EVANGELISM QUESTION 1: BIBLE EXAMPLES

 

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

     Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. Last week I did a post on “The Divine Intervention Show”, a take-off on the show “Intervention” about drug and alcohol addicts that are facing death if they don’t get help from intervention specialists to overcome their addictions. The Divine Intervention Show, on the other hand, would be about people facing spiritual death if they don’t get help from divine intervention specialists filled with God’s Holy Spirit, leading them to give their lives to Jesus.
     Now I’m back to the seven-post series about evangelism questions to try to shed a bright light on some very important specifics to introduce Jesus to unsaved family members, friends, and others. My first post is entitled, “Evangelism Question 1: Bible Examples.” I want us to look at key Bible, or scriptural examples of what evangelism is all about.

First, let’s define evangelism:

• The Cambridge Dictionary defines evangelism as “the activity of persuading people to become Christians, often by traveling around and telling people about your beliefs”. A pertinent Bible verse explaining evangelism is found in 2 Corinthians 5:11, “Therefore since we know the fear of the Lord, we try to persuade people.” This Bible verse doesn’t use the exact word evangelism, but it clearly defines it by using the phrase, “persuade people”.

Next, let’s define an evangelist:

• The Cambridge Dictionary defines an evangelist as “a person who tries to persuade people to become Christians, often by traveling around and organizing religious meetings”. So, evangelism is “the ACTIVITY of persuading people” . . . and an evangelist is “the PERSON who tries to persuade people to become Christians.
• Ephesians 4:11 talks about the ministries of Jesus, including using the specific term “evangelist”. Here it is: “And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.” Paul specifically used the term “evangelist”.

     Now, let’s look at whether only a trained and gifted “evangelist” is authorized to do evangelism, or to “persuade people to become Christians”. D.T. Niles, in his book “That They Might Have Life” declared the following well known statement:

• “Evangelism is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.” I know that quote isn’t directly taken from the Bible . . . but isn’t it the very essence of evangelism . . . “one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread?”

     Jesus didn’t just commission trained evangelists to go out, organize evangelistic meetings, and persuade people to become Christians. Acts 1:8 is one of several Bible passages where He commissioned ordinary fishermen, tax collectors, and various other untrained people to do the work of evangelism. Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
     Please, please recognize the power we have as Christians when we are filled with the Holy Spirit as were the disciples in Acts! I realize that a couple places in Acts have examples of people speaking in tongues . . . and there are groups of people that emphasize speaking in tongues as being the catalyst by which all Holy Spirit power is manifested. But the filling and power of the Holy Spirit doesn’t come exclusively to those who speak in tongues. Let’s look at tongues just a little bit to clarify:

• Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 14:4: “The person who speaks in another tongue builds himself up.” So, tongues are generally to build a person up in his or her personal faith.
• Paul then wrote in verse 39, “do not forbid speaking in other tongues.”
• BUT, Paul wrote in verse 19 about public church gatherings, “I would rather speak five words with my understanding, in order to teach others, than ten thousand words in another tongue.”
• So, I think it’s safe to say that tongues can serve a purpose, just like many other Bible-based practices. Tongues can never, however, be the foundation piece that we stand on to be able to do evangelism.

     The Holy Spirit’s power inside us doesn’t come exclusively from speaking in tongues. It comes from the following sources:

1. First, the Holy Spirit’s power comes inside us immediately when we confess and turn from our sins, and do as Paul wrote in Romans10:9, “If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
2. Second, the Holy Spirit’s power comes to each of us after we commit our lives to Christ, and each of us is now a “temple” of God, filled with His Holy Spirit.
• In 1 Corinthians 3:16 Paul states emphatically to Christians, “Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in You?” God’s temple isn’t just the one in Jerusalem built by Solomon. And it’s definitely not the church structures where Christians meet. God’s temple is you and I, individually and collectively, where God’s great Holy Spirit power now resides.
3. Third, the Holy Spirit’s power comes from having a close, intimate relationship with God and His love. James wrote in James 4:8, Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” I think the Bible is plain. Closeness to God is the greatest catalyst toward having tremendous Holy Spirit power, including great power for you and I . . . to be evangelists.

See you next time,
Arlen

STEPS TO GOD 7: TRANSFORMED!

 

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19

Hello Friends: 

     We have today pictures and examples of transformation. You’ll see pictures of people and things that look normal at first. But after a life-changing alteration by an outside force, they were completely transformed into superheroes to save the world. Most of you will readily recognize Clark Kent transformed into Superman. 

     The second is a picture of the Transformer toy and comic book/movie character, Optimus Prime. Instead of explaining what a Transformer toy is, for those of you who don’t know, I put the link of a very humorous YouTube video about an automatic transformation of the Optimus Prime Transformer. I hope you like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0SEYM9jHVg

     The title of my Soulwinnersr.us post is obvious. It’s "Steps to God 7: Transformed!" You will likely say to me that in no way can the transformation of a person be as dramatic as the transformation of Clark Kent into Superman, or a non-descript semi-truck into Optimus Prime. I’m here to say, however, that it’s exponentially greater than both!
     Many of us have the false notion that to become a Christian is to accede to becoming a boring person, or even a “bore”. I think that many churches have made becoming a Christian non-attractive by their rules and traditions. The church’s, I’ll call, “four-wall mentality” of being “God’s House” is archaic and quite frankly untrue. The church is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit living inside of us individually and collectively, not inside the four walls of a church building. Another truth is that God is just waiting to unlock creativity, passion, friendship, and love within us that we never thought possible.
     I’m not talking about manufactured excitement that many of us think about when we think of a church that is “alive”. I’m talking about deep and profound mental insight that we never had before. Paul encouraged in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed by this age, but transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
     What happens when you and I are transformed by the renewing of our minds. I’ll list some examples:

1. Jesus said in Matthew 5:14, “You are the light of the world. A city situated on a hill cannot be hidden.” Imagine us being transformed to becoming a light on a hill, that can’t be hidden, that others are able to follow, and navigate by!
2. Paul said in Ephesians 2:7, “He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.” We aren’t subject to just a little bit of grace and love, but grace and love that is so huge that it can’t even be measured.
3. Jesus said in John 15:15, “I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from my Father.” Jesus isn’t withholding any blessing or insight from us. He’s making known “everything” He heard directly from God.
4. Lastly, Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:16-21 about the great transformative power and love God gives us through Jesus, “I pray that he may grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with power in your inner being through his Spirit, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us—to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”

     All I can say is, “WOW!" Does that sound like a dull and limiting existence, or an exciting and limitless experience? Also, the transformative power we have as Christians is not only for our own benefit, but also to transform us into superheroes to save our world!
     This is my final Steps to God post. I pray that you found them meaningful. I keep joking with my wife that I’m going downstairs to make my “un-viral video”. That’s OK. My goal in the first place for my Soulwinnersr.us website wasn’t for my videos to become viral. I make the videos to motivate myself first, and perhaps encourage a few others along the way, to join me in the exciting adventure of soulwinning.

See you next time,
Arlen

STEPS TO GOD 6: SEALING THE DEAL!

