The 2011 Pride Charlotte Festival takes place on August 27th in Uptown Charlotte, NC, and is the culmination of gay pride week celebrating the local lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community (LGBT). With the recent passing of New York state lawlegalizing homosexual marriage, the turnout for this event is expected to be greater than otherwise anticipated (Chicago estimates 750,000 attendees during the Chicago Pride Festival).
If you have a compassionate desire to seek the lost in the gay community, we invite you to join us in sharing the Gospel of Christ with the participants of Pride Charlotte. We expect this to be a challenging day as sexual immorality, wickedness, and rejection will abound, nevertheless, into battle we must go – and we have a plan.
We are currently raising money to purchase 20,000 customized Gospel tracts to distribute for this event. As we have raised about 70% of the funds necessary to purchase the tracts, we can still use your financial support to achieve our goal of $700. If you are unable to attend this event, this would be a great way for you to partner with us. Please see The Rainbow Gospel Tract Fundraiser for details.
With the help of committed evangelists, we will be able to distribute all of these tracts and take opportunity to engage in one-on-one witnessing as the Lord permits. The Rainbow Promise message is one of truth and love and makes no direct charge against the sin of homosexuality. Contrary to the message of some street preachers who preach condemnation with their own wicked speech, our message will be one of patience, humility, and grace as we seek to save that which is lost. After all, it is only by the grace of God that any of us have been saved from the bondage of our sin and the wrath of God to come, and it is this message we proclaim that sinners will be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ by repentant faith.
We pray the Lord will stir you with courage to join us on the streets to engage the homosexual community with the only Hope of salvation. As Christ said to His disciples in Matthew 9:37-38,
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
Will you labor with us? You are free to join us for the whole day or as time permits you. Please RSVP at the facebook event page and let us know if you have any questions.
Though we go into battle facing “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12), we go not into battle alone. Our God is greater than he that is in the world, and He has armed us with the armor of Light to boldly go forth to make His name known to the ends of the earth, even the darkest of places. Let us take refuge in our Great God and King, our strength and the Rock of our salvation, our fortress and our shield, trusting that He has equipped us for every good work. Let us be faithful servants of the Most High God, loyal to the Great Commission set before us, being vessels of truth to seek and save that which is lost. Soli Deo Gloria!
My wife, Jennifer, and I took our two children up to the neighborhood pool late yesterday afternoon to wear them out a bit before bedtime. For some reason, Sundays are not conducive to nap times so a little time in the sun and water always does the trick. After an hour so, I overheard two of the lifeguards mention God and Jesus, but couldn’t hear the specifics of the conversation. I switched babies with Jen (the youngest is nine months old) and waded over to the lifeguard stand to see what the conversation was about. When I arrived, I believe it was Morgan who said she was not about to have “that” conversation with Travis, so of course I cordially said with a smile, “well, I’d like to have that conversation, what are you talking about?”
Travis jumped in to say he thought Jesus was a conman and seemed to say He deceived people into believing the miracles He performed. I asked Travis how he knew whether that was in fact true, and he told me he didn’t know for sure. We ended up getting into a great conversation and I was able to share the Gospel with him. At this point in Travis’ life, he admits to believing in God, but doesn’t really know who He is or what He has done, and most of all he says we can’t know for sure. Essentially, Travis has broken the 2nd commandment to not form any graven images for he has created a god in his own mind to conform to himself.
Travis admitted to never reading the Bible and everything he thought he knew of Christianity was based on what he saw in professing Christians – hypocrites, corrupt preachers, and judgmental Pharisees. I told Travis he could not base his understanding of Christianity on people but on the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in the Word of God. I also told him to never take a preacher’s word for truth simply because it comes from the mouth of a so-called preacher, but he must search the Scriptures for himself to discover the truth. At the end of our conversation, I pointed Travis to our website here and told him I would bring him a Bible next time we go to the pool. If everything I told Travis was indeed true about the afterlife, and it is I urged him, then he must do everything in his power to come to an understanding of the truth and avoid the lake of fire. I pray the Lord uses this conversation to cause Travis to seek the Truth that he would find it.
Something that really struck me during our conversation was Travis’ comment that I was the first professing Christian he’d spoken with who had not gotten mad – that I was not angry toward Travis or getting heated in an argument. Of course, I have no idea how many of these types of conversations Travis has had with professing Christians, and his perception of how a conversation goes is a subjective interpretation, but it served as a reminder that we must be careful with how we engage the lost with our speech.
1 Peter 3:15 tells us,
…but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…
With gentleness and respect – every single conversation we have when engaging the lost with the Gospel must be centered on the Hope that is found in Jesus Christ alone. We must do this in a manner that is not condemning of the person, for as Christ said, they are “condemned already” (John 3:18). There is no reason why we should ever be coarse in our speech toward sinners, and we must always take heed to respect the individual to whom we are speaking.
In Colossians 4:6 we are commanded,
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
It is pointless and vain to engage the lost in spiritual conversations for the sake of argument or trying to prove a point. This is not to say that argument (reasoning) doesn’t have it’s place (it most certainly does), but what good is it to seemingly win an argument for mere bragging rights? What good is it to be overzealous toward people to leave sour tastes in their mouths and the impression that we are angry, judgmental, condemning, or self-righteous (although truth spoken, no matter how gracious, is sometimes perceived as such by some people)? No, our speech must be gracious. It must be seasoned with grace and truth, pertinent to the questions that are asked. Be forthright in your speech, but do not lack grace so to disgruntle the listener. We must not give our hearers any reason to find fault in our speech, but rather,
having a good conscience…when [we] are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. – 1 Peter 3:16
We are not responsible for the religious hypocrites who, in the name of God, blast sinners with condemnation. Whether they are the Westboro Baptist types, Pelagian heretics who preach on the street, or the run-of-the-mill pew warmer blind by the planks in their own eyes, God will deal with them. However in light of these hypocrites, we must all the more be sure that
no corrupting talk come out of [our] mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. – Ephesians 4:29
No matter the hearer, whether fellow Christian or non-believer, we must speak the truth in love. After all, this is all part of our sanctification that we
…must rid [ourselves] of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from [our] lips. – Colossians 3:8
It was encouraging and a blessing to be told that my speech toward Travis was implied to be “seasoned with salt”. I pray the Lord uses my testimony before Travis to draw Travis to Himself, and I pray this post might serve to remind and edify my brothers and sisters to be wise and mindful of your speech toward outsiders, holding fast to the following from 2 Timothy 2:24-26:
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
May the Lord continue to conform us to our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.
