Guest Blogger: David Souther on the Gospel

A Response by David Souther to the following statement by Andy Stanley regarding the gospel:

“If we were able to rewrite the script for the reputation of Christianity, I think we would put the emphasis on developing relationships with nonbelievers, serving them, loving them, and making them feel accepted. Only then would we earn the right to share the gospel.”

While I agree with Pastor Stanley’s emphasis on developing relationships with non-believers, I don’t believe it is necessarily a prerequisite to sharing the gospel. As believers, we are called to be “salt and light” in our dark world. This involves both loving people and sharing the gospel.  The two go hand in hand and balance is key. As we love and build relationships with people, God may give us the opportunity to share Christ at any time. It could be in the first five minutes or it might take months to get to that point.

In addition, the gospel itself is the “power of God unto salvation.” Anytime we share the gospel, it alone is enough to lead someone to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. I have seen people come to Christ by hearing an evangelistic message, reading a tract, or watching an evangelistic film. In all of these situations, the question was not whether or not someone earned the right to share. The message alone was enough. “Faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:17), and anytime we communicate the gospel, it has the potential of changing someone’s life and eternal destiny forever.

Guest Blogger at Church DNA

I recently responded to the following statement by Andy Stanley regarding the gospel over at Church DNA:

“If we were able to rewrite the script for the reputation of Christianity, I think we would put the emphasis on developing relationships with nonbelievers, serving them, loving them, and making them feel accepted. Only then would we earn the right to share the gospel.”

While I agree with Pastor Stanley’s emphasis on developing relationships with non-believers, I don’t believe it is necessarily a prerequisite to sharing the gospel. As believers, we are called to be “salt and light” in our dark world. This involves both loving people and sharing the gospel.

The two go hand in hand and balance is key. As we love and build relationships with people, God may give us the opportunity to share Christ at any time. It could be in the first five minutes or it might take months to get to that point.

In addition, the gospel itself is the “power of God unto salvation.” Anytime we share the gospel, it alone is enough to lead someone to Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. I have seen people come to Christ by hearing an evangelistic message, reading a tract, or watching an evangelistic film. In all of these situations, the question was not whether or not someone earned the right to share. The message alone was enough. “Faith comes by hearing” (Romans 10:17), and anytime we communicate the gospel, it has the potential of changing someone’s life and eternal destiny forever.

Logic: Fallacies of Context

This is the third part of a four part series introducing logical fallacies commonly used by Neo-Darwinists, Evolutionists, and Atheists. To better understand why we should bother to know what these fallacies are, please read the introduction.

The fallacy of false alternative concerns the use of extremes. It attempts to make a case for something that could be stated like “if you’re not with us, you’re against us”, or, “the only possible choice is my choice.” In science, this completely ignores the fundamental goal of scientific inquiry. Those who study evolutionary biology (and believe in a common origin of all life) should be hungry for more data and hypotheses to consider in contrast or comparison with their own. Instead, they completely dismiss and ignore any possible alternative theories. It’s like they are saying, “well OK, we solved that problem, now we can relax”. When in fact the actual physical evidence for the origin of life only as Darwin theorized is completely lacking. Logically, you would think that a scientist whose passion is discovery would be enthusiastically open to new ideas with compelling arguments and evidence to back up those ideas. In the world of the Neo-Darwinist, there is no alternative—hence the false alternative. They make the case for evolution on a grand scale beginning with the extreme of a single progenitor, or common cellular ancestor for all living things. There is no room for consideration or even modification of that theory—which is still theory and based on philosophical conclusions; not scientific ones (since the process cannot be repeated in any type of experiment).

An example of a viable alternative is open dialogue that includes the study of change over time, which all scientists acknowledge, without the necessity of a single-cell ancestry of all life. That is a weak hinge-pin on which their whole case stands—one without hard data (you can’t reproduce history) and a “believe it or leave it” mentality. The Neo-Darwinist excludes anyone in disagreement with their atheistic worldview—not necessarily their science.

In stark contrast, scientists who pursue additional study in the realm of Intelligent Design come from a myriad of perspectives. They bring to the table (or the lab) a sense of exploration and discovery— with an openness to learn that anyone who pursues deeper knowledge must have. Only someone who is teachable can learn new things (duh). Once the Neo-Darwinists closed their minds to alternative theories, they stopped up the very process Darwin himself practiced to develop his theories.

Emerging, Missional, Mosaic, Monastic – Next Generation Church DNA?

In a June 2008 issue of The Mennonite Magazine, author Tom Sine provides a glimpse inside the cover of his latest book release, The New Conspirators. Sine is convinced that God is doing something new through the next generation of leaders who are creating new ways to make a difference in both the world and the church. In The New Conspirators, he points out that these young activists and innovators can be best understood and articulated in at least four streams: Emerging, Missional, Mosaic and Monastic.