 

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

     When I asked Dee to marry me, after she agreed we started making arrangements. But one of the most important steps was to obtain a marriage license. We had to have it approved by a judge with signatures by a court official and a minister that made it official and binding. In essence we sealed the deal of our marriage.
     I’ve been using the tenets of the Roman Road gospel as the basis for most of my seven-post series, with a few other important Bible principles sprinkled in. This sixth post about “Sealing the Deal” is the absolute most important contract we will ever encounter. I want to stress again its vital importance.
     The deal is between two parties, just like the written one here. It, however, is not with a human person, company, or government entity. It’s between you and God only. No one else is involved in the transaction, although there are those standing by our sides, perhaps not physically but in spirit, cheering on the deal. Then we can readily imagine a great roar of approval, perhaps applause, and even a great deal of angelic singing in heaven after the deal is complete.
     So, let’s move on to the precursors and specifics of the deal. We’ve talked about some of them in previous posts:

1. Recognize our sin. We talked about this in two posts. The first post, “A Veil Over Our Hearts”, is where we determine to do right, but the path to doing right is veiled from us. We don’t even recognize that we have sin getting in our way. My second post, “Help, I Need Somebody”, is the realization that “we need somebody, not just anybody”, but the “somebody” is still not revealed to us. Paul uncovers the barrier directly to us in plain words in Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” The recognition of sin as a barrier to God is our first step.
2. Understand the wages of our sin: I referenced it in the post “Unwanted Wages”. Paul in Romans 6:23 stated, “For the wages of sin is death. . .” This isn’t just a physical death, but scripture is clear that it also includes a spiritual death. This death, according to the Bible, results in an eternity in hell with eternal pain and suffering. We all want the best for our lives, right? Acknowledging that we don’t want to live in pain for eternity is the second step.
3. Accept the gift of God: We talked about this gift, or offer if you will, in a previous post, “An Offer We Can’t Refuse”. After we acknowledge the wages of sin written about in the first part of Romans 6:23, we immediately observe the wonderful gift that God is reaching out His hand to offer us. Here’s the offer, “BUT the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God didn’t leave us long to ponder the dire consequences of our sin before He immediately made us aware of His offer of the gift of eternal life.
4. The nature of God’s gift: The gift offered to us is eternal life “in Christ Jesus our Lord” that we just talked about, but how and why did it come about? It came about, as Paul wrote in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ bridged the gap that we couldn’t bridge ourselves.
5. Sacrifice for our sins: We often talk about the sacrifice of soldiers who die defending the freedom that we have in America. They’re held up as heroes, and rightfully so. But Christ’s sacrifice was exponentially greater. His sacrifice on the cross was for everyone, not just Americans, so that we all can have the freedom Jesus mentioned in John 8:32, “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Jesus then said a little later in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.”

     So, there we have from the Bible “Steps to God” that I outlined in my five previous posts. Now, how do we seal the deal? We’ve already concluded that the contract isn’t a physical one where our signature on a piece of paper is the binding factor. We’ll discuss two components of the deal:

1. Proximity of the two parties entering into the agreement. Before getting married Dee and I met together often, took classes with our pastor, made the decision to get married, then sealed the deal with a signed marriage contract and wedding ceremony. In the same way God draws near to us, or wants to draw near to us, or enter close proximity with each of us: 

“See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.” Revelation 3:20

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.” James 4:8.

“God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble”. Psalm 46:1

“The Lord is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18

2. Taking action to enter the relationship. At one point I needed to take the step, as scared as I was, to ask Dee to marry me. I really didn’t know exactly how she was going to respond. In the same way, it’s scary to take a leap of faith to trust God, who is so foreign to most of us, and ask Him to enter a personal, intimate relationship with us. We’ve learned from the Bible, however, that God is very close, and just waiting for our invitation. Romans 10:13 states, "For whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 

     The above listed occurrences we talked about in “steps to God”, occur somewhat naturally. We only realize their significance after the fact. But when we come to the end of ourselves and realize that we can’t draw close to God with our own power, we are invited heartily by God to take action to call on His name to save us.
     Romans 10:9 states, “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” When I was a young Christian, I didn’t know the impact the name of Jesus really had. I now understand the great power taking the action of confessing His name has in my life and the lives of others. It makes me want to proclaim His name more and more.
     So, “sealing the deal” of beginning a relationship with God can be somewhat intimidating. Most of us already know that fact by the response we get from family members and friends when we tell them about Jesus. Some of them have said to me, “Arlen, I don’t want to hear about that.” They think I’ve gone off the deep end into religious fanaticism. If so, I’m in very good company. Paul and the apostles met with the same opposition. But the Bible verses about the “broad” and “narrow” roads spurs me on. We’ll talk more about that in my final “Steps to God” post.

See you next time,
Arlen

STEPS TO GOD 5: SCROOGE NO MORE-GIFT OF A SECOND CHANCE!

 

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men," Matthew 4:19

Hello Friends: 
     Last week was the fourth installment of the seven-post series “Steps to God”. I shared the post, “An Offer We Can’t Refuse!”. It used a takeoff on a memorable Godfather quote . . . but exponentially more important than the quote, is the offer made to each of us by God that is far better than we can even conceive or think about.
     The fifth post is entitled, “Scrooge No More-Gift of a Second Chance!”. I reference the great story A Christmas Carol written by Charles Dickens which details the life of the fictional character Ebenezer Scrooge. Many of us probably know the basics of the story, and many of us from time to time have been called “a scrooge”, called somebody else “a scrooge”, or at the least said “bah-humbug”.
     The Christmas Carol story about Ebenezer Scrooge is a wonderful example of the gift of a second chance, or a before and after story. The television and media industries have repeatedly and successfully used the gift of a second chance, or before and after themes. Even “Extreme Home Makeover”, and “Decked Out”, the show that I’m transfixed on now about transforming backyards into backyard decked paradises, are about turning a drab, dull, and difficult existence into an exciting, meaningful existence.
     What was the state of Ebenezer Scrooge before being given his second chance?

1. Scrooge was a very cantankerous, “bah-humbug” type of old man, especially around Christmas. He didn’t see the bright side of anything, except when it came to making and saving money. He treated his nephew Fred with disdain when Fred invited him to the family Christmas party.
2. Scrooge was a cold-hearted miser. He hated the thought of Christmas, a time where he was expected to use his hard-earned money to give gifts, and he cringed at the thought of giving to a charity fund to feed the hungry. He treated Bob Cratchit, his overworked and underpaid banking employee, as a necessary evil. Being kind to Cratchit on account of Tiny Tim, Cratchit’s disabled son, didn’t even cross his mind.

     How did Scrooge’s gift of a second chance come about? (Note: I want to qualify, first, by saying that I typically am not into talking about ghosts. I hope and pray you see the reasoning behind me talking about the ghosts in the lives of this fictional character.)

