that grows people into a relationship with Christ.  Discipleship continues after surrender.

Other’s may hold that the entire journey is part of the process of discipleship – showing Jesus and His teachings to one not yet a believer.  It’s simply the pre-conversion stage in the disciplemaking process.

How do you see it?

Feel free to share a quick thought in the comments below.

 

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Does the gospel need time?

Time for EvangelismMany evangelists feel the urgency to share their faith.

Urgency is what propels them to

  • Find a conversational opening to start a faith sharing conversation
  • Gather at 7pm to go witnessing or soul winning at the bus station.
  • Go to the public square and proclaim Christ.
  • Start conversations with strangers.

The urgency of evangelism propels me to:

  • Train others in sharing their faith conversationally
  • Pray for friends who don’t know Christ
  • Live in such a way that shows I’m a Christ follower.
  • Serve on the mission field in another culture that I’ve come to love.

But is there a place for time and persuasion?

Or to phrase it another way:

Is evangelism a process (over time), or an event (proclamation)?

The counterbalance to urgency is the persistent observation that people need time to hear and process the gospel.

The kingdom of God is like. . .

The parable of the sower is found in the first three gospels:

  • Matthew 13:4-9, 18-23
  • Mark 4:3-9, 14-20
  • Luke 8:5-8, 11-15

In it, the evangelist can find great comfort as to the different reactions that will be encountered:

  • Fell on the road
  • Shallow /Rocky Ground
  • Thorny Ground
  • Good Soil

The contact evangelists will argue that their methods of public proclamation is scattering the seed as far as possible.

The relational / lifestyle evangelist will argue that they spend time preparing the soil to get a good harvest.

The word of God is compared to the seed, which needs time to germinate and grow.

Likewise, in Mark 4:26-29:

Then Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who plants seed in the ground. Night and day, whether the person is asleep or awake, the seed still grows, but the person does not know how it grows. By itself the earth produces grain. First the plant grows, then the head, and then all the grain in the head.When the grain is ready, the farmer cuts it, because this is the harvest time.”

The story suggests the passage of time.

Count the cost

Jesus tells this parable:

Whoever is not willing to carry his cross and follow me cannot be my follower.  If you want to build a tower, you first sit down and decide how much it will cost, to see if you have enough money to finish the job. If you don’t, you might lay the foundation, but you would not be able to finish. Then all who would see it would make fun of you, saying, ‘This person began to build but was not able to finish.’  “If a king is going to fight another king, first he will sit down and plan. He will decide if he and his ten thousand soldiers can defeat the other king who has twenty thousand soldiers.  If he can’t, then while the other king is still far away, he will send some people to speak to him and ask for peace.33 In the same way, you must give up everything you have to be my follower. – Luke 14: 27-32

There is a time process involved in counting the cost.

Do people need time?

People who don’t know the Lord may need time.

They don’t know what Jesus did for them and need to learn.

They don’t see the need for Jesus in their life.

They may not even believe that the Bible is a valid truth source.

They may not even believe in God.

They may not want to sign up for a lifetime commitment into God’s service, where they may only have weird examples of Christ followers in their mind.

They may have an understanding of Jesus that is incorrect and need further information.

They may have had bad experiences in the church, and therefore want nothing to do with church people.

They may need to see the rational side of the Christian faith – a place for apologetics and personal reflection.

Examples of time in Acts

Felix was in conversation with Paul for nearly two years, and never came to faith.  Acts 23:35-Acts 24:1

Some Athenians wanted to hear more on the matter.   When Paul was in Athens, he must have said something that brought them to the point of asking “May we hear you more about this matter?” (Acts 17:19)

Paul connected with local tentmakers Aquila and Priscilla, and spent 18 months in Corinth.  At some point, the couple became believers. (Acts 18).

Paul would spend weeks at a time, reasoning in the synagogues and marketplaces.

The role of persuasion in Evangelism

Ultimately, this begins to hint at the role of persuasion in Evangelism.

Apologetics has a role to demonstrate that the Christian faith is rational.

Conversations give people the chance to

  • Learn more about Jesus
  • Answer their own questions
  • Count the cost about following Jesus.

Part of the goal of preaching is persuasion: to participate the process of helping people see their need for Jesus.

Persuasion cannot happen in a vacuum or in an instantaneous moment.

It can only happen over the course of time.

Do you need help in Personal Evangelism?

Grow in Personal EvangelismStart here with this MP3 Download on Evangelism Training from the store to help you see where you need to grow.

In this 70 minute MP3 AUDIO recording on personal evangelism you will learn:

  • How church invitations are part of evangelism
  • How to discover and share your own journey to faith
  • What you can say about the gospel message.
  • How to personally lead someone to faith in Christ.