These two videos from Tony Miano are very instructive. In the first video, Tony completes the reading from 1 John, calling for people to examine themselves in light of the Word of God. If one does not believe in the God of the Bible as defined by the God of the Bible, then one has created a god in their own image. If one does not believe in Jesus as defined through Holy Scripture but instead cherry picks particular verses to form their religious dogma, then they have created a false jesus - one that does not exist. I call such people to consider what has been presented in the following series:Jesus: Holy and Righteous God of Love and Wrath
In the second video, Tony speaks with Oscar, a fellow believer who has struggled in openly sharing his faith with strangers. Listen to Tony encourage Oscar, and if you find yourself in the same shoes as Oscar, pray that God would give you the courage and help you overcome your fears in witnessing to strangers. You may find the resources at The Speak:Truth Projecthelpful.
If you’ve never visited presuppositional apologist Sye TenBruggencate’s web page, then it’s a must that you do. He provides an easy-to-understand interactive tool to fundamentally prove the existence of God through logic. For a little while now, I’ve been interested in studying presuppositional apologetics so to strengthen my understanding of logic to be used in witnessing encounters. I’ve been able to pick up things here and there (thanks to Chad Williams and Dustin Segers), and finding Sye’s website has helped me understand it more systematically. I’m really eager to study this more in depth.
From the website, Sye states:
You have likely heard that it is impossible to prove that God exists. You have heard wrong. Not only can the existence of God be proven, denying the proof undermines rational thought. It is true that God does not need anyone, let alone this website, to prove His existence. The Bible teaches that the existence of God is so obvious that we are without excuse for denying Him. No one needs proof that God exists, I simply offer these 8 steps to the logical proof of God’s existence in addition to what you already know (and may be suppressing).
Whether you are an unbeliever or someone desiring to sharpen their understanding of the nature of laws and how they are necessary to prove anything, then please do visit Sye’s website, Proof That God Exists. If one doesn’t start with God, then they have no basis for rational thought unless they borrow from the Christian worldview, which states God is the author of truth, logic, mathematical laws, scientific laws, and moral laws . You will find this basic proof very useful when engaging Atheists and/or moral relativists on the street and elsewhere.
A couple of weeks ago I was thinking about the blessed opportunity of a local brother who is able to open-air preach in Uptown Charlotte every Friday on his lunch break. Uptown is a very busy, pedestrian-friendly city center populated with corporate businesses, shops, and restaurants, thus giving this brother potentially hundreds of people to hear the proclamation of the Gospel each week. As I thought about his personal ministry, I began to wish I was able to do such a thing – and then it hit me after a few moments – I DO have such an opportunity to engage the lost during my lunch break! I immediately rejoiced and thanked God for revealing to me another avenue for which I can share the Gospel with a dying world.
My workplace happens to be along a busy bus route that services local public health, social services, and a chemical dependency center. Any time I pass these bus stops, there’s anywhere from a handful to 1 or 2 dozen of people, so there’s usually always someone there to engage. Since last week, I’ve been able to get out there 4 or 5 times, spending anywhere from 10 to 35 minutes during my lunch break.
The challenging part about this type of witnessing is that you have a limited amount of time to share the Gospel with the buses coming every 20 minutes. I’ve realized I need to sharpen my delivery of the Gospel as I ran out of time on a couple of occasions, so this is going to bless me in that regard. When time allows, it’s wonderful to be able to share deeper truths with people, but oftentimes we must be concise and keep the focus on the essentials of the Gospel.
After meeting a professing Christian and encouraging her for about 10 minutes yesterday, the bus arrived and I was able to hand out 10 or so more tracts to those waiting to get on the bus. I proceeded across the street on the way back to my truck when I saw 3 men waiting for the outbound bus. I looked at my watch and saw that I had a few minutes left before I had to get back to work. I handed a tract to each one and told them the back of the tract contained the “trillion dollar question.” Anthony began reading the tract on the spot, reading it intensely in fact. I really didn’t know what to say as he was concentrating, then all of a sudden he cracked a slight smile and said, “man, I think I was fine until I got there” – he was referring to adultery in the heart, the sin of lust.
As God would have it, for the next 20 minutes I was able to share the best news that Anthony had ever heard. We talked about the Law of God and the fact we have all sinned against Him, and we all deserve the just punishment in hell. When I explained to Him the sacrifice of Christ and the beauty of the Savior to redeem a people for Himself, he was taken aback as he had never heard it explained like that before. It was apparent Anthony could feel the weight of his sin and the bloody price paid for sinners as he wiped tears from his eyes several times during our conversation.
I pleaded with Anthony that if he hears the voice of the Son of God speaking through me and the Word of God, if God had given him ears to hear the voice of the Good Shepherd to repent and follow Him, then don’t wait any longer. Today is the day of salvation, and the Lord of glory is worthy to be served, loved, obeyed, worshiped, and praised with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength. This Jesus who is coming back in flaming fire to take vengeance upon those who disobey the Gospel of Christ, who will show no mercy to those who refuse to bow down to Him today, is offering mercy to sinners now! I told Anthony if he believed everything I was saying as truth, and he wants to be set free from the bondage of his sin, putting on the yoke of Christ to learn from Him, then just cry out to Him calling upon the name of the Lord to save him from his sins. I told him he doesn’t need to repeat a prayer or go to the alter of a church, he just needs to get alone with God and be reconciled to him.
Then Anthony said,
I think I just did that.
I said,
what do you mean?
He responded,
I didn’t cry out loud, I just cried out inside – in my heart.
“Hallelujah” burst from my lips in near unbelief, it was incredible.
To see the sovereign work of God in a man is indescribable if what had just happened was genuine. As the bus came over the hill, I gave Anthony my card and explained to him the resources found on airō. I told him I’d love to get up with him and talk more about this, and he was eager to send me his email address. Anthony explained to me he knew everything in his past had driven him to this point in time to speak with me, and I told him I expected to hear from him. I gave him a Gospel of John and also pointed him to 1st John, and he was on his way.
