Missio Dei Suburbia

Whole Church, Whole Gospel, Whole World

Helpful article by one of my favorite writers, Christopher Wright, - '...we must believe, live, and communicate all that makes the Christian message staggeringly comprehensive good news.

Evangelism - The Tipping Point

One of my favorite quotes from NT Wright's Surprised By Hope:

“When the church is seen to move straight from worship of the God we see in Jesus to making a difference and effecting much-needed change in the real world; when it becomes clear that the people who feast at Jesus’ table are the ones in the forefront of work to eliminate hunger and famine; when people realize that those who pray for the Spirit to work in and through them are the people who seem to have extra resources of love and patience in caring for those whose lives are damaged, bruised, and shamed; then it is not only natural to speak of Jesus himself and to encourage others to worship him for themselves and find out what belonging to his family is all about but it is also natural for people, however irreligious they may think of themselves as being, to recognize that something is going on that they want to be part of. In terms that the author of Acts might have used, when the church is living out the kingdom of God, the word of God will spread powerfully and do its own work.”

(HT: Tony Stiff)

Questioning John Piper's Answer

The Desiring God website has a series of answers that John Piper gives to questions that people send in. Today, Dr. Piper answers the question - 'Why is differentiating between evangelism and missions important?' You can read or listen or watch the answer here.

A friend of mine asked what me (and others)  what we thought about Piper's answer. Here's my response:

What I appreciate about John is his concern that the mission of God extend to unreached people groups. He has been banging that drum since a lot of us were wearing diapers and I thank God for that.

He has also stood firm in insisting that evangelism is a word – a declaration about what has done in time and space through Jesus Christ. This is critical in a church world that increasingly resonates with the pseudographical word attributed to St. Francis – ‘preach the gospel, use words if necessary.’

Here’s where the problem begins to creep in for me (and no, I don’t think his distinctions hold up across the course of the Scriptures). I remain concerned that the brothers in T4G (particularly Dever and Piper) are taking what is of first importance in the gospel (‘Jesus died for our sins’) and extrapolating that as the full weight of the gospel, as though God’s complete mission can be summarized in the justification/sanctification/glorification of individuals (to the glory of God) with less attention given to the biblical emphases placed on the renewal and redemption of cultures and creation (they don’t ignore them but see them as implications of the gospel).

You see the effect of this in the answer Piper gives to the distinction between evangelism and missions. If he had said, ‘Yes, there is a difference between evangelism and mission(s). The mission of God is a holistic blessing of the nations that includes what we call evangelism but it’s more than just the words we say – it involves every aspect of our lives. There is no mission of God apart from the story of God’s work in and through the cross but God’s mission is bigger than evangelism’, he would still uphold the necessity of declaring the gospel word – whenever, wherever – without creating what I encounter with Piper fan-boys who think the only thing that matters in life is evangelism and bonus points if you do it across an ocean.

I see two particular opportunities to get all of us back on the same page:
- Clarity on the mission of God. Is the mission of God more than a declaration of the gospel?
- Clarity on what constitutes a culture. Is cross-cultural ministry something that can only take place on foreign soil?

So as a guy whose very first interaction on the internet back in ‘95 was to print off every John Piper sermon available from 1980 to 1995, I would say that yes, there are distinctions between evangelism and mission(s) but in this case I don’t believe Dr. Piper’s distinctions hold up against the Scriptures and I don’t find them particularly helpful.

What do you think about Piper's distinction between evangelism and missions? Does this fit the shape and scope of the Scriptures? How would you answer the question?

Coaching - Gospel Conversations

If you're looking for help in starting and sustaining gospel conversations, these posts from Chris Walker should do the trick:

These are in no particular order, but rather a list of some of the most popular sought after articles on Chris' website regarding personal evangelism.