1. The Ghost of Christmas Past: This ghost showed Scrooge that his typical happy life as a young man turned sour with the usual unloving gestures of his father at Christmastime, the death of his favorite aunt at Christmastime, and the spurned love of Belle, who left him one Christmas many years prior, after she could not put up with his overwhelming love of money. Scrooge saw his past as one with nostalgia and deep regret.
2. The Ghost of Christmas Present: This ghost showed Scrooge how his greed and selfishness hurt others, particularly Cratchit, who couldn’t afford on the salary provided by Scrooge to provide adequate medical care for Tiny Tim. The ghost told Scrooge that Tiny Tim would die unless something changed financially for Cratchit to pay for medical care. Scrooge realized how much his heartless words and deeds hurt others.
3. The Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come: This ghost showed where Scrooge, without a radical transformation, would end up. He would end up in an overgrown grave, with unpaid servants stealing his belongings, with debtors relieved at his passing, and with Tiny Tim dying because of Cratchit’s inability to pay for medical care. Scrooge saw this and begged the ghost fervently for another chance. A few moments later he woke up in his bed on Christmas morning and was so overjoyed with the possibility of a new start, that he immediately got up and went to the store and got Christmas gifts for Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family members, went joyfully to his nephew Fred’s Christmas party, and gave generously to the charity fund.

     I used story of Ebenezer Scrooge because of the supernatural and transformational power it describes. More importantly, You and I, with God’s HOLY GHOST power, are prime examples of wonderful before and after stories. Paul in Romans 6:23 wrote, “For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” So, you and I can be living and breathing examples of the absolute best “Gift of a Second Chance”.

See you next time,
Arlen

STEPS TO GOD 4: AN OFFER WE CAN’T REFUSE!”

 

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:
     Last week was the third installment of the seven-post series “Steps to God”. I shared the post, “Unwanted Wages!”. It was about a difficult realization what the Bible says about wages, in our lives and after our lives that are “unwanted”.
     The fourth post is about us accepting what I entitled, “An Offer We Can’t Refuse”. The title is a takeoff on the famous statement by Don Corleone, the Mafia boss in “The Godfather” movie in 1972. That movie still gives me nightmares with the vicious attacks made by Mafia crime families to get what they wanted. Just like I didn’t endorse the Beatles when quoting one of their songs, I’m for sure not in any way endorsing the Godfather movie. 
     Don Corleone made the statement, “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse”, meaning the other person would acquiesce to his request, or face consequences. In the same way God is making us an offer we can’t refuse, but it’s not just to avoid consequences. God’s “offer” is one, if we accept it, that will bring us everlasting happiness and contentment, especially in heaven after we leave the heartaches that accompany living in a fallen and sinful world.
     Below is the offer, told repeatedly in different ways by Jesus and His disciples in the Bible:

• In John 15:15 Jesus said,

“I do not call you servants anymore, because a servant doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends . . .”

I don’t know about you, but I don’t have many real friends. Which of us can turn down the offer of having the best friend ever?

• In Revelation 3:20 Jesus said,

“See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”

Which of us can turn down the greatest invitation ever to share a meal, and lifetime, with the best friend ever?

• In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus said,

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Are you weary from the burdens you carry? Do you want to find rest and have help to carry your burdens? Which of us could ever turn down a request to have the best friend ever help us carry our heavy burdens?

• In John 10:10 Jesus said,

“I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.”

Jesus isn’t talking here about a mundane, meaningless life. He’s talking about an abundant life that is almost beyond comprehension that lasts forever! Which of us can turn that down?

• In 1 Corinthians 2:9 Paul quoted Isaiah who said,

“What no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has conceived—God has prepared these things for those who love him.”

In this verse Paul quoted Isaiah one of the most hopeful promises ever made! Which of us can turn down what God has prepared for us that is so good that we can’t even conceive it in our minds?

• In John 14:2-3 Jesus said,

“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms (Note: Most versions say “mansions”). If it were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.”

Which of us has ever dreamed of living in a spacious mansion designed exactly for us?

• Last, but not least, Revelation 21 and 22 tells about the wonders that await us in heaven. 

1. Revelation 21:1-4

“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.

Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away."

2. Revelation 21:10-11

“He (an angel) then carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed with God’s glory. Her radiance was like a precious jewel, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal."

3. Revelation 21:18 

 "The building material of its wall was jasper and the city was pure gold clear as glass.”

4. Revelation 21:22-23

“I did not see a temple in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb."

5. Revelation 22:1-3

“Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for healing the nations, and there will no longer be any curse."

     Wow! Imagine living in a city made of gold where there’s no sadness or suffering, and God and His Son Jesus provide the only light needed . . . forever!
     I could go on and on with many more Bible verses that tell us about the wonderful offer we have in front of us. But I hope and pray that these few have begun to open our eyes to, “An Offer We Can’t Refuse”.

See you next time,
Arlen

LOYAL SHEPHERDS WHO WILL LEAD YOU WITH KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL

 

“Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

     Last week we capped off Pastor Aubrey Maye’s Pentecostal Witnessing book, Chapter 4. We discussed the mental attitudes we must have to be effective soulwinners. Also, the benefits of having a plan to share Jesus with people.
     This week I was a little stymied in direction. I prayed and I’m sharing a post about “Loyal Shepherds Who Will Lead You With Knowledge And Skill”, and I’m trusting God’s Holy Spirit to use it. It’s based on Jeremiah exhorting the scattered Israelites to return to God. Jeremiah then made a declaration directly from God in Chapter 3:15, where God said, “I will give you shepherds who are loyal to me, and they will lead you with knowledge and skill.”
     First, what leads to sheep being scattered? It’s likely due to shepherds that don’t really care about the sheep, and/or ones that don’t attain the knowledge and skill needed to lead and guide them effectively and safely. Think of the times that we had knowledgeable and skillful bosses. They knew each employee and the strengths each possessed to draw them in to move collectively toward getting the job done. 

     Then compare it to a boss that might have been promoted but doesn’t really have the best interests of the team or the goal in mind. That boss wants to exert authority and they usually make decisions to show that he or she is as my wife sometimes says, “are large and in in charge.” The employees under them usually are unsettled and in many cases scatter toward other jobs.
     Most people, me included, usually gravitate toward the boss that really cares, and has a great deal of knowledge and skill in guiding the needed processes toward getting the job done. The boss doesn’t even need to be the most personable person on the planet if they know what they’re doing and can encourage and draw in their employees to follow the path toward the goal.
     Why is it in churches that we don’t require, or at the least encourage those same types of qualities? We think that if a person has a somewhat dynamic personality with a degree of charisma, that he is a good fit to be the leader of a church.
     Think of the time of Saul and David. Saul was chosen to be the Israelite king. He was what today we might call “a man’s man”. The problem was that he was very insecure, had very poor judgement, was full of jealousy and rage, and he proved to be a very poor leader.
     Then comes David. He was the runt of his family. Everyone thought that Samuel would have chosen his bigger, more experienced brothers to be the next Israelite king in place of Saul. David was just a shepherd boy. Oh, but what they didn’t figure out was that this little shepherd boy was very knowledgeable and skillful in leading and guiding his flock, and in slaying imposing predators. He didn’t meet the “eye test”, but he certainly met the loyalty, knowledge, and skill test needed to be a good king of Israel.
     I’m not posting this to just dog the church as it exists. I understand the importance of loving and supporting the church body and its leaders. But as a layman and a longtime Christian, I am posing these questions with concerns that I think church leaders should consider moving forward.
     What is the motivation of someone wanting to be the shepherd of a group of people? Following are what I think are prerequisites of choosing shepherds of churches. They should:

1. Be loyal to God and His plan on earth. What is His plan? Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “I came to seek and save the lost.”
2. Embrace knowledge and skill to effectively lead the flock toward God’s goals as outlined in the Bible.
3. Protect the flock from danger.
4. Love the flock deeply with great passion and energy and go after sheep that are scattered. 
5. As the shepherd gets to know the traits of each sheep and lamb to keep them safe and in the fold, the Christian shepherd should also get to intimately know his sheep, to really know “what makes them tick”. In that way the sheep are naturally drawn toward him because they sense his great care for them. 