It’s a 70 minute audio file that takes just a few minutes to download, but it may help you answer the question:

What can you do in the next 90 days to grow in your evangelism skills?

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Messy Journey to Jesus

The church we are involved with intentional reaching out to people who don’t know Christ.  We love to help people our their journey to faith in Christ.

But, sometimes it gets awkward.

We have gotten use to how Christians should think, dress, speak, live and behave.  Over the years, we get insulated with a new normal.

A jarring culture clash occurs when people that haven’t experienced the same sanctifying transformation begin to enter our clean little world.

People on their way to Jesus have not yet experienced that transformation.

Their journey can be a messy one.

Ever encounter

  • A new person on their journey to Jesus show up in your small group and use more “colorful language” than your group is used to?
  • Talking with some visitors after the service and you discover their lifestyle choices make you feel uncomfortable?
  • You are serving in your community and the new volunteer swears too much when he drops a hammer on his foot?

It happens in our church.

Kevin Harney, author of Organic Outreach for Ordinary People: Sharing Good News Naturally, writes in the November 2012 Outreach Magazine, where he shares four lessons about helping such people find faith in Christ:

Lesson 1: Don’t be shocked, taken back or offended when a nonbeliever acts like a nonbeliever. Just love and embrace them.

Lesson 2: Don’t be afraid to tell the truth, but do it with a loving, humble and gentle spirit.

Lesson 3: Salvation and sanctification are different things. When someone enters a life-giving relationship with Jesus, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit begins.

Lesson 4: We need to be ready for and embrace the messes new believers still can make, but sometimes they surprise us.

Let’s be thankful that the Lord draws people unto Himself.

We need to make sure our awkwardness and fears don’t close the door to their journey to faith.

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The Apostle Paul’s Journey to Faith in Christ

The Journey to Faith of the Apostle Paul

Jesus also said,

“This is what the kingdom of God is like.

A man scatters seed on the ground.

Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.

All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.

As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

(Mark 4:26-29)

If we think of evangelism in terms of process of a  journey to the Christian faith, what might that have been like for the Apostle Paul?

Allow me to speculate a little.

The Seeds of Faith

First, here are some background events and influences that shaped his journey faith:The Spiritual Journey to the Christian Faith

  • Jewish scholar (likely with lots of discussions about meanings of texts).
  • Pharisee of Pharisee (Acts 23:6)
  • Of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews (Phil 3.5)
  • Studied under Gamaliel (Acts 22.3).

The Lord uses our our background to shape the spiritual awakening.

One could compare that to lots of seeds that the Holy Spirit can use to awaken faith.

A seed doesn’t bloom to harvest instantly.

There is no “on-off” switch.

The seed needs time to germinate, grow, and mature through a natural organic progression.

Our job as a witness to watch for markers of the journey that our friends are on to faith in Christ and nurture them along into the next phase of growth.  We can look for the seeds that are already there.

Possible Spiritual Thirst that Opens the Door

Then there are the event of the time when Paul first begins to appear on the scene in Acts:

  • Present at Stephen’s speech and stoning (Acts 8:1)
  • Trying to destroy the church, going from house to house (Acts 8:3).

One can reasonably speculate on how Paul interacted with the early Christian believers ready to suffer and die for their faith in Christ. We think highly of the witness of the persecuted church and it’s reasonable to assume that Paul saw that witness.

I can imagine him ruminating in late night hours as perhaps something bothered him about their witness.

  • Maybe he heard them praying for him.
  • Maybe he heard their witness to him.
  • Maybe he even felt their love.

Likewise, if Paul’s teacher is the same Gamaliel of Acts 5:34-39, Paul may have observed that even his teacher may have been troubled by the genuineness of the early Christian movement.

Perhaps he knew his teach Gamaliel was puzzled as well.

This restlessness (speculation, I know) prepared Paul for his encounter with Jesus on the Damascus Road.

I can imagine how the Holy Spirit was using these life moments to prepare Paul.

This is the drawing process.  (Read John 6:44)

We get to participate in the evangelism process

I’m convinced that the Holy Spirit draws people to faith over time.

Sometimes we get to plant, water, or harvest.

Each story I listen to of a journey to faith had more than one key turning point in the discovery of God.

It might have been a

  • Conversation
  • Sermon
  • Invitation to a church or event
  • Life circumstances
  • Late night musings over deep issues.

So much of our evangelism training focuses on the conversion, we forget to allow for the process of maturity.

We need to allow our seeking friends time

  • to make their decision,
  • find answers for their questions
  • become willing to consider the claims of Christ
  • find healing for wounds caused by Christians or other people that harm their journey.

Evangelism is often viewed only as the proclamation of the gospel.  In a technical sense – it is.

