Discussion Boards 1 2 & 3 PDF

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DB #1

1. In McRaney chapter 3, the author outlines content essentials to understanding the gospel message. He also outlines what the “message” is NOT, and what “belief” is NOT – in a world that is constantly trying to water down and replace the gospel through pursuits like social justice and moral deism to name a few, discuss the essentials of the gospel message in detail. Is repentance essential? Is surrender essential? What does it mean to be born again? Why is the resurrection important, sacrificial atonement, etc. In short, what is the gospel, thoroughly define essential aspects . (225 words minimum)

2. In addition, after reading the assigned chapters in Everyday Series: Evangelism, as well as reading the article on "What Evangelism is Not" and watching the introduction video for this week that discusses several key perspectives related to evangelism, incorporate several insights from the material into your thread in reference to how this will impact your perspective on evangelism. Based on the material, thoroughly discuss how evangelism should be viewed and be honest about your misunderstandings. Were you surprised by some of the observations in reference to what evangelism is "not"? Are you guilty of excuses? What needs to change? (225 words minimum). _________________________________________________________________________________ Jesus gives us a directive in Mark 16:15 that says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.”[1] Evangelism is not a choice a believer can choose to do or not to do. Earley and Wheeler state, “The phrase ‘you shall be my witnesses’ is written as a direct command from Christ.”[2] It also says in Matthew 18:19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…” It was so important that we do this and yet for many believers it is the hardest thing we can do. There are many reasons but the biggest one is fear. Many people have this idea of an evangelist standing on the corner of a street yelling at people when they go by, “the End is coming” or “Lie, Die, Fry, Turn or Burn” the fact is evangelism is not hard at all it is simply showing the love of Jesus to people in practical ways every day. It is about being on purpose and not doing things on accident. Be intentional in our reaching out to everyone around us and be vigilant over our life to live Jesus in front of people. We also need to understand the people and the culture in which we live.

First, we need to understand the world where we live today there is no absolute truth, there is no base line for people to develop right and wrong and because of this as McRaney states, “The drift is away from the true message of the gospel, not toward it.”[3] Secondly, it is important to recognize that the gospel message is delivered by his disciples all they while it being influenced by their individual backgrounds.[4] In our reading this week the quote from C.S. Lewis; “The glory of God, and, as our only means of glorifying Him, the salvation of souls is the real business of life.”[5] Our business is our communities in which we live. We must share the truth of the gospel and yes that means repentance from our sins and total surrender to God.

The church has a hard time with helping people to share the gospel. First, the leadership sometimes do not understand that their role is “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ” as found in Ephesians 4:12. Many people in the church think it is just the pastor or staff who are responsible and have not given properly taught on the matter. Also, Earley and Wheeler point out, churches are often satisfied with maintaining the “status quo.”[6] They like the way their church is, and they do not want it to change, someone might sit in their seat, or maybe they have tattoo’s all over them with piercings various places or they might have a prison record. Evangelism is a very sloppy, messy thing for the church and messes up the “status quo.”

My husband and I were called into a dying church, they had this big beautiful building and were meeting in the fellowship hall because they only had a dozen people with no children or teens. When we went we explained that we are out of the box, reach into the community and invite everyone. We loved on the people there, went to their homes and preached the gospel. God opened doors at the homeless shelter and I was about to be the director of Youth for Christ reaching into the school. In a few weeks there were 50 people with two or three visitors each week. The people were used to their “country club” church (there words) and this was changing. The church board informed us that they no longer needed us and to keep the church from splitting we left quietly. There reason we did not do communion as formal as former pastors. We were reading a book at the time called Autopsy of a Deceased Church. The author made a statement in the book that describes their church, “they chose their own comfort over reaching others with the gospel.”[7] Sad to say this happened to us twice and two different churches, they were both very established and very set in their ways. When we told them what kind of pastors we were that presented the gospel, did not compromise and believed in community outreach; everyone thought it was great until they realized it was going to cost them their comfort. They had no understanding about true evangelism, and when we started teaching them they were shocked. Our hearts were broken over their lack of understanding of the basic gospel message and responsibility. Evangelism is not hard, but it does cost us our comfort.

Bibliography

Earley, Dave, and David Wheeler. Evangelism Is…: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2010.

McRaney Jr., Will. The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a Changing Culture. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2003.

Rainer, Thom. Autopsy of a Deceased Church. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2014

[1] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical passages referenced are in the New American Standard Bible (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2008).

[2] Earley and Wheeler, Evangelism Is, vii.

[3] Will McRaney Jr., The Art of Personal Evangelism: Sharing Jesus in a Changing Culture (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2003), 74.

[4] Ibid, 75.