As you might imagine, I rejoiced the whole way back to work. I was so thrilled by this Divine appointment that I got out of my truck with the keys still in the ignition and the engine running. I can’t say in absolute terms that Anthony was born again yesterday, but if what I witnessed was indeed the manifestation of sovereign grace, I trust God will finish the work He started in Anthony regardless of whether he follows up with me.
This is just one amazing story of Grace working through me to touch the life of another potential sheep of the Good Shepherd. By taking a few minutes out of my day to reach out to others, God has blessed me richly through the proclamation of the Gospel during my day. I want to ask you to consider how you might be able to do the same during your day.
What kind of opportunities might you have throughout the day that you’ve never considered before? Are you also along a transit route? Are you near a shopping center or other type of pedestrian-friendly area? Can you take half of your lunch break to go out and hand a few tracts to people? Who is just right outside your door that you’ve never engaged? If you have this opportunity, won’t you consider getting out of your comfort zone, stepping out on faith to see what God will do?
What should be the basis of our evangelistic efforts? Should Scripture be our guide or should we depend upon what we perceive to be the best methods according to cultural perception? Should we be confrontational or relational? How did Jesus and His disciples evangelize the lost? Do we have to develop friendships with people before sharing the Gospel? Or can we share the Gospel with any stranger?
In the following article from December 2009, Tony Miano addresses these questions and more in his article titled, Why Friendship Evangelism Is Neither Friendship Nor Evangelism. I hope you take the time to read this compassionate yet truthful article explaining why friendship evangelism is not Scriptural.
I also added a video from Tony below his article, which I encourage you to watch to see how this biblical approach brings conviction to the heart in order for grace to cover sin.
Why Friendship Evangelism Is Neither Friendship Nor Evangelism
Not long ago, I received the following message from a friend on Facebook. While it is a topic I've tackled many times in the past, I thought the way my friend honestly asked her question accurately expressed how many Christians feel about sharing the gospel with their friends. Her words also helped to reaffirm what I have believed for a very long time. "Friendship Evangelism" (as it is most commonly taught and practiced by Christians) is neither friendship nor evangelism.
With my friend's permission, I would like to share her note with you; and then I will answer her question.
I have made a lifetime of friends, and up until about 6 years ago, I was a partier and not walking with the Lord. Since become a Christian, I have made myself known to all, but not gone out of my way to share the gospel. I know my friends "think" they know what the Bible says and I also know that they don't want me to preach or share. I have hoped that Facebook would encourage them to ask me, but they don't.
I watch like a voyeur, their lives on FaceBook and I hate it. I see them post pictures of nights on the town, glazed eyes, draped over a different guy in each shot. Today I read as they talked about spending money frivolously and obnoxiously. I see so much "selfism" and today it really started to hurt.
I keep thinking that, by example, they might want to know more or ask...instead I see them avoid my page and my comments. They never address anything I say regarding our Savior, God, or the written word, and only comment on the "regular" things I post.
Most of my "friends" from the past, I still DO care about their salvation. I'm certain that my approach will mean the end of life-long friendships. Should I just keep exposing the Lord to them? Our Christmas cards and small other things are about all the contact we really have. Should I just go for broke and risk turning them off completely? I know it would mean the end of friendships in most cases.
Part of me knows that losing these friendships shouldn't matter. I'm more concerned that is I can keep the door open, they might ...might...someday come to repentance. I want the door to remain open.
I need some advice. I'm pretty sure your going to tell me to go for it...but I thought you might have a perspective or a way that I should use as an approach . . .
[P.S.] I'm thinking of how to approach evangelizing them. I know the approach that Ray uses, letting them convict themselves through the 10 Commandments (which really works) and you too have mastered it. I have also been told tho have them read the word themselves because the word has power. As a chicken, I was hoping to be "non-confrontational" and send it in a letter. A letter of love, and a pouring out of my heart for them. But that leaves them with the ability to not answer, or reply. I know that God would use me MUCH better if I had the nerve to deliver my (HIS) message in person. I want to engage their minds. I've never been a "chicken." I don't want to fail God. I want my (HIS) words to pierce. So...praying and waiting for His inspiration and His way to lead me, and maybe your words will help push me into the world. I'm NOT ashamed of Him, I'm afraid of them, so to speak. I know if He is with me, who can be against me? Why...do I struggle? Oh, the flesh.
Before I answer my friend's questions, it is important that I preface my commentary with a few clarifying remarks. First, my commentary is not a critique of my friend--of neither her love for Christ nor her love for people. I do not question her salvation or the genuineness of her desire for her friends to be saved. My commentary is, however, a pointed critique of what I believe is a profoundly effective tool of Satan--"Friendship" or "Relationship" evangelism.
I believe many Christians practice "Friendship Evangelism" with sincerity. But sadly it is a sincerity most often born out of ignorance--an ignorance of the Word of God in general and evangelism in particular. At the same time, I feel no such obligation to charity toward authors, pastors, teachers, speakers, and movement leaders who propagate this spiritual fraud upon followers of Christ--both true and false converts. Theirs will be a stricter judgment (James 3:1).
Now, let me take a moment to answer a couple of baseless objections to my position before I even articulate my position. I do this in advance of making my case because I know for some Christians "Friendship Evangelism" is treated like a sacred cow, an essential evangelism tradition. I use the word "tradition" since there is no biblical support for this methodology and philosophy for ministry. And it's traditions like this one that are evidence of the sad reality that evangelicalism, especially the American variety, has yet to completely break free of Rome.
Allow me to make it very clear that Christian evangelists are called by the Word of God to be both friendly and relational. "If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:3). To be opposed to "Friendship Evangelism," as it is most commonly practiced, is not to be opposed to friendship or relationships. But a godly and biblical Christian will put God and friends before and above friendships. More on this later.
