One of my students is writing on the mission work of Paul as it may provide insight to his ministerial context. Describing the targets of Paul's work, my student described three groups. First, he noted that Paul reached out to Jews. He would go to the synagogue and share Jesus as Messiah, Lord, and Savior. …
Tag: evangelism
…And Then Sometimes They Just Get It
I teach a class in Inter-religious Dialogue (IRD). Since I am a Missions professor at an Evangelical missionally-minded seminary, I like to challenge the notion that IRD is anti-evangelistic. IRD is not preaching (1-way communication to change someone's mind) or apologetics (2-way communication to change someone's mind). IRD focuses on understanding, but I point out …
Condemnation and the Gospel
Today there is a bit of a theological revolution going on as many Evangelicals are questioning the ECT (eternal conscious torment) view of hell, in favor of an annhilationist view, or purgative view, or some other form. To me, it seems odd how dogmatic people are on something that is, frankly, not clearly answered in …
Top Posts on Evangelism
I am far from an expert on Evangelism, but I have gained some perspectives of it as it is commonly practiced over time. Here are some of the Top Posts on this topic. Critique of Evangelism (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). These three posts summarize many of my views regarding Evangelism as it …
Missiological Thoughts on Pastoral Diagnosis
As I have said before, one of my jobs in missions is administrator of a pastoral care center. So I have always been interested in the correlation, compatibility, and conflict between missions and counseling. This presentation utilizes the 7 benchmarks for pastoral diagnosis established by Paul Pruyser back in 1963. However, we put them in …
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Dale Carnegie and the Gospel
My dad used to like to say "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." This bit of wisdom is something lost on Christians often. It seems to me that many of us have been seduced by the false promises of argument. My son, Joel, was on the debate team at …
You Can’t Get There from Here
A really really old joke. Maybe one should not even call it a joke, but maybe it is more of an anecdote. A salesman is driving through a sparsely inhabited bit of countryside. He comes upon an old farmer standing at the corner of an intersection of two roads completely lacking in directional guidance. <Typically, …
Are There Times it is Better NOT to Minister?
I was glancing through a little humorous book that I have had for decades. It is called "Best of Gravestone Humor" by Louis S. Schafer. People used to write the most amazing things on gravestones... some of which are quite humorous. One struck me today: "Here Lies Jane Smith, Wife of Thomas Smith, Marble Cutter …
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Evangelism thoughts: “Savior Salvation” and “Fallen from Grace”
Apparently (unless something changes), I am going to be teaching a class in Evangelism at seminary. It seems strange that I would do this, since I am invariably awkward when I do evangelism. I suppose part of it is that I like to dwell on the complexities and paradoxes in life (including salvation). This interest …
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