[5] Dave Early and David Wheeler, Everyday Evangelism: Sharing the Christian Faith (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), 12.

[6] Dave Earley, and David Wheeler, Evangelism Is…:How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), 30.

[7] Thom S. Rainer, Autopsy of a Deceased Church (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2014), 4

DB#2 In McRaney, Chapter 2, the author states, "dealing with lost people will cause us to get our hands dirty and sweaty just like tending to yard work. Part of evangelism is to clear up misconceptions and misperceptions people have about the gospel. Dealing with people and evangelism is often messy." How does all of this connect with the essential harvest principles discussed by McRaney, also in the introductory video, and in Chapter 11 of the Everyday Series: Evangelism book?

As you respond, consider your own conversion experience. Explain how it may have demonstrated “the dirty work of evangelism”? From the article written by Dr. Earley, as well as Chapters 19-20 of the Everyday Series: Evangelism book, address if spiritual warfare was part of the dirty work – what part did prayer play in the process then and now, etc.?

Finally, from McRaney Chapter 1, what role does the Holy Spirit play in evangelism and in reference to the harvest? Ultimately, referring to McRaney, Chapter 2, make sure that you address how your emerging biblical theology of evangelism and practical experience of faith can assist people in addressing their misconceptions/misperceptions regarding the gospel. (450 words minimum) ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… We live in a world that is hurting, lost hope and scared of what tomorrow might bring. They have no foundation of truth to believe, because it is all relative. Most people come from broken homes, have given themselves away time and again looking for love and only finding emptiness. Many have tried various thing to drive away the emptiness that haunts them day in and day out. They are longing for the community that God originally created for us to. McRaney says, “God’s purpose is to create a community of persons who freely choose to accept God as their God, who receive His love into their lives, and who respond by loving Him with all their hearts and by loving their neighbors as themselves.”[1] This is why evangelism is messy, we have a lot of people who are heart and soul sick and need to be healed. Some are angry, others just do not care any more while others buy into some other religion that places righteousness with good works, so they think that are ok and will go to heaven someday, if there is one.

Believers in Jesus have the power to bring healing and hope to the world and to help them be restored to love and community. In order to accomplish our mission, we must get our hands dirty and be willing to work and sweat. We get to hear as they throw-up all the junk of the world that has devastated them, to hide behind their personal walls so they will not be embarrassed or feel guilty (which they already feel). We cannot do this with out the power of the Holy Spirit or on our own.

When I got saved, it was at a children’s crusade and the people that lead it gave up their lives to travel around and do these shows for kids, they had to at times give up a little dignity to make something funny or goofy, so the children could hear the good news of Jesus. I myself have worked with teens at risk from detention centers, I have been yelled at, cussed out and hit out of anger. I have held them in my arms as they wept when they realized that Jesus loved them. I have listened to their stories of how their parents sold them into prostitution to support their drug habits, or how they had to dig for food out of dumpsters to feed their younger siblings because their parents had not come home for days. You cannot combat this darkness without the power of the Holy Spirit.

We must as Dr. Wheeler was talking about in the do the work on our knees through prayer, we must serve and furrow the ground of their hearts and share the Word of God to plant the seeds of faith in their hearts and walk life out with others, so they can see Jesus in us. Discipleship is about doing life together with believers and nonbelievers. Just as Dr. Wheeler said “Everyday Evangelism is;;;Plowing in prayer, planting through sharing the gospel, and being patient as the Holy Spirit draws people to himself.”[2]

Both Dr. Early and Dr. Wheeler talk about how the pressure is gone because of the work of the Holy Spirit. McRaney said, “The supreme object of the work of evangelism is to glorify God, not to save souls. The only power that do this is the Holy Spirit, not our own strength.”[3] It is not our job to make someone get saved, it is our job to be a vessel of God to love the lost and share Jesus throughout our lives with actions, words and love.

Regarding biblical theology of evangelism and practical experience of faith, McRaney stated that “Our role does not include winning arguments. We are to testify to what we have seen and heard. We can and should grow in our preparation to defend the faith, but that is not our primary role…for those that their primary evangelistic style is intellectual, there is room to help people answer some of the dep questions of their spirit and clarify their understanding of Christ….The new apologetics will initially involve asking good questions, not winning arguments.”[4]

So, evangelism is loving people and living life with them. This means taking cookies to a neighbor, raking the leaves or helping in some other way and using this as a bridge to initially love people to Jesus.

[1] Will McRaney, Jr., The Art of Personal Evangelism (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2003), MyWSB.

[2] Dave Early and David Wheeler, Everyday Evangelism: Sharing the Christian Faith (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2010), MyWsb.

[3] McRaney (2003)., MyWSB.

[4] Ibid.