     One of my main reasons for sharing this post is because I know how important it is when we evangelize people in desperate need of Jesus, that we can direct them to safe havens with leaders that are very “loyal” to God, and they lead with great “knowledge and skill”.

See you next time,
Arlen

THE CURRENT ANTI-EVANGELISM WAVE

 

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. I entitled my post today, “The Current Anti-Evangelism Wave”. It’s based on my observations of the past ten years that my wife said has been going on for much longer than that.

It’s about a group of prominent church leaders, and others that are sharing what I consider heresies. A heresy is defined as the following in the Merriam Webster dictionary: “An opinion, doctrine, or practice contrary to the truth or to generally accepted beliefs or standards.”

The thing about heresies is that the people spreading them think they are the correct ones, and everyone else is wrong.

A very strong problem is the fact that the beliefs they teach minimize the need for open evangelism. They are very direct and not shy in their teaching that message. I’m having a lot of difficulty understanding where they’re coming from, and why they think the way they do. I have heard it recently talked about as “progressivism”. Following are some of their beliefs:

1. Genesis, Revelation, and other prophetic books of the Bible make for good storytelling and drama, but they are just that, stories, and play no important role in our Christian faith.
2. Hell, and an eternity of torment are unthinkable. A loving God would never resort to such gruesome tactics. Everyone might go through some sort of testing, but after their death they will all be in a holding place, and after they come to their senses, they will ALL end up in heaven alongside the saints.
3. We must live good and godly lives to win people to Christ, and if all else fails, speak the gospel. This thinking is largely based on the Frances of Assisi quote: "Go out and preach the gospel and if you must, use words." This group of people believe strongly that we should not impose our wills on other people by verbally sharing the gospel, but by only sharing it with our actions.
4. The salvation of lost people was not the primary purpose of Jesus coming to earth. His primary purpose was to honor God. The salvation of lost people was secondary.

I did a dive into what the Bible says about the first set of beliefs today; the belief that Genesis, Revelation, and other prophetic books of the Bible make for good storytelling and drama, but they are just that, stories, and they play no real important role in our Christian thinking. I’ll address the other sets of beliefs in upcoming posts.

1. The belief that Genesis is not an important book in the Bible.
• Genesis was the first book with a prophecy about Jesus. It says the following: “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Most scholars suggest that due the fact that God went from plural “offspring” to “he" and "him” two times, that the “he" and "him” refers to the future coming of Christ.
• Genesis is also the first reference to the fall of man that Paul later talks about in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. We wouldn’t even know we are sinners if it weren’t for God telling us in Genesis about it.
2. The belief that Revelation is not an important book of the Bible:
• Revelation 1:3 states, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.”
• Revelation 22:18 states, “If anyone adds to them (the prophecies), God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book.”
• Revelation 22:19 states, “If anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share of the tree of life and the holy city, which are written about in this book.”

Being blessed by hearing and keeping the words of John’s prophecy speaks for itself. Everyone wants to be blessed. The person, however, that minimizes Revelation might say, “I haven’t physically added to, or taken away any prophecies in Revelation. I just don’t believe they are relevant in my life or the lives of others.” I would say to that person, “What you believe yourself about Revelation is up to you, although I think it can be detrimental to your spiritual and even your physical health, but I would advise you to be VERY, VERY careful if you teach other people that the prophecies of Revelation are unimportant in their lives.

I think Genesis and Revelation are VERY, VERY important Bible books. I think the other prophetic books are also very, very important, and to teach otherwise is outright heresy. Jesus quoted them frequently, and the apostles wrote about, and also quoted them frequently.

Next week I’ll get into the next set of beliefs, that there is no real hell with eternal torment, and that this another belief and teaching that causes people to think that we shouldn’t evangelize.

See you next time,

Arlen

PENTECOSTAL WITNESSING, CHAPTER 2: EARLY CHURCH EVANGELISM by Aubrey Maye

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. I entitled my post today “Pentecostal Witnessing, Chapter 2: Early Church Evangelism”. Again, it’s based on an old book written in the 1960’s by Pastor Aubrey Maye of the Church of God. This chapter has so many good points it is difficult to contain my excitement. I pray that you also find it exciting.

Pastor Maye said “the sincere Christian of the Twentieth Century (now Twenty-First Century) is “brought face to face with the power of God glorifying His Son through the weakness of human flesh as these early Christians are engulfed by the Holy Ghost. We are challenged by their courage, shamed by their sacrifices, convicted by their dedication to one supreme purpose, and amazed at their almost unbelievable accomplishments.”

Pastor Maye wrote that while the philosophies of evangelism of the early church in Acts were unorthodox by today’s standards, but that due to their effectiveness we should question our ways of evangelism today, rather than to question the way they did it. He said his purpose of pointing in his book to the early church in Acts is that “the reader will be moved to action”.

Pastor Maye gave examples in the early church of “mass evangelism”, and “personal evangelism”. He said the early church wasn’t as concerned about the “how” of evangelism, "but that the job got done".

Mass evangelism came first, and it was very powerful and effective. But as extreme persecution arose the church scattered, and personal evangelism was the outcome of this. (Just a side note . . . this gives me hope that in today’s world of turmoil that God’s Holy Spirit will fill the lives of people to the point where they are inspired to share Jesus with other people.)

Pastor Maye wrote emphatically about the early church, “they were not waiting for the unsaved to come to them, they were busy taking the church to the world.”

He said that “nothing can take the place of the Spirit-filled life in soulwinning”. He said that the young church in Acts had a deep commitment to the Great Commission, in which “was born a sort of “daring” evangelism”. He said that they “dared to believe that if they continued with His Spirit and steadfast in His purpose, they could not fail regardless of the opposition”.

Pastor Maye said that this doesn’t mean they didn’t face discouragement, weakness, or fear. But that fresh infillings of the Holy Spirit strengthened them.

He wrote that “the spirit-filled life was the “norm” instead of the exception in that day.” He wrote that the nature of evangelism was “spontaneous” and “there was no indication that they had to be continuously prodded and challenged” to reach the lost. Pastor Maye said that Christians in today’s church may very well be filled with God’s Holy Spirit, but are hindered by present day misconceptions and traditions that the early church knew nothing about.

Pastor Maye said the following are some present-day misconceptions about soulwinning:

1. “Soulwinning is the sole responsibility of a few specialists.”
2. "Soulwinning should only occur at certain places, like in church buildings."
3. "Soulwinning should only occur at certain times, like at revival meetings."

But the early church in Acts was not hampered by these misconceptions. He said the following about the early church:

1. “Soulwinning was not restricted to certain select individuals.”
• “Every Christian thought it was his (or her) “personal privilege and responsibility to share his (or her) experience with the unsaved.” They didn’t have to wait for a preacher or an evangelist to come along. Pastor Maye said, “They didn’t know any different.
2. “Soulwinning was not restricted to particular places.”
• They were never taught that a church building was required for a person to be saved. “The gospel was just as powerful to save sinners in the marketplace, on the street, or from house-to-house as it was in the temple or synagogue.”
• They took Jesus as “the supreme example” of talking to people everywhere about His saving power.
3. “Soulwinning was not restricted to a particular time.”
• Pastor Maye quoted Acts 5 that said, “the Lord added to the church daily”, “because the disciples were spreading the Good News daily”. They didn’t have to wait until a revival meeting to introduce Jesus to other people.