Secondly, a common objection to an argument against "Friendship Evangelism" is, "There are many ways to share the gospel and friendship evangelism is one of them." Not so. There is only one way to communicate the gospel, which can take but a few forms--the Bible's way. Any methodology that is extra-biblical (meaning: the Bible neither commands nor condemns the activity), the method should be approached and applied with extra care and caution. The spurious fruit and the measurable harm done by "Friendship Evangelism" is evidence the American Church has thrown caution to the wind and has operated carelessly when applying this extra-biblical, faux-evangelistic methodology.
With the above in mind, I will now address my friend's questions and concerns.
My friend wrote:
"I have made myself known to all, but not gone out of my way to share the gospel."
In a sentence my friend summed up one of the great deficiencies of "Friendship Evangelism." With fewer than 5% of all professing Christians sharing the gospel with a single person in a year's time, it's pretty obvious that most Christians practicing "Friendship Evangelism" are part of that indefensible number. Why? Because in "Friendship Evangelism" the Christian spends far more time making themselves known to their friends than making Christ known to their friends.
Many Christians who practice "Friendship Evangelism" have been led to believe that it is evangelistic to live a perceptible Christian life in front of unbelievers or to say to openly admit to unbelievers that they are Christians. There is nothing remarkable about such an admission, especially in America. The majority of the American population will indicate on surveys and censuses that they are Christians. Many Christians will answer the "What religion are you" question with "I'm a Christian" for no other reason than they are not Jewish, Muslim, or Atheist. To check the Christian box is the default position or most Americans. But many are no more Christian than the Jew, Muslim, or Atheist.
Part of the evidence that "Friendship Evangelism" is not evangelistic is the practice makes the Christian known but it all-too-often fails to make Christ known.
My friend wrote:
"They [her friends] don't want me to preach or share."
Modern evangelicalism has wrongly placed an unregenerate sinner's felt needs over their very real need of salvation. This is not to say that we shouldn't address a person's felt needs. In doing so, one can often discover that the root of a particular felt need is sin; which then presents the opportunity to share the Law and the gospel with that person. However, where evangelicalism has woefully dropped the ball is in the practice of trying to meet felt needs and stopping there, as if to address felt needs is the same as evangelism.
More to the point regarding my friend's assertion: of course the unregenerate doesn't want their Christian friends to proclaim the gospel to them. Why? They hate Jesus. They love their sin and they hate God. Cockroaches don't run to the center of the floor and square dance when you turn on the kitchen light. They flee to the dark regions underneath the cabinets and appliances. They hate the light. And so does the unregenerate sinner. Their love for the darkness of their sin is so great that any holy light brought to bear in their lives is not only uncomfortable and unpleasant. It's detestable.
Sadly, modern evangelicalism has responded to this reality by doing everything it can to engage lost sinners in their culture and according to their felt needs without ever bothering to flip the light switch of the gospel. Evangelicalism has allowed how lost people feel about "the light" determine whether or not it shines the light. Frankly, it doesn't matter what the lost person wants. What matters is what they need. And what they need is salvation by the grace of God alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. What they need, whether they feel it or not, is to to repent and believe the gospel.
My friend wrote:
"I keep thinking that, by example, they might want to know more or ask...instead I see them avoid my page and my comments."
Part of the evidence that "Friendship Evangelism" is not evangelistic is the practice of "Assisi-ism."
Francis of Assisi is far-too-often quoted as saying, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." There are two problems with this quote: 1) it is unbiblical; and 2) Assisi never said it. Catholic scholars have methodically and exhaustively searched the extant writings of Assisi and cannot attribute the quote to him. These days, this is common knowledge. Yet Christians continue refer to the mythical quote and worse, apply it in their lives. The quote also has a modern-day translation. It goes something like this. "Live your life in such a way that people ask you why."
While it is true that our good works, when performed for the glory of God alone, can cause lost people to glorify God (Matthew 5:16); that is not to say by living a Christian life in front of lost people that they are going to see Jesus in you. Why? The reason is simple enough. Unregenerate sinners are spiritually blind.
"The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned" (I Cor. 2:14).
The gospel is a spoken message--meaning it is communicated in verbal and/or written formats.
"How then will they call on him of whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!' But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?' So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:14-17).
With 150,000 people dying every day, and the vast majority of them facing God's judgment (Matthew 7:13-14), it amounts to depraved indifference to wait for the lost people around us to see something special in us and ask what's different about us. We are commanded by God's Word to go (Matthew 28:18-20) and preach (Mark 16:15) the gospel to as many people as we can, whenever we can, as often as we can. Time is far too short to wait for spiritually blind people to see Jesus in Christians who are still clothed in sinful human flesh.
My friend wrote:
"I'm certain that my approach will mean the end of life-long friendships."
The tragic result of "Friendship Evangelism," as it is most often practiced by Christians, is that friendships often become more important than the soul of friends. Christians have been wrongly convinced that they must take time (often lots of time) to cultivate relationships with people so that, someday, they may gain the lost person's permission, to "earn the right" to share the gospel with them. So the Christian invests time, energy, and resources sincerely trying to establish loving and caring relationships with people. Is it wrong to do that? No. But the all-too-often tragic result of the practice is that if the Christian every gets the courage or desire to share the gospel with their lost friend, they won't. Why? The reason: the Christian doesn't want to do anything to jeopardize the relationship they've worked so hard to build. So, again, the friendship becomes more important than the soul of the friend.
Upon closer inspection, this is really selfish behavior. Does the Christian believe that they are so valuable that their lost friend can't live without them? Or is it that the Christian derives so much pleasure out of the relationship, from what their lost friend does for them that they don't want to ruin a "good thing?"
Jesus said, "Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). If Christians truly love their lost friends they will give up everything, even their very lives, certainly their relationships, so that those same lost friends might have eternal life. Or do Christians really want their friends to be with them more than they want them to be with Jesus?
My friend wrote:
"Part of me knows that losing these friendships shouldn't matter. I'm more concerned that is I can keep the door open, they might ...might...someday come to repentance. I want the door to remain open."
No Christian can close a door God wants open. No Christian can open a door God wants shut. God is sovereign. And He doesn't need our help. The gospel alone is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1:16). God, by His grace, chooses to use His children to communicate that life-saving gospel to a lost and dying world. No one goes to heaven because we've made friends with them. And no one goes to hell because we've failed to establish relationships with people.
