Aug 25, 2010 
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” – 1 Peter 2:9
worshipping God, building up His church, reaching the world
Browsing the archives for the evangelism tag
No Comments Beyond Opinion is a valuable book 
dealing with the subject of apologetics. It is written by a variety of authors, mostly on-staff with Ravi Zacharias Internationl Ministries, and edited by Ravi Zacharias, a foremost apologist of today; he also contributed four of the chapters in the book. It is a dense book, topping 330 pages with small type, rich with end-notes and references. The aim of the book is to integrate apologetics into everyday living and discipleship of the Christian life, with its stated purpose: “to encourage and challenge the reader (a nonexpert in apologetics) to feel comfortable talking about the gospel without feeling the burden of needing a high level of philosophical training.” The variety of authors means there are different writing styles and experiences of each author, and some chapters are easier or more difficult to read than others. Some of the chapters read very scholarly and complex while other chapters sound and feel more personal. Overall it is a deep and challenging book and a needed topic of discussion in Christianity today. It is both practical and theoretical in its approach.
I received this book from Thomas Nelson publishers at no cost for the purpose of review. I was not required to write a positive review.
J. Mack Stiles, an overseas missionary who has written previous works, has produced a marvelous and challenging new book on evangelism, Marks of the Messenger. It is not a practical how-to book on evangelism, but a book on being a fully-formed disciple of Christ and evangelism and a heart for missions that flows out of that relationship with Him. His important question, “Who do you want to be?”, defines our character as Christians, and evangelism and missionary work are the result. J. Mack Stiles presents a clear and right understanding of the gospel, its effects on our lives, its workings in and through the church, and its impact on the world. He does include a practical chapter on “being bold” and concludes with a “manifesto” – a practical and simplified review of his total work. The book includes a brief section of notes for further reading and study. The author’s style is honest and flowing and rich with his personal experiences; it is a brief book that can and deserves to be read by every pastor, leader, and believer and follower of Christ. This book will empower and refresh a disciple in his or her work of being a Christian in the realm of evangelism and missions.
I received this book at no cost from IVP for the purpose of review. I was not required to write a positive review.
This summer we will begin partnering with the Soup Kitchen of Wheeling and the YWCA of Wheeling to launch new ministries to children and their families and single moms. There are many opportunities to pray/give/serve/send in these local areas. We are excited for the opportunities God has placed before us to “be salt and light” and “go and make disciples” and look forward to what He has in store for us through this work.
How to Multiply Your Church by Ralph Moore is a hopeful and inspiring and energetic book on church planting and church growth. The author’s purpose is to show us the history, need, and practical aspects of birthing new churches today. The basic premise is to train and equip each person of the congregation and release them into ministry they are gifted and called to serve. Pastor Moore provides biblical, historical and theological reasons and cultural necessities of obeying the Great Commission and being on mission in your local community as a newly birthed church. By training and releasing people into doing the work of the church (Eph 4:11-12), the church will multiply – a movement of church mulitiplication will begin. This book is not church growth for sustaining sake or a program (although it may bring revival to an older congregation), but it is to wage spiritual warfare in evangelism and advance the gospel and be salt and light to a hard world. The author provides guidelines to deal with “bucks, buildings, and brains” but cautions that each person must assess their situation as unique – there is no “one method fits all” approach. Ultimately, it is not a program-based approach but relying on the Spirit and breaking existing programs and paradigms to bring the gospel to needed areas. It is a recommended book, giving hope and calling us to the urgency of reaching out and obeying the Great Commission.
This book was provided to me for review by Regal Books. I was not required to write a positive review.
In my final sermon on discipleship, we look at Matthew 9:35-38 and look at Jesus’ command to pray for workers of the Lord’s harvest.
“For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.” – Galatians 1:11-12
We can only do so much to sow seeds and work as laborers in the field and preach the gospel. It is God who works, to reveal Himself and His Son, through the Spirit.
What God did for us is not man’s invention, it never could be. Only God can open the eye’s of a man’s heart to show him the truth, Himself.
“Why does it matter what I believe? Do all religions lead to God? Wasn’t Jesus just another religious teacher?” These questions and others are answered at the Vimeo link, A Passion for Life
I’ve been reading Total Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis. In their chapter on evangelism, they discuss the need for us not to be “lone ranger” Christians doing evangelism on our own, but that our evangelism occurs in community. Inviting the lost to our fellowships and BBQs and outings and us as Christians “living life” from day-to-day, and the unbelievers becoming a part of this and seeing and experiencing the gospel “lived out” in community.
This of course means we need to be having our fellowships and BBQs, etc. I’m afraid we as a community of believers don’t do this as much as we could (or should). This is the problem of the “institutionalized Sunday-only church”. We get caught up in so much busy-ness.
I don’t know the solution for this. We need to be committed more to each other, getting together, inviting lost friends and relatives to “get together” with us, not just for a “religious meeting” but just to “hang out.”
How can we restructure our lives to make these actvities more of a priority?
Robert Coleman writes in The Master’s Plan of Discipleship, “We reproduce what we believe. If we believe that Christ is no more than a great moral teacher who only offers the best of many religious options, then we will politely ignore the exclusive demands of His Kingdom. But if we truly believe that Jesus is the Lord of heaven and earth and that His finished work at Calvary alone brings salvation to a lost world, then we will go forth to herald His Name to every creature. Whatever the creed espoused, disciples of Christ who do not express this concern simply do not take their faith seriously.”
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