Pastor Maye quoted J.B Phillips in his book “Letters to Young Churches”. Phillips wrote, “These early Christians were on fire with the conviction that they had become through Christ, literally sons (or children) of God, they were pioneers of a new humanity, founders of a new kingdom.” He said, “They still speak to us through the centuries.” J.B. Phillips wrote, “Perhaps if we believe what they believed, we might achieve what they achieved.”

Do you and I feel like pioneers of a new humanity, like founders of a new kingdom, like children of God? Is it possible for us to regain some of the Holy Spirit inspired conviction of the early church . . . to believe what they believed, so that we might achieve what they achieved?

See you next time,

Arlen

PENTECOSTAL WITNESSING, CHAPTER 1: THE PURPOSE OF PENTECOST

 

Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. I entitled my post today “Pentecostal Witnessing, Chapter 1: The Purpose of Pentecost”. It’s based on an old book written in the 1960’s by Pastor Aubrey Maye of the Church of God. I bought the book from my mother-in-law at her garage sale about ten years ago. It’s become a treasure to me.

I haven't posted in a couple weeks for several reasons: 

1. The holiday season is upon us, which makes us all become busier with decorating, shopping, gatherings, etc. 
2. I couldn’t clarify in my mind what direction God might have me go with my posts. 
3. I was distracted by a number of things, one being sports, especially the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team, which has become a fun team to follow, post Lebron James.

But I still feel my primary job, after my mental health career was over, is introducing Jesus Christ to people. To be honest, it should have been my primary job during my career, but it wasn’t. I’m not trying to make up for lost time, but definitely I AM trying to recapture my “first love”, which the Apostle John wrote about in Revelation 2 to the Church of Ephesus.

Pastor Maye encouraged readers of his book to read it prayerfully in light of the following questions:

1. “What is my personal responsibility in fulfilling the Great Commission”?
2. “What can I do to win souls that I am not now doing?”
3. “What is my church doing to evangelize its ‘Jerusalem’?”

Pastor Maye encouraged that the first step is to admit that we aren’t doing enough, and back in 1960’s he said, “we must do it NOW”, and, “The only hope for our generation is this: ministers and members alike, full of the Holy Spirit, moved with compassion, telling people everywhere the old, old story that Jesus lives and Jesus saves – even in the twentieth century” (now the twenty first century).

Let’s dive into this wonderful little book, starting with Chapter 1; “The Purpose of Pentecost”. First off, I realize that some might be put off by the term “Pentecost”. But Pentecost doesn’t mean strange church beliefs associated with speaking in tongues. It means that at the time of the Holy Spirit falling on and filling people, they were celebrating the Jewish “Day of Pentecost”, exactly fifty days after the Passover feast, and immediately after the week of “Harvest” celebrations on the Jewish calendar.

Pastor Maye said there were four reasons the Holy Spirit fell on the early disciples at that time:

1. Act as “a Comforter” to His followers after His departure.
2. Act as “a guide to lead His followers into all truth.”
3. Act as “a teacher” to help His followers remember the important lessons he taught.
4. To remind his followers that His “joy” would be in them, and their joy “would be made full”. John 15:11.

Pastor Maye said that great joy was the result of the Holy Spirit falling on and filling His followers, but joy was, and "is not the primary purpose of the Pentecostal experience”. He said that the joy of the Lord is “certainly essential to the believer”, but “it must always be interpreted as a source of strength and not as an end within itself”.

He said emphatically that the real purpose of Pentecost was “POWER” to give His followers strength when they were weak, to give them courage when they were afraid, and to carry out the true ministry of the Church in the world. He said simply, “the primary purpose of Pentecost was to empower the Church to fulfill the Great Commission”.

Pastor Maye said that Jesus’ followers were not the intellectual leaders of their day, and they could never carry out the task of the Great Commission with their own strength and abilities. They needed the Holy Spirit’s great power to help them to the point where, “they simply could not fail”.

The power His followers felt was not to draw people to themselves, but to take the saving message of Jesus to people everywhere, in every corner of the world, and their personal worlds. Pastor Maye said, “This is evangelism in the fullest sense.”

Pastor Maye said that God’s purpose is very clear according to 1 Timothy 1:15. “This saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”. Very simple, isn’t it? Christ wants to save sinners. Pastor Maye said that saving sinners is “second to nothing else in the work of the Church.”

What then is Christ’s plan to evangelize the world? Pastor Maye said, “His plan was simple. His hope was not based on highly organized and intricate plans of operation . . . PEOPLE WERE HIS PLAN.” “Spirit-filled Christians who make up the Church WERE (and are) HIS PLAN TO REACH LOST SOULS! HE HAS NO OTHER PLAN!"

Where have we gotten off track? How can we get back on track? I’m praying for a move of the Holy Spirit again. It’s our only hope to reach a lost and dying world.

See you next time,

Arlen

MAY I ASK YOU A QUESTION?

 

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. I entitled my post today, "May I Ask You a Question?” After last week discussing thoughts about the possibility of church analytics, I was excited this week when some gospel tracts from EvanTell.org. arrived in the mail.

I was in sort of a lull with introducing Jesus to people. Remember the teaching by Dr. Larry Moyer, the EvanTell Founder, that the goal is to “introduce Jesus to people, and not introduce people to Jesus”. I know that it seems a little bit nitpicky and trite, but Dr. Moyer’s point is that if we introduce Jesus to people it takes the pressure off the introducer to feel responsible for the outcome. The introducer’s job is to plant the seed.

After the introduction of Jesus to another person, it’s then the Holy Spirit’s job to nurture the planted seed and to make it grow. You can use a farmer as an example. All he does is till, fertilize, and introduce the seed into the ground. Then it’s up to nature to take its course, with perhaps some watering along the way.

Paul explained the process in 1 Corinthians 3:6. He said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.” Other verses in the Bible talk about harvesting the crop after it grows to maturity, but I’ll save that topic for another day.

I had been using my homemade Roman Road tracts to give to people, but I had stopped giving them out and talking to people about them. But, I really liked the EvanTell.org “May I Ask You a Question?” approach that I learned in the Dallas Theological Seminary classes, but it took me some time to decide to buy the tracts associated with them to introduce Jesus to people.

Dr. Moyer stated three steps in the seminary classes to use before using the tract.

• Step 1: Plow and Pursue: Discuss jobs, families or backgrounds.
• Step 2: Free Up, Don’t Freeze Up: A method of talking about Jesus to other people “frees us up, it doesn’t freeze us up.”
• Step 3: Secular to Spiritual Focus: You then use a tract like, “May I Ask You A Question?”

You ask; "Has anyone ever shown you from the Bible how you can know for sure you are going to heaven?"

• “The Bible contains both “bad news and good news.”
• “The bad news is something about YOU.”
• “The good news is something about GOD.”
• “The bad news has two statements, two verses, and two illustrations.”