In closing, let me reiterate that Christians should be friendly with people. We should speak the truth in love. Evangelism isn't a game. It's not a sport. It is what God has called every follower of Christ to do. Evangelism is a lifestyle--not that the way we live our life is evangelism; but rather our verbal proclamation of the gospel should permeate every aspect of our life and impact every relationship we have.
My friend understands all of this. She knows what she must do. She acknowledged as much toward the end of her note. And I hope I've answered her questions, and maybe some of yours, too.
Yesterday on airō I posted an article titled Osama, Terrorism, Despair, and Hope and closed with how the death of Osama bin Laden has given us an incredible opportunity to share the Gospel with the lost. No doubt every person you come in contact with has an opinion on the matter, and I can think of no easier way to transition into a spiritual conversation than using bin Laden as an icebreaker.
In the aforementioned article, I mentioned I would put together a list of survey questions to ask folks in order to share the Gospel with them. Living Waters offers a similar Survey Pad, and I think such a strategy would be perfect to employ during an evangelism outreach. Here’s what I’ve got so far:
1. Where were you when you heard the news about the terrorist attacks on 9/11? ________________________
2. Where were you when you heard the news about Osama bin Laden? _________________________________
3. What was your initial reaction? _____________________________________________________________
4. Do you believe they should have captured him to be put on trial?
___________________________________
5. Do you feel safer now that bin Laden is dead? __________________________________________________
6. Do you believe the United States will be attacked in the near future?
_________________________________
7. Where do you believe Osama bin Laden is now? ________________________________________________
8. Where do you believe Ronald Reagan is? ___________
9. How about Hitler? __________
10. Pope John Paul II? _________
11. Saddam Hussein? _________
12. Ghandi? __________
13. Mother Teresa? ____________
14. Timothy McVeigh? __________
15. Michael Jackson? ____________
16. Princess Diana? __________
17. Joseph Stalin? __________
18. John F. Kennedy? ____________
19. Among these people, how did you determine whether they went to heaven or hell?
_______________________
20. If a terrorist avenged bin Laden’s death right here and right now with a bomb, where would you go? __________
21. Do you consider yourself to be a good person? _____________
22. How many lies have you told…
From this point on, you can take them through the Law and the Gospel, such as the way Ray Comfort lovingly instructs the young man in the video below.
I plan on printing these out in a Word document to keep with me, especially during evangelism events. What are your thoughts? Do you have any questions to add? If you decide to use this strategy to witness to people, we’d love to hear about it in the comments below!
Update: For your convenience, you can download this survey from Google Documents here: Bin Laden Evangelism Survey
One of my most favorite things to do in life is to enjoy the great outdoors. Last Saturday, a group of us headed to Grandfather Mountain in Western North Carolina to meet up with a couple of dear friends, Josh and Steve, who recently moved from Charlotte to pastor Higher Ground Church of God in Pineola, NC. We also brought our families with us, so while we hiked the mountain, our wives and children spent the day hanging out.
The weather could not have been more perfect. We got started around 10am and I was excited about all the people we would be seeing on the mountain. The ice got broken for tract distribution as a gentleman took our picture near the Mile High Bridge, and I responded in kind with a Million Dollar tip!
Aaron and I both brought tracts with us for the hike, and between us both, I imagine we were blessed to hand out approximately 50 tracts. We may have only spoken to one individual for a few minutes on one occasion, but dozens of people received the Gospel in their hands. This gentleman in particular had mentioned he has been meaning to read his Bible and “get things right” for a while, so I can only imagine what it meant for him that we spoke the truth of God’s Word to him on the side of a mountain (literally on a ladder on the side of a mountain!). Most people were elated and appreciative of what we handed them, and on a couple of occasions we met believers, which is always an encouraging experience.
The best part of our day was our time of fellowship together, especially during lunch. Aaron had prepared a devotional about peaks and valleys and where our focus must remain through times of prosperity and trying times – on Christ. We also sang a couple of songs and worshiped the Creator together. It was really a sweet moment and epitomized what true fellowship is for the Body of Christ. It seems most of our conversations throughout the hike were centered on God, and it was such a blessing to be in the company of like-minded believers who desired the same fellowship.
So dear friends, I encourage you to consider an outing where you might fellowship and worship our God in the great outdoors. It is so refreshing to “get away” for a day and spend time in God’s creation with other believers. It also affords you the opportunity to witness to the lost literally on “the ends of the earth”.
Even if you are not in a group, always keep Gospel tracts handy and have courage to hand them out wherever you go. Had we left our tracts at home, it would have been a wasted opportunity to get the Gospel in the hands of folks we may have otherwise had no other contact.
Do you have any plans for this spring and summer? Camping, hiking, fishing, mountains, beach, four-wheeling, horseback riding, lakes, rivers, etc.? If not, try making some – and don’t forget your tracts!
You can check out the rest of our photos onfacebook.
Something incredible happened at work today. Due to the nature of my job, opportunities to share the Gospel with people at work do not come very often. Lately, I have tried to frame my conversations in a way that reveals I am a Christian (like inserting references to church into conversations, etc.), but I have not shared the Gospel with anyone – until today!
Several times a year we have vendors come in to do service on our various laboratory instruments and equipment. Back in the fall, we had one such vendor come in but I could not get around to swing into a spiritual conversation. I tried to plant a few feelers to see where he was at spiritually (like where he might go to church), but they hit a dead end. But today was a different story…
Just after “Joe” arrived today, I believe the Lord pressed upon me to share the Gospel with him. For about 20 minutes I fumbled over my thoughts, wrestling with how I might swing into a spiritual conversation. After all, Joe was going to be here for a few hours and he was just getting started. What was I to do if the conversation with south? I finally came to my senses, then all the sudden I blurted out something about the situation in Japan concerning the nuke crisis. Joe agreed that it was serious, but the conversation didn’t really go anywhere.
A few minutes later I asked if there were any nuclear stations where he lived, and there is one, and told him we have two in the Charlotte area. He said it was a good thing there are no fault lines here, and I said I actually think there is, and in fact there were several tremors in NC in the past couple of weeks. Joe then said there are earthquakes everywhere, volcanoes, etc., and the world seemed like it was falling apart. He said he’s hearing other people say this as well. I thought to myself, “wow, here we go!” Joe made mention of the Mayan calender and 2012, and I said I don’t think the Mayan calender has anything to do with it, but I believe Scripture does.