DB#3 1. In reaction to the article on "Incarnational Apologetics" and Chapters 14 – 16, and 22 from the Everyday Series: Evangelism book, how does this impact the way evangelism is taught and acted out in daily life? How do you balance "incarnational" and "informational" approaches to evangelism? Is there a connection? In addition, do your struggle relating to people on an "incarnational" level; or are you afraid on an "informational" level that people might ask a question that you cannot answer? Be VERY thorough, thought provoking, and honest with your classmates! (225 words minimum)

2. After watching the interview video with the girl (Lindsay Video), in reference to her approach to life and faith, if she were a neighbor of yours how would you go about reaching her with the Gospel? When answering, consider what we have learned and discussed in class to this point related to the Three V’s of evangelism, your testimonies, servant evangelism, as well as the Share Jesus Without Fear approach and the implications of the two videos this week on the Story and the Three Circles. Be VERY thorough and thought provoking! (225 words minimum)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… Making the most of every opportunity Colossians 4:4-6 COLLAPSE Although I was raised in the church, and learned the Romans Road etc., from the time I was a child and could quote scriptures from all over the Bible, I never felt adequate to sharing the gospel until I was older. I had decided from a young age that I would live a life in front of people so that they would want to know what was different about me. So, my life has been spent somewhat believing in the incarnational apologetic lifestyle. The Bible says in Colossians 4:4-6, “Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person.”[1] Early and Wheeler reminds us that the Gospel message should be seen in every part of our lives and should affect every relationship.[2] The Bible says in Ephesians 1:18, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.” This should be our prayer for everyone we meet no matter who they are, where they are from or how long you will know them. I do believe that it does take both incarnational and informational. Incarnational opens the door for the informational when talking with someone. When I was in high school a girl from my class came up one day and asked me what was different about me? She wanted to know why I knelt in front of my locker, which was on the bottom rather then just bend over like all the other girls. She wanted to know why, I was happier than most and that there was just something different about me and she needed to understand. The funny part is I had never had a conversation with this girl, we had different friends and I honestly do not know that I ever met her before that point. I had the chance to share Jesus with her, she, her brother and grandmother all gave their lives to Jesus over the next month and I met with her every morning before school and prayed and talked about the bible. Dr. Wheeler stated that “Incarnational Apologetics is the representative public and private lifestyle of a Christen that validates to the world the absolute truths of the Bible.”[3] In this

instance it was the lifestyle that opened the door to this young lady and her family, it was the informational that allowed me to share the actual truths which helped her understand her need for Christ and salvation and with which she shared it with her brother and grandmother and they then hard the good news of the Gospel. You never know who your life is going to reach. Over the years I have hosted around 30 exchange students from all over the world, I would bring them into my home and lived Jesus in front of them and when the time was right, and they were ready I would share the gospel with them. They came from Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Communist and Atheistic background, but all heard the gospel and several received Jesus, a few once they got back home and saw the difference from where they lived and what they had seen and a few I am still praying for. I long for people to see Jesus in me, so that I can share Him with others. I blow it sometimes and misrepresent Jesus, but I even try to use those circumstances to go back, apologized and share Jesus. I long to make the most of every opportunity because the days are evil[4], and the enemy is destroying lives every minute of every day.

Lindsay, I loved the story and my heart so when out to her. The very first thing above all is praying, I pray for all my neighbors and would make a point to do so for her. Then because she is my neighbor, I would look for an opportunity to meet her, whether it is when she is doing something outside, or taking a plate of cookies or something over to her. I would start building a relationship with her, being vulnerable and sharing my life and hearing about hers. I would have recognized that she has some biblical knowledge and has been exposed to Christians along the way. In our conversations, I might share with her that I am going to school to get my masters, and sometimes it is a lot of work, but I love it. I loved the Story video, so I might take it over there and ask her if she would mind watching this with me, I would explain to her that I would love to know what she thought. I might have the opportunity to share my story with her growing up in a Christian home and meeting a lot of “Christians” who did not walk the walk and how it caused doubts in my heart at times. I also have the app on my phone of Sharing Jesus without Fear, so I might start asking the questions and going through the scriptures, but it would be watching for the open door that God is setting up, making myself available at every opportunity and ready to share Jesus. I would use the incarnational apologetics along with the informational and the three v’s vulnerable, visual and verbal. I would love her, listen to her and share with her at every opportunity so that she could know Jesus in a real way.

[1] Unless otherwise noted, all biblical references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB).

[2] Dave Early and David Wheeler, Evangelism is: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing, 2010), 111.

[3] David Wheeler, Incarnational Apologetics, Liberty University, Module/ Week 6 – Evangelism and the Church – Applying the principles of the Three V’s.” Accessed on October 30, 2018.

[4] Colossians 4:4-6....