Part 3

Our Message to the World

In my experience, many christians fall into one of two categories: the first is one whose faith, no matter how devout, has little effect on their life as a whole, and so they are pretty much the same as the average unbeliever in their beliefs and values. The other group are ones who do feel that their faith should effect their lives, but tend to get caught up rules and externalities. What seems to be most important is keeping the outward appearance of purity and perfection. In either case, what is demonstrated is not the life changing good news that Christ proclaimed. In one case, you have faith not making a difference, and in another it seems to make the wrong kind of difference.

So in one manner of Continue reading →

Part 2

Road Blocks to Evangelism

I dare say that unbelievers may well be afraid of joining us today, but for far different reasons. They fear that they may be judged and unaccepted as they are. I have also heard that they are actually afraid they may become worse people! Christians are often seen as being judgmental, close minded, hypocritical, and unloving. While this may not accurately reflect all christians, at the same time stereotypes don’t just come out of the blue. There are certainly christians both in the past and now who have had these characteristics, even though they would likely try to argue the accusation. While it’s hard to say how many christians fall into one category or another, I believe that there are certainly Continue reading →

Part 1

A Better Way to Stand Out

While there are few direct commands to evangelize in the new testament, there is plenty of directing to live a christian life. There is plenty of teaching about loving one another and practicing all of the virtues, while at the same time warnings for believers not to fall into sin. There is a clear call to live differently than the world does. It has been said, “be in the world but not of it” (though not directly found in the bible), however the exact way that works is not spelled out, and therefore people have different ideas on what it looks like. For some it means having our own music, books, organizations, etc. and being offended at everything “secular”. People will know we are not of the world by Continue reading →

Introduction

Evangelizing is a popular issue among Christians. In fact, it is the word used for the particular tradition from which I come (evangelical). If it is so important, it would follow that we should be interested in understanding and studying it. It’s interesting how often a conversation among christians will turn toward an evangelical bent, either in how the subject matter will be perceived by nonbelievers, or how effective it might be in convincing them to become christian. While it is certainly talked about often, evangelism is often misunderstood in my opinion. Our current teachings on evangelism have left us largely ineffective and feeling guilty. For me personally, evangelism begins by reforming the church. I write here in Continue reading →