Long story short, I eventually got to the crux of the matter that 10 out of 10 people die, and it could happen instantly for any of us whether it’s a terrorist attack, natural disaster, etc. I asked him what he thought would happen to him, what came for him after death, and Joe said he wasn’t sure. He gave me a brief background of his Catholic upbringing, but hadn’t returned to the Catholic church since a young boy. Joe said he knows he needs to believe in something, and I told him that while that is true, believing in the right thing is what matters.
From there we went through the 10 Commandments and the Gospel, and it was a wonderful conversation. Joe had many questions and understood the predicament he is in. He seemed astounded that eternal life is not something we have to wait for until we die, but that we can have eternal life now. Joe understood just how much it would cost him to become a child of God, and he admitted it was a lot to think about. Unfortunately, my colleague came in about this time and this interrupted the conversation, but we were able to get through the whole Gospel nevertheless.
A couple hours went by and Joe finished up his work. I escorted him outside and along the way he said he wished we got to talk more, but he knew this wasn’t the end of the conversation. I then had the opportunity to make clear that Jesus said,
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. – Matthew 11:28-30
And,
Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – John 4:13-14
And finally,
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. – John 6:37
I explained to Joe that all who God draws and comes to Him, He will in no way cast them away. Then Joe said,
I know, I can feel it.
It was so awesome to hear. I may have been witnessing the Holy Spirit drawing Joe to Himself, and I told him,
if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. – Romans 10:9
Wrapping up the conversation, I gave Joe a copy of Are You Ready? and It Will Cost You Everything
I asked him if he had a Bible to which he said “no, but I’m going to go with my daughter to get one.” How cool is that?
Joe was so thankful we had this conversation and knew it was not coincidence. He said for 3 years now he knew something wasn’t right, and it seemed like everything was coming together for him now. Joe said he’d be in touch as I told him I was at his full disposal for questions, etc. I can’t wait to hear from him to see what God is doing, and I pray soon I can call Joe my brother – what a glorious day that will be!
I hope this has encouraged you to share the Gospel in your own workplace. It was an incredible experience and I’m so thankful God used me to speak the Truth to Joe. Pray the Lord keeps you sensitive to your surroundings at work to look for opportunities to witness and the courage to do so, and try stepping out on faith to create those opportunities. See what can happen when you do?
For several months now, I believe the Lord has been drawing and preparing me to preach in the open air. Through wonderful ministries like Go.Stand.Speak and Living Waters, God has equipped and greatly encouraged me to get “on the box“. I knew the day was coming when I would preach on the street for the first time, and that day came on Friday.
Over the last week I had the opportunity to meet a great new friend, Scott Smith, who had organized an evangelism outreach in Charlotte, NC for the NCAA tournament with Bill Adams of Sports Fan Outreach International. I joined the group on Friday afternoon in front of Time Warner Cable arena, where they were already set up with microphone and speaker. Having fellowshipped and witnessed with a few of the guys for a couple of hours, I was asked if I was ready to preach. Truth be told, I had not planned on preaching on Friday, but as this new group of friends encouraged me and gave me a few pointers, what better day to preach the Gospel than this day? After taking a few minutes to prepare, I prayed that God would strengthen me and give me the words to bring Him glory – and I’m here to tell you our God did not leave me or forsake me. The Holy Spirit was with me every second!
Having learned much from Project Ezra and being drawn to preach from 1st John, I began with the Apostle Paul’s exhortation in 2 Corinthians 13:5,
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.
From there, I gave a brief testimony as a false convert for 22 years, and bridged this into an introduction of 1st John. I then proceeded into chapter 1 verse 5 where the Apostle John tells us,
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
I have never preached before. And even though I was nervous before I started, and my flesh resisted and was looking for any excuse to not get on the microphone, God empowered me to preach His Word and helped me overcome my flesh. This was one of the most clear experiences I have had to step out on faith. There is no way possible I could have done this on my own, much less have wanted to, but through faith and obedience, God equipped me to serve Him through the proclamation of His Word. Once I got into my testimony and proceeded into 1st John, it was as if I had preached many times before. I was not nervous, and God gave me every word necessary to fulfill His purposes. Amazingly enough and to the glory of God, I preached for 30-45 minutes.
1st John is a beautiful gift God has given us for faith examination and biblical assurance of salvation. As you can see in the first test in verses 5-10, there is a clear contrast between those who give mere lip service to God, who are Christians in name only, and those who by sovereign grace have surrendered to His Lordship and are cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. There are numerous such tests in 1st John, and I found it to be a wonderful book to preach from on Friday.
1st John is also so varied that you have opportunity to touch on many biblical doctrines such as the deity of Christ, saving faith, sanctification, false disciples, perseverance, false conversion, holy living, practical righteousness, deception, sacrificial love, brotherly love, proof of one’s love for God through obedience to His commandments, testing the spirits, defending the faith against cults and heresies, and assurance of salvation. Expositing through 1st John enabled me to preach from many other passages in the New Testament that included godly sorrow, repentance, surrendering to Christ’s Lordship, forgiveness, loving your enemies, hell, the wrath and judgment of God, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Law, mercy, and grace.
All this to say, you will not be short of a sermon by preaching through this epistle!
I share this with you as an encouragement to step out on faith in whatever area of evangelism you find yourself fearful or lacking. I can’t tell you how joyful it was after open-air preaching for the first time, and God gave me every tool I needed, not lacking in anything! God has been molding me, just as He is molding you as “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
A dear brother sent me a message on facebook after I posted a status update about preaching for the first time. It was his first time witnessing one-to-one with a stranger. Just like me, God is helping him overcome his fears, and just like us, God will help you overcome your fears. You just got to trust that He will and step out on faith. To put into perspective what God has done in me recently, this time last year I had never handed a Gospel tract to someone before, much less witnessed to a stranger. Not only that, but public presentation has always been an obstacle for me. But see what God has done?