• Statement 1: “We’re all sinners.”
• Verse 1: Romans 3:23. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Note: Sinned means we have missed the mark and the standard God has set.)
• Illustration 1: "Rock." “Two of us might throw a rock at the north pole. You might throw it further than me, but we will both miss the goal. In the same way we all fall short of God’s standard of perfection.”

“But the bad news gets worse.”

• Statement 2: "The penalty for sin is death.”
• Verse 2: Romans 6:23. “For the wages of sin is death.”
• Illustration 2: “Wages”. “If I work a certain amount of time I'm paid a wage, of perhaps $50. It's what is owed to me. A wage is something we earn for our deeds. The Bible declares we all have earned the wages of death because of our sin, and not just a physical death, but a spiritual death separated from God forever.”

“But God made a way for us to live and be with him forever.”

• “The good news also has two statements, two verses, and two illustrations.”

• Statement 1: “Christ died for you.”
• Verse 1: Romans 5:8. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• Illustration 1: “Cancer”. "If someone said they will take on your cancer cells to save your life, what will happen? They will die and you will live. They die in your place. That’s what Jesus did for us."

“Just as the bad news got worse, the good news gets better.”

• Statement 2: "You can be saved through faith in Christ."
• Verse 2: Ephesians 2:8-9. “For by grace (underserved favor) you have been saved (delivered from sin’s penalty) through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
• Illustration 2: “Chair”. "Just as you trust a chair to hold you up while providing no effort of your own, so you must trust Christ alone to get to heaven through no effort of your own. Any good thing you might do can't get you to heaven. It's through Christ alone."

You might say, “I’m religious”, or “I go to church”, or “I’m a good person”, or “I help the poor”, or “I don’t do anything that’s really bad”. "These are all good, but doing these things or any other good thing can’t get you to heaven. You must trust in Jesus Christ alone, and God will give you eternal life as a gift.”

“Is there anything keeping you from trusting Christ right now?” If there is nothing invite the person to pray, but tell them, “It’s not the prayer that saves you, prayer is simply telling God what you have done.”

The prayer is very direct: “Dear God, I know I’m a sinner. I know my sin deserves to be punished. I believe that Christ died for my sins and rose from the dead (10 simple words explaining the Gospel). I trust Jesus Christ alone as my Savior. Thank You for the forgiveness and everlasting life I now have. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

What do you think? I think that the “May I Ask You A Question?” tract might be helpful to me, and perhaps to you . . . as you introduce Jesus to people.

See you next time,
Arlen

HOW ABOUT CHURCH ANALYTICS?

 

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. I entitled my post today, "How About Church Analytics?” With this post I’m going away from my normal direct evangelism emphasis to an indirect evangelism emphasis.

Analytics have become a large part of our lives. Professional and college sports have embraced statistics to make calculated analytical decisions. They go against the grain of old-school coaches and front office workers making decisions based on “gut feelings”.

Whether we like it or not, analytics also plays a large role in marketing on all types of media. Being a senior citizen now I’m totally tired of hundreds of Medicare ads, phone calls, and mailings. Medicare companies spend millions of dollars for these ads based on the fact that analytics has told them they will get a certain “bang for their buck”.

So, I’m posing the question whether there should be “church analytics”. I’m half-joking and half-serious in posing my query about this. I’m half-joking because I know that church leaders, and even members, would likely never embrace such an outlier activity, and they would likely say that the Holy Spirit is their only guide.

But I’m also half-serious because I think the way churches are run perhaps might benefit from a motivation to improve their decision-making processes, that they not just rely on “gut-feelings”. I think it would also help a seeker to have a better chance of finding a good church home.

I’m not speaking about seeker-sensitive decisions here. I’ve been in churches where these decisions led to a watering down of the gospel message, perhaps focusing on aesthetics rather than substance.

If analytics were to be used in evaluating churches and church decision-making, what would be some important criteria or statistics to use?

Following are some criteria that I think might be important if there were rankings, perhaps on a 1-10 scale:

1. Love: Churches are ranked how many times leadership in each month states the importance of the verses, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind”, and, “your neighbor as yourself.” All church decisions are made with these verses as a guide.
2. Evangelism: Churches are ranked how many times leadership in each month states the importance of the verses, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations”, and, “you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Churches would also be ranked how many evangelism classes they have each year. All church decisions, especially evangelism efforts, are made with the thought whether the decision will bolster or hinder the church’s role in fulfilling The Great Commission.
3. Discipleship: Churches are ranked how many classes and/or individual sessions they have each month to teach disciples, including newly converted disciples and older ones. Churches don’t only focus on Sunday morning sermons as the vehicle for discipleship.
4. Church Member Community: Churches are ranked how many times each month leadership and members visit church members outside the church building. Extra points are given if the pastor, leaders, and members that are visiting other members live in the local community.
5. Local Community: Churches are ranked how many visits leadership and members make to local community people and events. Extra points are given if the pastor, leaders, and members that visit the local community and events live in the local community.
6. God’s Word: Churches are ranked by the evidence that the pastor deeply loves God’s Word, teaches it very fluently, and doesn’t compromise it.
7. Addressing Issues: Churches are ranked by evidence that the pastor and leadership only address member shortcomings when there is evidence of open sin, open resistance, or open laziness in doing the work of the church.

There you have it. What do you think about church analytics? Do you think they will ever be in our future? And do you think they would be helpful for a seeker to find a good church?

See you next time,
Arlen

MAKING DISCIPLES, NOT CONVERTS

 

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. I entitled my post today, "Making Disciples, Not Converts". The post is based on the Dallas Theological Seminary “Evangelism” Session #7, the last session in the series.

Dr. Barry Jones said, “After we bring people to the gospel, which is in 10 simple words: ‘Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead’—now what?”

Dr. Jones said that Jesus in The Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 has two great assurances: One is the great authority He is passing down to believers to share the gospel, the other is that He’s got our back all the way “to the very end of the age” in sharing the gospel.

Dr. Jones said that The Message Bible says it even more plainly: “Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life . . .” Christianity is not just about gaining converts . . . but it’s about discipleship toward a “way of life”.

He said there is a difference between belief and trust. He gave an example Billy Graham occasionally used of a tightrope walker who asked the crowd, “Do you believe I can walk this tightrope with someone on my back?” Everyone in the crowd enthusiastically agreed that he could do it. Then the tightrope walker asked, “Which one of you then will be first?” He didn’t get one taker. Dr. Jones said it’s one thing for a person to believe someone, but another to trust enough to get on the back of the other person, and in the case of the Great Commission, on the back of Jesus.

Dr. Jones talked about the importance of immediate follow-up discipleship, and long-term follow-up discipleship: He said that follow-up discipleship sets people on trajectory toward growth and maturity.

At this stage new believers are vulnerable. Immediate follow-up discipleship helps them to understand the assurance of salvation talked about in John 5:24, where Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

It also helps new believers to stay away from false teaching such as Jehovah Witness, Mormon, and other beliefs.

When I worked in mental health, I had one vulnerable elderly client in a wheelchair. I tried to link him to nearby church, but they didn’t go out of their way to reach out to him. On the other hand, two young Mormon missionaries were johnny-on-the-spot to visit him regularly and offer a form of emotional support he needed. They in essence were there for him when the Christian church was not.

