In New England, we battle the hard hearts of skeptics while enjoy the open-mindedness of those searching. Engaging our neighbors and communities is important – and there is a way to do it right. Forget the marketing strategies or membership drives, get into conversations with the people you’re around. I think that the challenge facing New England in regards to evangelism and outreach is not in the people who need the gospel, its found in the people who supposedly don’t.
Watch this amazing video featuring Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan from 1930:
Anne Sullivan must have been quite a woman of love, compassion & patience. How long must it have taken to teach and work with Helen Keller, a woman born blind and deaf?! Yet Anne Sullivan did not see someone disposable, but rather someone who had value and was worth spending her time and life with to teach and care for. Amazing!
I have seen recently two billboards in my area which show John 14:6 next to a picture of a cross. I thought it was cool that people had taken the time and money to rent the billboard with these ads rather than the usual. Seeing this billboard now got me thinking. I wonder if John 14:6 is the best verse to put up there – if you only had a few lines and a few seconds – what would you put up on your billboard for one month? John 14:6? A different phrase? Something else altogether?
the following post was written by Joshua from Taiwan:
Recently, while encountering Buddhists and Mormons, I’ve concluded that I must know something about their religious beliefs in order to be effective (in my opinion). Both are heavy on the “afterlife” (an unscriptural term) and both stress works for increased positions.
What is a good way of sharing the good news of Christ and His Kingdom with people of other religions?
Should we spend time reading their “sacred” books?
Is reading their “sacred” books prohibited for us Christians?
(NOTE: When dealing with Mormons, I found the Book of Mormon works well in showcasing the deception of the Mormon religion. [reference: Solomon Spalding; Manuscript Found])
I thought this article was excellent. Â My thoughts to follow:
I’ve heard the quote once too often. It’s time to set the record straight—about the quote, and about the gospel.
Francis of Assisi is said to have said, “Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.â€
This saying is carted out whenever someone wants to suggest that Christians talk about the gospel too much, and live the gospel too little. Fair enough—that can be a problem. Much of the rhetorical power of the quotation comes from the assumption that Francis not only said it but lived it.
I thought the following article by Jonathan Dodson was an excellent and practical outline for good tips for us to follow to keep us in situations where we can see God work to open up opportunites to preach the gospel and love people like Christ. The world we live in is pressing us to remain isolated, become distant from others, and communicate less face to face. It is easy for us to chat online, facebook with people halfway across the globe or even video chat – as long as we don’t have to be in the same room with a real person and have a real conversation!
It has been said (probably right here on this blog) that the Bible is the story of TWO MEN. Another way of saying this is that Scripture tells the story of TWO ADAMS. Which reminds me, I have a 30-40 year old booklet from a former old-school Advent Christian preacher on this subject that I one day need to transcribe into the digital realm. Maybe I’ll get to that in the future and post it here. But for now, there is a very nice “web” paper on this same subject from the folks over at biblicalunitarian.com entitled “Christianity 101: Two Adams“.
Restoration Fellowship has done it again with, The Forgotten Gospel, a 53 minute documentary. The gospel is the proclamation that Jesus and his followers made from town to town. If one repents and believes in the gospel his or her sins are wiped away and they begin to follow the narrow path whose end is the kingdom of God. Needless to say, getting the gospel right is the first priority of Bible study, because our very salvation depends on it. Yet, the gospel has been mutilated and the part that has been cut out is what Jesus preached–the kingdom of God. So far as I understand it, the gospel has three major elements:
I thought it was cool that people had taken the time and money to rent the billboard with these ads rather than the usual. Seeing this billboard now got me thinking. I wonder if John 14:6 is the best verse to put up there – if you only had a few lines and a few seconds – what would you put up on your billboard for one month? John 14:6? A different phrase? Something else altogether?
Recently, while encountering Buddhists and Mormons, I’ve concluded that I must know something about their religious beliefs in order to be effective (in my opinion). Both are heavy on the “afterlife” (an unscriptural term) and both stress works for increased positions.