1. Take the Risk, Offer to Pray.
2. Scripts for Evangelism
3. The power of testimony
4. God is at work — Do you see it?
5. Conversion Stories in the NT — Pisidian Antioch
6. Look for God’s activity
7. Beginning a Conversation about Christ
8. Take a Look Across the Room
9. Dot on a Watch
10. Helpful Questions for the Evangelist
11. Three ways to repel / Three ways to attract
12. Ashamed of the Gospel?
13. 15 ways to Keep your Evangelism Passion High
14. Prayer and Evangelism
15. Evangelism PAINS
16. Evangelism 101: Beginning to Share your Faith.
17. Compelled to share?
18. God — The Evangelist
19. 20 Fears about Personal Evangelism
20. Guest Article: Sharing your faith in the ordinary course of life
21. Fit your evangelism style to your personality
22. Keeping Your Evangelism Passion Hot
23. Evangelism Oozing from our Pores (on motivations)
24. Define Evangelism Series
25. Personal Testimony Questionnaire
26. Personal Evangelism Mentoring
27. Ten Devotional Questions about Your Evangelism
28. Evangelism as Storytelling
29. Role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism
30. Evangelistic Conversation Starter Questions
31. Ten Prayer Points For your Friends
32. How to Practice a Gospel Presentation
33. Using Questions In Spiritual Conversations
34. 44 Spiritual Conversation Starter Questions
35. 5 Evangelism Tips for Pastors
36. The Big Story – Improving the Bridge Illustration
37. 10 practical ways of sharing your faith
38. 20 Evangelism Questions To Start a conversation
39. The Holy Spirit Prepares the Way
40. Respecting Boundaries in Conversation
41. How the Holy Spirit Directs Evangelism
42. 7 Tips For More Spiritual Conversations
43. Drifting Away from the World

Book Lists: Personal Evangelism and Biblical Counseling

Chris Walker recommends the following books on personal evangelism:

• Questioning Evangelism, Randy Newman
• They like Jesus, but not the Church by Dan Kimball
• Confessions of a Reformissional Rev by Mark Driscoll
• Reimagining Evangelism: Inviting Friends on a Spiritual Journey by Rick Richardson
• Unbinding the Gospel: Real Life Evangelism (Real Life Evangelism Series) by Martha Rese
• unChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks about Christianity… and Why It Matters
• Evangelism Made Slightly Less Difficult: How to Interest People who Aren’t Already Interested by Nick Pollard.
• Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels and Mark Mittleberg.
• Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybels
• Just Walk Across the Room (Spanish), Bill Hybels
• Simplemente acercate a ellos: Pasos Sencillos Para Guiar a Las Personas Hacia La Fe, Bill Hybels
• Hitchhiker’s Guide To Evangelism: Bill William Tenny-Brittian.
• The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, Mark Dever
• A Forgotten Gospel by Mark McGrath
• Tell It Often-Tell It Well: Making the Most of Witnessing Opportunities, Mark McCloskey
• Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ within Your Personality Style, Mike Bechtle
• True Story: A Christianity Worth Believing In, James Choung

Driscoll recommends these books on biblical counseling:

• Seeing With New Eyes: Counseling and the Human Condition Through the Lens of Scripture (P& R, 2003) by David Powlison
• Speaking Truth in Love: Counsel in Community (New Growth Press, 2005) by David Powlison
• Addictions: A Banquet in the Grave (P & R, 2001) by Edward T. Welch
• When People Are Big and God Is Small: Overcoming Peer Pressure, Codependency, and the Fear of Man (P & R, 1997) by Edward T. Welch
• Blame It on the Brain? Distinguishing Chemical Imbalances, Brain Disorders, and Disobedience (P & R, 1998) by Edward T. Welch
• Step by Step: Divine Guidance for Ordinary Christians (P & R, 1999) by James C. Petty

Any books you'd add on evangelism and/or counseling?

Engaging the University

Very helpful post by John Stackhouse on how the church - and by extension, campus ministries - should seek to engage students on the university campus.