But when I think of evangelism as the process of faith awakening, there is a lot of potentially evangelistic activity.

What about you?

Answer this question:  Is Evangelism a Process or Event?  I invite your commentary below.

Evagellism is a Process or Is it an Event? Good Question.

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Stages of the Spiritual Journey to Faith

Your journey to faith in Jesus goes through various phases. Learn to identify these phases to see them in others
In my workshops on personal evangelism, one core teaching is the understanding the person’s journey to faith.

Becoming a Christian is not an “on/off” proposition.

I recently taught a workshop on door to door evangelism, where people wanted to know how to turn on that switch to help a person be a Christian after a 3 minute memorized presentation.

Evangelism doesn’t work that way.

Most people don’t wake up one morning and decide to become a Christian without prior reflection, consideration, or thinking.  Conversion is the culmination of a journey.

Different ways to describe the spiritual journey

In the last few years, I’ve seen many different authors describe the spiritual journey.

Gary Rohrmayer’s book (Spiritual Conversations) maps out a spiritual journey to Christ in descriptive phrases

  1. Hostile
  2. Curious
  3. Actively Seeking
  4. Surrender

Everts and Schaupp (I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taught Us About Their Path to Jesus) map out the spiritual journey in phases

  1. Distrust to trust – trusting a Christian
  2. Complacent to Curious – the shift of spiritual thirst.
  3. Closed to change to open to change – hardest threshold to cross (personal life)
  4. From Meandering to Seeking.
  5. The actual conversion to the Kingdom of God (surrender).

They also pick up the biblical image of planting from Mark 4:26-29

Kevin Harney uses this same metaphor as the basis of his book: Organic Outreach for Ordinary People: Sharing Good News Naturally.

The journey is illustrated by the funny stories in Strobel and Mittleburg (The Unexpected Adventure: Taking Everyday Risks to Talk with People about Jesus) share lots of stories in a daily reading format that demonstrate this principle.

Ed Stetzer’s Diagram of the Journey

In Gary’s Rohrmayer’s book, Ed Stetzer has a chart that phrases the journey in terms of

  • questions being answered or
  • misconceptions of God being cleared up.

Using the Engle Scale as a foundation, he adds a few key elements to describe the journey.

A different version of the chart is here:

Engle Scale Infographic as done up by Ed Stetzer on the Journey to Faith in Christ

Stetzer writes in the introduction to Gary’s book:

Although I believe conversion is a point in time experience, getting to that point and beyond is a step by step process. Apparent exceptions to the rule are seldom actual exceptions. People, conversations, and experiences are used by God to move a person to a defining moment with Christ.

Key truths must be processed about God, Jesus, the Gospel, personal need, and conversion during the journey. Obstacles to conversion are either misunderstanding or rejection of these key truths.

The activity of God along the way moves people through the key truths. [Emphasis mine] . . .

The journey will not be the same for any individual, people group, worldview, or culture. For each individual, the misconceptions and reasons for rejecting the gospel may change, but each person must make the journey along the center column.

By connecting people in community where they can hear and consider truths about Christ, they are more likely to make the journey of connecting with Christ.

Visual Illustrations of the Journey:

1.  The Movie: Flywheel

Flywheel is a Christian Film that shows the story of a journey to faith in Jesus by a man undergoing a spiritual awakening

 

If you haven’t seen it yet, consider the movie Flywheel:

The story follows the awakening faith of the central character, a used car salesman.

Along the way, you see moments that when tied together cause a crisis of faith, which leads the man to offer himself to the Lord.

2.  My Macaroni Video

In the Dunamis Evangelism Course and in the Fear Free Evangelism seminar (live), I illustrate the story with a chain of plastic macaroni.

Your conversation, God’s self revelation, a sermon may be just one link in the chain, one step in that process.

The more I listen to stories of conversions and faith awakenings, the more I am convinced that we need to help people  to see the process of evangelism from the beginning of the seeking journey.

Your Own Conversion Journey

Think about your own conversion journey.  Or if you don’t have a season in time where you know you became a Christian, think about the early influences upon your life that shaped your faith.

  • How many individual conversations about God did you have?
  • How many different individuals helped you talk about your faith while exploring Christianity?
  • How many different sermons did you hear?
  • Where there songs, art, poetry, or music that moved you to explore Christianity more?
  • Did you have some late nights pondering life issues such as is there life after death, how do you find meaning, how can you ?
  • How many times did you look at the beauty of nature and wonder about the nature of God?

Want to watch more of my teaching on Spiritual Conversations?

This Dvd set can help you have more effective conversations with people when you discern where they are in their spiritual journey.  Knowing where they are can help relieve the pressure of any conversation about Christ.  Click the banner to read more.

 

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