Even though I do not endorse all of the viewpoints embraced by Tom Sine or of the Mennonite Church USA, I had to make you aware of an article that makes great strides towards defining the various movements of God around the world among the next generation of church leaders.
The fact that there is no hidden agenda or bias on the truth about the movements, alone, makes
this article worth reading (Click Here to Read).

After reading the article give me your thoughts on this particular section:

“…many of these young activists have turned away from the influences of the religious right to embrace a more biblically progressive agenda for social transformation. They are consistently much more committed to working for social justice, racial reconciliation and caring for God’s good creation than many of the churches from which they come.”

Guest Blog: Mary Margaret Gibson – Back from Israel – Full of History

Every Christian should go to Israel, have a good guide, and be amazed! I just completed my first trip to Israel and I’ve got thoughts to process for many years to come. Someone asked me at lunch today what I have learned, and I know that I’ve learned more than I can explain, but I’ll try to give you a little overview.

Even tiny, tiny interventions of God go out into the centuries. I learned that the history that the archaeologists uncover under almost every foot of the ground relates to the truth of Scripture somehow, even if we don’t understand yet how God has planted each little thing for us to find. An example of this was the little plaque in a big Canaanite dig in Dan that said on it, “the House of David.” Buried for thousands of years, this little signpost was the first “find” that named the House of David and verified the existence of the King David of Scripture for those who had contended that he was a figment of the Biblical writers’ imaginations! It was a tiny love letter to the faithful who believe without seeing and confirmation for those who must see to believe.

I read the Bible with a different eye now because I’ve seen those places. Capernaum, excavated black basalt rock, was a little town back then, right up against the Sea of Galilee. It was so intimate that “finding” Jesus there was a matter of walking to the synagogue and opening one’s eyes!

Everyone was right there in the neighborhood, since the entire town was much smaller than a Walmart parking lot.

I see how a group of 5,000 men plus various family members gathered in one spot to hear the man from Galilee would be an immense crowd in that day. How alarming it must have been – Jesus was like a rock star! People tagged him, trying to get power from the decoration on his robe, and superstition became faith when his personality and power hurled sickness away and quietly revived someone’s little girl who had died. He was a walking miracle; a stunning invasion of the status quo; a marvel; a fearful threat to those who had invested their lives in claiming power over others.

I thought about the guys who had to take their blind friend, with Jesus-mud on his eyes, down to Siloam to wash. What happened to those guys? Imagine what they thought when their friend saw, really saw them! Did they just leave him there and run home – amazed and full of their story? How full of wonder Jesus was!

And when they killed him, they just did it the Roman way, by the road so people couldn’t miss the spectacle and get the message – if you want to fight the powers-that-be you’ll come to certain ruin, a wreck of a man, disfigured beyond recognition. Dead. They took his body to a place that might have been the place we saw, but then again, maybe not. Anyhow, he was truly dead. They put his body in a rock cave meant for someone else, and left him until the 3rd day when everyone was checked for dead-ness back then…no heart monitors…go put more spice on him, see if he’s dead. But he was gone – where? Where? What happened to all those soldiers? What? So, so, so the women said someone told them he was risen – not dead – alive. Has the Kingdom come?

You see what I mean? In the Garden of Gethsemane there are olive trees that are the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the trees that lived when Jesus lived. They are old and gnarled and in the way of all creation they are witnesses. The Bible says it, and it can be easily seen…Jerusalem was, and will be, the City of God. Go and see.

Guest Blog by: Mary Margaret Gibson

Signs of the Times- WiFi and Multi-Site Churches

On my about page I mention that my favorite item on the menu at Starbucks is WiFi, technology that gives you wireless access to the internet while you sip your coffee. In the last eight years or more churches have been adding coffee shops to their church atrium. The new thing now is to add wireless internet access and comfortable chairs and sofas. But even more valuable than WiFi is churches that are using satellite broadcasting to expand their church to multiple locations.

It is being called the “Multi-Site Revolution“. Many of the most successful churches have become too large to have any real connection among the congregation. Many of these churches are successful because they have found a niche, a ministry to a particular demographic that facilitates church growth. What many churches are doing is building new churches in different areas of their metropolitan areas to reach different communities. What is interesting is the fact that many of these churches are doing a satellite broadcast that is being shown live at the multiple locations. The pastor will preach at the main campus and there are community pastors and a worship band that handle announcements and lead worship live at the multi-sites of the church.

One church that has implemented this successfully is Ed Young and Fellowship Church. The main campus is in Grapevine, Texas and they now have additional sites in Dallas, Fort Worth, Plano, and even Miami. They have over 40,000 people in attendance every week at the multiple locations. The congregation is content to watch Ed Young on a big screen live from Grapevine or sometimes one of the other locations. Other churches that are doing this are Saddleback, Northpoint, and Willow Creek.