From the conclusion:

Much campus ministry over the last century has merely been an extension the local church work of basic disciple-making onto a nearby campus. Should it continue? Perhaps it should, especially with international students and others who might need extra time to integrate into local churches. But to offer a “spiritual kindergarten,” I suggest, is not the central mission of campus ministry. It is the main responsibility of the local church, and campus ministries instead should do what they are peculiarly situated and, I trust, equipped to do.

Evangelism on campus? Of course that should continue. That’s “on the job evangelism,” which every Christian ought to do. And with a special “people group” in view—namely, university students and professors—one can tailor apologetical and evangelistic initiatives to their distinctive needs. When people do respond positively to such initiatives, then campus ministries must connect them with local churches and their helpful programs in basic Christian life: with Alpha programs, small groups, Sunday School classes, and the like.

Without this clear sense of what they are to do versus what the local church is to do, campus ministries neglect their particular work. Thus they compound the problem by competing with local churches: “Why even go to a local church? It’s so much less interesting than this student group”—which in the nature of the case is tailored to and includes only this nicely homogeneous demographic! Thus campus ministries in effect train students in a “non-local-church” paradigm, which devastates them upon graduation as they must, in fact, make their way into local churches or flounder alone.

I'm thankful for the students and the campus ministries we're connected to on the University of Georgia campus. We're engaged in some really fruitful discussion about how the church can partner with these ministries to help students grow and thrive as missionaries to the campus, living in community, empowered by the gospel.

Darrin Patrick - Life with Non-Christians

I've heard the audio to this a good half-dozen times. The first 1:30 always ruins me...

Christ Community Church - Tribe or Mission?

The next few months are going to determine the identity and rhythm of life for Christ Community Church - will we embrace and live out our existence as a tribe or a mission?

From Tullian:

There’s a radical difference between tribal and missionary mindsets. The highest value of the tribal-minded is self-protection. Since these people feel safest around those just like them, they ask, “How can I protect myself from those who are different?” They intentionally surround themselves with those who think the way they think, like the things they like, and despise the things they despise.

We all seek out sameness, as John Seel notes: “We cope by settling into our safe intellectual cliques—our favorite blog, cable channel, or e-zine—where our own views are reinforced and applauded. Without really trying, we can easily lose sight of the wider horizon and fail to listen to those who do not think as we do.”

As a result, tribally minded people live with a sense of superiority, looking down on those who are unlike them. This is the “fashionable” posture of our culture.

In contrast, the highest aim of mission-minded people is not self-protection but self-sacrifice. Mission-minded people exist not primarily for themselves but for others. They’re willing to set aside personal preferences in service to those with different preferences. They’re willing to be inconvenienced, discomforted, and spent for the well-being of others.

Struggling to Live on Mission?

Why do we have such a hard time living among non-Christians and loving them into the kingdom?

From Martyn Lloyd-Jones:

Once a man has the love of Christ in his heart you need not train him to witness; he will do it. He will know the power, the constraint, the motive; everything is already there. It is a plain lie to suggest that people who regard this knowledge of the love of Christ as the supreme thing are useless, unhealthy mystics. The servants of God who have most adorned the life and the history of the Christian Church have always been men who have realized that this is the most important thing of all, and they have spent hours in prayer seeking His face and enjoying His love. The man who knows the love of Christ in his heart can do more in one hour than the busy type of man can do in a century. God forbid that we should ever make of activity an end in itself. Let us realize that the motive must come first, and that the motive must ever be the love of Christ.

(HT: Adrian Warnock)

Green Eggs Evangelism

From Andy Sernovitz:

Sam-I-Am is a true believer in Green Eggs and Ham. He really wants his friend to try it.

Lessons we can all learn:

1. Some people are natural evangelists. Find your Sams.
2. It's about helping. Sam is doing it because he wants to help his friend, not because he's paid to or part of some marketing program. All word of mouth has to come from a passion for the product and a desire to help.
3. Don't be annoying. Even though Sam's friend did end up liking green eggs and ham, Sam is way too pushy. Aggressive evangelism is always a turn-off.