New believers may continue to struggle with sin, with non-answers to prayer, about how to have and maintain healthy relationships, how to deal with a waning of enthusiasm for living the Christian life in the face of difficult circumstances. Follow-up discipleship can help them to navigate these things and can increase the probability and speed of positive spiritual development.

Dr. Jones said that follow-up discipleship should involve linking new believers to a local church, which he said is vital. Dr. Jones, however, did an exercise with the students in the class that showed that many of the students didn’t come from totally healthy churches, in that most of their churches were not good at “introduction” to the gospel, or evangelism. And most were not good at “integration”, or discipleship. He encouraged his students, however, as future church leaders to accept the responsibility of changing churches into being healthy options for new believers.

Dr. Jones said that a focus on new believers reading and understanding scripture should be a prime concern of follow-up discipleship. He said, “The Gospel of John is a great place to start.” He said “John is so deep and rich! It’s a really accessible and a beautiful telling of Jesus’ story.”

He secondly recommended the reading of the Gospel of Mark, which he said is a “basic Jesus-story”, which is the shortest gospel, and is very “action-oriented”.

Dr. Jones recommended Mac Anders’ “30 Days to Understanding Your Bible”, or some other similar book that tells how the Bible fits together.

Dr. Jones encouraged emphasizing the importance of prayer in the formation and development of new believers. He said there isn’t a right way or a wrong way to pray. It’s just talking to God and trying to listen to what He has to say in return.

Lastly Dr. Jones talked about long-term follow-up discipleship. He talked about the importance of catechesis, which in simple terms means instruction before baptism.

He shared the fact that the early church had examples of immediate baptism of new believers, of which Cornelius and the Ethiopian eunuch were prime examples. He said, however, that what set them both apart is the fact that they were what was termed “God-fearers”, in that they were Gentiles that believed in the God of Israel, the moral codes, and thought processes of the scripture.

Dr. Jones said that longer term training was adopted, and is needed today for new believers to unform negative Greco-Roman and unwanted cultural norms, and reform into Christian biblical norms before baptism. He said they also need training to understand the implications of becoming and living as a Christian so that they can in essence “know what they’re signing up for”

That’s it. In conclusion, I think this series of evangelism lessons from the Dallas Theological Seminary were a very informative and thought-provoking way to approach evangelism. I plan to refer to the teachings often to refine my approach in introducing Christ to people.

See you next time,
Arlen

BOLDNESS OVERTAKING FEAR

 

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matthew 4:19.

Hello Friends:

Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. I entitled my post today, "Boldness Overtaking Fear". The post is based on the Dallas Theological Seminary “Evangelism” Session #6. Dr. Barry Jones, the regular instructor, again turned the time over to Dr. Larry Moyer, another seminary instructor whose focus is on evangelism.

One of Dr. Moyer’s main points this session was the fact that we all will have some fear while sharing the gospel message. But the key is to allow boldness overtaking the fear we feel, instead of fear overtaking boldness.

Dr. Moyer said that even he, who is an experienced evangelist, feels fear sometimes when sharing the gospel. He said feeling fear is inevitable, and that if someone claims he or she never has any fear when they are sharing the gospel, they are one of two things:

1. “Not being very honest,” or
2. “Crude in the way they go about sharing the gospel”, that they don’t care what people think.

He emphasized repeatedly that he doesn’t know how to get away from having any fear. He said several times, “I don’t know . . . I don’t know . . . I don’t know . . . how to get away from having any fear of evangelizing. He said that even the Apostles prayed for boldness to declare the gospel, and that if the apostles had no fear they wouldn’t have felt the need to pray for boldness.

There are four Greek words that are used many times in the Bible that pertain to sharing the gospel boldly. I’m not well versed in Greek, so I won’t list the Greek words. But the definitions of these Greek terms mean for us to do the following when evangelizing:

1. Speak boldly.
2. Speak openly.
3. Speak plainly.
4. Speak freely.
5. Speak confidently.

Dr. Moyer reemphasized the advice he has to overcome the fear of evangelizing is to allow boldness overtaking fear rather than vice versa. He said there are three fears that are hindrances to sharing the gospel:

1. Fear of man (or rejection).
2. Shame of the gospel. (Note: Dr. Moyer talked about about Paul’s statement in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel”.)
3. Fear of personal risk or injury. Examples might be the following:
• Fear of getting fired.
• Fear of family members taking you out of their will.
• An actual physical attack, like in some countries that are openly anti-Christian.

Dr. Moyer stated also that sometimes we don’t share the gospel because we feel we aren’t good or holy enough because we have occasional sin creep up in our lives. He said, however, that unbelievers aren’t turned off by people that have problems, but they ARE more turned off by people that pretend that they have no problems.

Dr. Moyer emphasized that it’s biblical to pray for the lost, but there's more emphasis in the New Testament to pray for believers having boldness in evangelism. He said emphatically, “GOD IS JUST WAITING FOR HIS CHILDREN TO ASK HIM FOR BOLDNESS!”

Dr. Moyer said that using Paul as an example, we can do the following:

1. Develop confidence in our message.
2. Develop conviction that we are God’s messengers.
3. Develop devout concern for people.
4. Develop consistency in our lives.

He said that if we develop these four things we will still experience fear in evangelizing, but the boldness we feel can overtake the fear. He said that we can evangelize “in spite of the fear” we feel.

Dr. Moyer talked about “preconditioning” to think about what might happen while evangelizing. He said, however, that studies show that 92% of what we worry about never happens. He said that it if it takes no more time to think about possible positive outcomes than it does thinking about possible negative ones, we should definitely stick to the positive ones.

Dr. Moyer said the successful outcome of our evangelization efforts are totally up to God, not up to us. This lessens the pressure for us to strive for success in evangelizing. God calls us to just be faithful to share Jesus with people, and let God take care of the outcome.

Dr. Moyer said God doesn’t call us to bring people to Jesus, but to bring Jesus to people! He said that most often it takes a person a number of times hearing the gospel before they turn to trusting and believing in Jesus . . . and that we can feel blessed in the fact that we can take part in that continuum of moving that person “one step closer to the cross”.

In conclusion Dr. Moyer quoted John 6:44 that says, “No man comes to me unless the Father draws him.” He said that verse helps show us it isn’t our responsibility to bring people to Jesus . . . But it is our responsibility to allow boldness overtaking fear to bring Jesus to people.

See you next time,

Arlen

THE SIMPLE, CLEAR GOSPEL

“He who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30

Hello Friends:

Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. I entitled my post today, "The Simple, Clear Gospel". The post is based on the Dallas Theological Seminary “Evangelism” Session #5, which had a little bit of a twist. Dr. Barry Jones, the regular instructor, turned the time over to Dr. Larry Moyer, another seminary instructor whose focus is on evangelism.

Dr. Moyer is the founder and CEO of EvanTell Inc., an evangelism training company. EvanTell's main goal about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ is the following: "Keep it simple, stupid." No, not really. He actually said, “Don’t make confusing what God makes so simple.” I think that emphasis, which I so much agree with, is that the main reason people, including myself, don’t evangelize is that we think it’s way more complicated than it really is.