So what’s keeping you from taking that next step? Every born again believer is commanded to obey the Great Commission, so if one of hundreds of potential fears is holding you back, what are you going to do about it? We shouldn’t and can’t wait for people to come to us for witnessing opportunities. After all, when was the last time you went fishing and the fish jumped in the boat? You have to cast your line into the sea if you are to catch any fish. Are you ready to accomplish your next first?
If you are faithful in prayer and hiding God’s Word in your heart, “the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say” (Luke 12:12). We can then “preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2).
I’d like to personally thank Scott Smith, Andrew Burgess, and Alex Burroughs for encouraging me to leap over this hurdle of faith on Friday. Additionally, I’d like to thank in the deepest respect Tony Miano, Chad Williams, Ray Comfort, Kirk Cameron, Pat Necerato, and the many associated evangelism ministries that God has used to bring me to where I am today in fulfilling the Great Commission. May He eternally receive all the glory, honor, and praise!
If you would like to go through the book of 1st John with other believers, I encourage you to join us as we go through the remainder of the New Testament, beginning with 1st John tomorrow on facebook.
As I didn’t get a chance to explain the concept of these Project Challenges in Project Challenge #1 – Tsunami, I’d like to take a minute to do that before proceeding with the next challenge.
An integral part of this ministry is to help saints overcome their fears in evangelism. One thing I learned last year and continue to see its application in my own life is that the cliche, “practice makes perfect”, holds true for evangelism. A basketball player will never be good at free throws if he doesn’t practice diligently. A piano player will never reach the level of musician if he does not practice nearly every day. And a student will never be a professional if they do not apply their academic knowledge in the career world. The same holds true for witnessing.
We can continue to learn about evangelism through the plethora of material out there. I, for one, have found ministries such as Living Waters to be invaluable blessings to me in equipping me for evangelism. But what good would this knowledge be if I were not applying it? It would be useless, yes?
There are numerous fears we must overcome in order to be Spirit-empowered evangelists. Some of these fears include: rejection, don’t know how, losing friends or family, not knowing enough, and not being able to answer questions. Now let’s ask ourselves this question -
If we are afraid of these things, are we fearful of men or God? Are we trying to please men or God?
Frankly, these fears are rooted in the flesh, and when we come to the realization that God will never send us forth to do a work for which He has not prepared us, we are ready to take the first step of faith in evangelism. Furthermore, understanding that no witnessing encounter is ever a losing situation, then we can put these fears to rest because even if we are persecuted, our reward is great in heaven (1 Peter 4:14, Luke 6:22-23, Matthew 5:11-12).
Knowing this, are you ready to ask yourself a second question?
Are my fears an excuse to not witness? Are my fears an excuse to be disobedient to the Lord Jesus Christ?
If you can answer “no” to these questions, then you are ready to act on faith. You do not want to sin against God, right? For He says in James 4:17,
Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.
Now that we have laid a foundation for why our fears are no excuse for disobedience and that we must seek to please God rather than men, let’s get to how we’re going to put our faith into practice by overcoming our flesh.
The Project Challenges will serve to give you small steps to take to get your feet wet, so to speak. By doing little tasks at a time, you will gain confidence that witnessing to strangers is not as scary as you once thought, but in fact, it’s fun and rewarding!
So, this next Project Challenge is simple. If you do not already have a set of Trillion dollar bill Gospel tracts, I’d like you to join me in buying a pack of 100 trillions. At $5 per pack, and $2.73 for shipping, my total was $7.73. You can save a lot of money by purchasing 10 or more tracts, as they are $3 per pack at that point. Here’s the link: Lincoln Trillion Dollar Bill
Within 24 hours of reading this article or receiving the tracts in the mail, I want to challenge you to hand 1 tract out to 1 person. Easy enough right? It really is simple. Here’s a couple of ideas for handing them out:
1) Ask a random person walking passed you in public, “hey, did you get one of these?” Most people are curious as to what you might be giving away and will take one. Sometimes they will ask you, “what is it?” Then you will have the opportunity to tell them it has the trillion dollar question on the back.
2) At your next purchase, ask the store clerk or server at the restaurant if they have change or if they can break a trillion. They will likely laugh or smile and try to give it back to you. But then just say, “no, it’s for you, it’s got the trillion dollar question on the back.”
People love these trillion dollar bills! And the more you do this you will develop your own methods or continue with these suggestions. The goal is to get into a conversation about where they will go when they die, but often you only have time to tell them to read the back when they get a chance. Either way, you are opening a door to share the Law and Gospel with them, or they have it in their hands to read later.
This is so easy! Yes, even for you!
Are you ready to step out of your comfort zone? I did about a year ago and I can’t tell you enough about the work God has done in me. Every day I look for opportunities to share my faith, and these trillions make it so easy to do. And just for your information, I was once diagnosed with GAD – general anxiety disorder – so talking to strangers was a major no-no because of anxiety and/or panic! But look at what God has done!
So will you join me? Are you ready to make a change and trust that God will give you the courage, wisdom, and knowledge to boldly proclaim His name?
Will you accept this challenge? Are you ready to obey the Great Commission with boldness? Just one tract? You can do it!
In this incredible video revealing the extraordinary power of the Japan tsunami generated by the massive 8.9 earthquake, the news anchor and analyst comment:
Anchor: "We've seen a number of devastating earthquakes over the past few weeks...the terrible earthquake in Christchurch, now this in Tokyo - why are we seeing so much seismic activity now?"
Analyst: "Uh, I don't know that anybody can answer that, um, unfortunately, we don't know how to forecast when earthquakes are gonna happen..."
I believe I can help them out with this unanswerable question rooted in the perspective of natural man:
For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.- Matthew 24:7-8
My friends, as I mentioned in this post regarding the Christchurch devastation,
if an unexpected earthquake hit your town and you did not survive, what would that mean for you?
Please don't think such a tragedy could not happen to you. After all, 10 out of 10 people die, and your time will come whether by natural death or something as devastating as a major earthquake, or a car accident the next time you hit the pavement. Click here to find out where you might spend the rest of eternity. There is nothing more critical than knowing the answer to this question.
Every Thursday night, Crucial (aka Matt Slyman, who you will meet soon on the Meet the Team page), and I go to UNC-Charlotte to witness to folks on campus. However, last night we found out the hard way that the school was closed for spring break. So I wanted to check out a local pedestrian-friendly shopping center as a potential fishing hole.