Saddleback saw over 100 people trust Christ on the first weekend at their new sites. Each campus creates buzz and the unchurched and often unbelievers check the church out and hear the gospel presented and trust Christ. Saddleback’s vision is to have 10 sites by 2010. The thing I like about the multi-site church movement is that it focuses on people and not new buildings. Because most of these sites start small, it is not about a building campaign, it is about inviting people to something that members and regular attenders are truly excited about. It forces the congregation to be outward-focused and community-minded.

Make it all about the people and the gospel - no strings attached. How? Look for opportunities to share the clear and simple gospel message motivated by grace and love, not guilt. When we go about the great commission in context of living the great commandment then we have effectively removed any strings that are attached. Take the next exit - Go wireless!

How to Reach People Who Have Been Turned off by Christians

Evangelism.net has a great podcast this month on the topic: “Dealing with people who have been turned off by Christians.”

In this episode of the Evangelism Encouragement Podcast, host Mark Rae talks with Dr. Larry Moyer as they consider some of the reasons non-Christians give as to why they have been turned off by Christians.

It is also available on iTunes here.

Enjoy!

The State of Israel – God’s 4,000 Year Old Successful Start-up!

My recent trip to Israel coincided with the 60th anniversary of Israel’s statehood. In the scope of the number of years that God’s chosen have lived in the land, 60 years is a blip. But what a 60-year span it has been — a successful re-start that we can study to see God’s hand at work. Our Jewish cousins, upon whose Biblical foundation we stand, have succeeded in reclaiming a land, a people, and a dream.

It was great to celebrate the miraculous convergence of events and courage that resulted in the declaration of Israel’s statehood in 1948. The pioneers who came to the new state from the dispersion around the world even before statehood were persistent in the most difficult circumstances, buying land from Turkey that everyone thought was worthless and making it bloom. The hardy hopeful who were trying to create agriculture on top of limestone and desert had such physical and engineering challenges that we can hardly imagine them. The ink had not dried on their declaration of statehood before folk were taking up arms against them.

Over the last sixty years a testament to the sheer determination of free people has happened in the land of Israel. Only this country, in the history of all countries, has been able to successfully integrate millions of folk who did not know the language, arrived with nothing, and had limited future prospects because they had fled for their lives to reach their homeland. Many were highly educated, but poor. Some were secular, Jewish in heritage but not religion, some were tied to Jewish religious tradition through generations, some were Arabs who lived in the area declared to be Israel and who still live there – citizens in exactly the same way their Jewish neighbors are citizens. So many were coming, coming in waves, rescued, airlifted, willing to suffer passage in boats too small – it was an amazing migration. None of the effort really mattered to them – they were all coming home, going “up to Jerusalem.”

They had survived the worst that mankind could throw at other human beings. While almost the entire world sat in deadly silence they died in the Holocaust. When the world waked up and came to their assistance a generation of Europe’s fine Jewish heritage had perished. Every Christian owes every Jewish person an apology for the depth of suffering supported by our sins of omission. We all need to look at their subsequent “resurrection” as a nation and thank God for His mercy, His provision, and His grace. The Western world’s laws, religious heritage, culture, flowed out of their history into our daily lives.

Guest Blog by: Mary Margaret Gibson

Dealing with People Who Have Been Turned Off by Christians

How do you reach people who have been turned off by Christians? What do you say to people you want to see come to the Savior who is so good when they have seen Christians who, in their opinion, are so bad? In this episode of the Evangelism Encouragement Podcast, host Mark Rae talks with Dr. Larry Moyer as they consider some of the reasons non-Christians give as to why they have been turned off by Christians. 

Mark Batterson on Evangelism

Pastor, author, and blogger Mark Batterson wrote briefly on his blog today about his personal and corporate perspectives on evangelism. First of all personally - he authentically shares:

“To be perfectly honest, over the last several months, the Lord has really convicted me about my lack of urgency…And it’s not about sharing our faith out of guilt. It’s about being so excited about who God is and what God has done that I can’t not talk about it.” (read more)

I love his passion. I have been given numerous opportunities lately to share what I believe about evangelism both in witnessing and in casual conversation. I think the biggest thing that Batterson points out is something that we teach in our evangelism training at EvanTell…that we should share the gospel out of grace and not guilt. Guilt has so often been associated with evangelism that it has given evangelism a fearful, negative connotation. I pray that outlook is overcome. That is my dream for the church.

Batterson closes explaining his dream for the church:
“Can I share a dream? I’ve always dreamed of being part of a church that was experiencing the reality of Acts 2:47. It says people were added daily. Don’t you want to be part of a church that is experiencing life changing transformation on a daily basis?”

Just like I do - he desires to see a church with Acts 2 Church DNA.

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