I think one of the most important principles Dr. Moyer taught is, “The Gospel in 10 Words”. I know that for many years I got stumped on the word “gospel”. I knew that it had the definition of “good news”, but after that I was almost paralyzed to understand and tell what the word “gospel” really meant.

Dr. Moyer said that less than 10% of Christians, even seminary students, know what the word gospel really means. He said Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, helped us sum up the gospel in 10 words: “Christ died for our sins, and rose from the dead.”

Dr. Moyer also emphasized that having a method of sharing the gospel doesn’t make us a “cold”, or “canned”, or “mechanical” person—but it helps make us feel more relaxed so that we can “lock” into people better. Dr. Moyer said that sometimes he gets so “locked into” communicating with people that he doesn’t even know anything else going on around him.

He summed up the presentation of the gospel to others as a clear sharing of the following: “Bad News”, and then “Good News”. He said there’s a pattern we can follow that can lead us.

The “Bad News” has two statements, two verses, and two illustrations:

1. Bad news statement #1: We are all sinners. 
• Verse: Romans 3:23. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 
• Illustration: “Rock”. “Two of us might throw a rock at the moon. You might throw it further than me, but we will both miss the mark.”
2. Bad news statement #2: The penalty for sin is death. 
• Verse: Romans 6:23. “For the wages of sin is death.”
• Illustration: “Wages”. “If I work a certain amount of time I'm paid a wage, of perhaps $50. It's what is owed to me. A wage is something we earn for our deeds. The Bible declares we all have earned the wages of death because of our sin, and not just a physical death, but a spiritual death separated from God.”

Dr. Moyer said that since we're unable to come to God because of our sins, the Bible says that God came to us. This is the good news! It also has two statements, two verses, and two illustrations.

1. Good news statement #1: Christ died for you.
• Verse: Romans 5:8. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• Illustration: “Cancer”. If someone said they will take on your cancer cells to save your life, what will happen? They will die and you will live. They die in your place. That’s what Jesus did for us.
2. Good news statement #2: You can be saved through faith in Christ.
• Verse: Ephesians 2:8-9. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
• Illustration: “Chair”. Just as you trust a chair to hold you up while providing no effort of your own, so you must trust Christ alone to get to heaven through no effort of your own. Any good thing you might do can't get you to heaven. It's through Christ alone.

Finally, Dr. Moyer gave info on how to start and close a conversation about the gospel. The first step to start the conversation is the following:

1. “Plow and pursue”. (Note: At first, I thought that statement seemed a little aggressive, but the more I thought about it, I would rather be a little aggressive, and have a person trust Jesus as his or her Savior, than be passive, and the person end up in hell.)
• To plow and pursue we can talk about 3 things that people have in common:
• #1: Our families.
• #2: Our jobs
• #3: Our Backgrounds
2. The second step: “Free up” don’t “freeze up”. (Note: I think his point of having a method of sharing the gospel is that we don't have to think so hard, and it frees us up to have a deep and caring focus on the other person.)
3. The third step: Proceed in the conversation from a secular focus, to a spiritual one.
• Ask the following: "Has anyone ever told you from the Bible how to get to heaven?" 
• If they say, "No", say, "May I?"
• If they agree, proceed to the “Bad News, Good News” gospel presentation.

Next is "Closing the Conversation." You ask the following:

1. “Is there anything that would keep you from believing in and trusting Christ right now for salvation?”
2. If the person agrees, remember to tell the person it isn’t the prayer itself that saves him or her; rather it’s believing in and trusting Christ that saves. Prayer is simply how we tell God what we’re doing.
3. Dr. Moyer said that the believing in and trusting Christ actually comes about 30 seconds before the prayer itself.

The presentation by Dr. Moyer was very good. I liked the fact that he emphasized that we make the gospel way too complicated, when it's really very simple. And at the end of the session he again stated the simplicity of “The Gospel in 10 Words”, “Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead.”

Dr. Moyer gave the freedom for people to use his tips. But said that presenting the gospel can be done different ways. I’ll likely stick mostly to the Roman Road presentation I’m familiar with, but I most definitely plan to use a lot of Dr. Moyer's tips to share . . . "The Simple, Clear Gospel".

See you next time,

Arlen

THE "WHY" TENSION

“He who wins souls is wise.” Proverbs 11:30

Hello Friends:

How in the world are you? Welcome to the Soulwinnersr.us website. 

The last few weeks I’ve been posting about the Evangelism training sessions from the Dallas Theological Seminary. I want to, however, divert a little off that path this morning.

Lately I’ve been feeling a little tension. I’ll call it the “The ‘Why’ Tension”. It’s difficult for me to explain where it comes from, and if it’s something to take seriously, and even whether I should tell anyone else about it. I think it may be from the Holy Spirit, but I’m hesitant to declare that this “why” tension is directly Holy Spirit driven.

My tension started after Covid hit and we were subjected to lockdowns and most churches went to online services. I noticed in these online services that most churches have only a smattering of older senior citizens attending, with a few younger ones sprinkled in.

Don’t get me wrong. I love older people . . . in fact I am one. Leviticus 19:32 instructs younger people to stand in the presence of older ones out of respect. Many other Bible verses declare the reverence we are to have toward our seniors and the wisdom they possess.

So you might ask, Arlen, where is your “why” tension coming from? I’ll answer that I think it comes from the lack of young people in the church, and the lack of new people coming to the Lord.

Granted, there are some churches that seem to be thriving more than others. Some of them have seeker sensitive messages with cool lighting and acoustics. Some have dynamic children’s programs with charismatic children and youth leaders, but I wonder if these things produce real lasting results of people trusting Christ as their Savior?

It really hit me last night when I was watching a wonderful preacher and college professor talking about holiness. What he said was spot on, but again it was to a smattering of about thirty-five, likely older people, although I couldn’t see them, in a large church of possibly up to 750-1000 members.

Here’s where my tension comes in. The teachers in our churches may, or may not, show passion with their beliefs about scripture, and what scripture means. But I think what might be missing is tying it to the “why”. Why should we be holy? Why should our lives be set apart free from sin? Why should we talk about being blessed by God? Why should we talk about the Book of Revelation and the promises and curses of the Last Days that it contains?

I realize that after the book of Acts the apostles dedicated themselves to teaching topics like holiness, sanctification, how to reach the fullness of faith, and many other very important topics, and didn’t necessarily directly talk about the “why” of what they were teaching. I think it was implied that they wanted Christians to live better, set apart lives to be good examples to the lost.

I won’t question the apostles, their motives, and the behind the scenes happenings driving their teachings. God had a plan and fulfilled it through the apostles.

I think, however, sometimes God allows some tension and ambiguity to force us to trust the Holy Spirit to help us figure things out.

So I wonder if our teachers, leaders, and all Christians would do much better if we included the “why” in all or most of our messages. And I would go further to say the “why” is to verbally, straightforwardly tie our messages to evangelism to reach the lost, whether they be young or old.

For example, a Christian might say, “One of the main reasons we’re to be holy is so that we might show the difference in our lives to the lost people around us.” Or, “We’re studying the Book of Revelation to try to understand the importance of it, and how we should try to reach as many lost people as possible so they can avoid the consequences of the Last Days.”

I think these simple strategies would not only be exciting, but it would focus us, and the Christians around us, to reach lost people, young and old, for Christ.

See you next time,

Arlen