After praying for strength and fertile hearts, we got out of the truck and proceeded to the sidewalk. We made one trip down, across the boardwalk, only to hand out a couple tracts for lack of people. Because it was so cold and windy, we contemplated on whether to leave. But we decided to give it one more shot and walked back down to the center of the restaurants and see what would happen.
What was interesting is that we did not have any Trillion-dollar tracts because we “spent” them all last Saturday at Project #2. But what we did have was the Good Person tracts, and this made for an interesting night of tract distribution. Not many conversations, but we did get to hand out 25-30 tracts to the patrons of the Boardwalk Billy’s restaurant and bar. After about an hour, we finally got to have our first real conversation – with Youseff.
Youseff and his family was entering the Asian restaurant when Matt handed the last woman in the group of four a tract. Youseff, who was dressed in Muslim garments, stopped and asked what it was. He hung out with us while his family got their to-go orders.
It was a very interesting conversation and my first in-person witnessing opportunity with a Muslim. The conversation went something like this:
Youseff: So what is this about?
Us: It’s got the Good Person test on it
Youseff: How does it work?
Us: Well, there’s a few questions to ask people, the first of which is “are you a good person?”
Youseff: No.
Us: Well, that’s a great start.
Now, seeing that he did not consider himself to be a good person, I needed to figure another way to take him through the Law to be sure he understood sin. So I continued:
Me: Well, typically most people say they are a good person, then we ask them if they are good enough to go to heaven. We then take them through the Law of God, the 10 Commandments, and ask them things like -
“How many lies have you told”
Youseff:- oh yeah, lots.
Me: Yeah, me too. So what do you call someone who tells lies.
Youseff: a transgressor.
Me: Well, yeah, but more specifically, a liar, right?
Youseff: right.
I continued with theft, blasphemy, murder, and lust. Youseff admitted to all of these sins and said he lusts often, every day. He understood God knows our every thought and will hold us accountable.
When asked if he would be innocent or guilty and whether that would be heaven or hell, he said guilty and hell. But he said more or less said that he did not know for sure if he would go to heaven or hell, and no Muslim could know that.
He said it depended upon whether or not he was submissive and obedient to various things, so I asked him if he prayed perfectly 5 times a day. He said he did not. I then asked him how his sins are forgiven, and he didn’t have an answer to my recollection. In hearing how he can never have assurance of salvation, I told him what a fearful way to live, knowing that at any moment you could be sent to hell based on the things you have or have not done.
I then cut to the chase with Youseff. I explained to him that God commanded the Prophet Moses to have the people bring an unblemished animal to the tabernacle, and that the animal’s shed blood sprinkled on the altar would atone for the sins of the people and the high priest, but this was only temporary and needed to be done every year. With his Christian family background and study of the Torah, Youseff knew all about this and recognized that Christ was the perfect sacrifice once and for all (according to Christianity at least).
I then told him, “Youseff, the point is, without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sins.” I proceeded to which he agreed, “if God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and if truth is reality and does not change, then how could it be possible for God to once establish that without the shedding of blood there can be no remission of sin, but change his mind that it was no longer necessary?” We also talked about how the Quran considers the Torah to be genuine Scriptures of God, and if God cannot lie and does not change, neither do His decrees change and what is required to go to heaven by coming under the blood of Jesus Christ.
Unfortunately, his family was ready to leave so we had to wrap up the conversation. I gave him my contact information and told him I would love to get together sometime. Youseff was very friendly and pleasant to speak with. I believe we gave him something to consider and pray the Lord would use our conversation to plant a seed that will grow in his heart.
I wanted to share this with you because, obviously, we did not expect to have a conversation with Youseff or any Muslim last night. But knowing a couple things about Islam and how to witness to a Muslim in a manner that would not be confrontational proved to be fruitful. So with that, I’d like to share a couple of resources with you:
The first two links are brief articles to read through to help you first gain common ground with the Muslim, which should give you a foundation from which to present the Law and Gospel. The third link is to my page on airō, which is rich in resources on Islam and other world religions and cults.
Most importantly, in all your witnessing encounters, pray beforehand that God would give you compassion, evident compassion, for all who come across your path. These are divine appointments and we must
Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person. – Colossians 4:5-6
We must love all people, regardless of race, ethnicity, or religion. Take every opportunity to show them love and grace, with the hope they would recognize how far they fall short of the glory of God, that they might turn to the Lord Jesus Christ in repentant faith.
Do you have any experience with witnessing to Muslims? We’d love to hear all about it in the comment section below!
This past Saturday we completed Project #2 for The Speak:Truth Project. It was such an exciting and edifying day to proclaim the Gospel on the streets of Charlotte, NC. I invite you to read all about it here: Project #2: CIAA Tournament.
You may have been wondering why I have seldom posted these last couple of weeks. I've been very busy with work and another project we have been developing. So with that, I'm pleased to announce we have launched the new website for The Speak:Truth Project!
We are really excited about this new ministry we believe God has called us to. If you recall, we organized our first project at Johnson C. Smith University's homecoming parade in October 2010. That was a phenomenal day of spreading the Gospel, and we hope and pray to have many more opportunities in the future. In fact, our next project will be tomorrow at the CIAA tournament in Charlotte, NC.
I hope you take the time to check out this new ministry of evangelism and learn how you can get involved. This is not only an organized ministry to evangelize the lost in our area, but also to encourage and equip you to do the same in your towns. Moreover, we would like to be a platform from which you can gain experience in witnessing, so you can be more confident that the Holy Spirit will guide your encounters as you faithfully obey the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ.
There are several ways to keep up with us on the main page, so we hope to see you over at The Speak:Truth Project, and/or perhaps on the street. :)
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. - Revelation 20:11-15
Sharing the Gospel in Uptown Charlotte Today
Are you obeying this:
And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. - Mark 16:15
Knowing this:
...in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. - 2 Thessalonians 2:8-10
Are you obeying this:
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.- Matthew 28:19-20
And knowing this:
And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night (Revelation 14:11a)...And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10b).
Are you honestly subscribed to this:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.- Romans 1:16
What are some reasons you might not actively share your faith? Care to share these by commenting below? Let's talk about it...
